Addressing the critical shortage of optics technicians

Alexis Vogt

doi:10.1117/12.2633117

3 October 2022 Addressing the critical shortage of optics technicians

Alexis Vogt

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Proceedings Volume 12213, Optics Education and Outreach VII; 122130C (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2633117
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2022, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The global optics industry is growing faster than the overall U.S. economy, but the technical workforce for the industry is shrinking at an alarming rate. The absence of a single technician can delay shipments and impede the productivity of an optics company. The shortage of technicians is stifling innovation and requiring engineers with advanced degrees to complete the work of technicians. Development of the current and next-generation optics manufacturing workforce is vital. To meet the growing demand for skilled optics technicians, the Monroe Community College Optical Systems Technology program created the Defense Engineering Education Program in Optics (DEEP OPS) to increase the national optics workforce. Funded by the Department of the Navy Office of Naval Research (Award #N00014-19-1- 2740), the DEEP OPS initiative is strengthening and expanding the national precision optics workforce to ensure technological superiority for the Department of Defense. This initiative has: 1) Extensively enhanced precision optics technician training with innovative approaches that meet the needs of the optics industry and students; 2) Increased the number and diversity of optics technicians nationwide; and 3) Established opportunities for student and faculty engagement with the optics industry. The DEEP OPS program is providing strategic solutions to defense challenges and is supplying the intellectual know-how that is being transferred to a national base in the AmeriCOM Workforce Initiative. This paper describes how Monroe Community College has become a national model for educating diverse optics and photonics technicians.

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Alexis Vogt "Addressing the critical shortage of optics technicians", Proc. SPIE 12213, Optics Education and Outreach VII, 122130C (3 October 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2633117

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Light emitting diodes

Systems modeling

Visual optics

Weapons

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