Front Range Community College welcomed Thorlabs Mobile Photonics Lab to its campus on Tuesday. The mobile lab allows community members to learn more about photonics and the possibilities of pursuing a career through the community college.
Thorlabs is a New Jersey company. A year ago, the company decided to create an educational mobile lab to bring awareness to the photonics industry. Photonics is the science behind the generation, detection and manipulation of light.
The lab includes two optical tables with demonstrations that show what photonics is and what they might contribute should they pursue a career in the field. Within the lab, visitors can explore an imagining system that is typically used to examine the retina during an eye exam. In the lab, patrons can use the same system to examine their fingers.
Inside the lab patrons can also explore a spectrometer that is the same one used on the James White telescope. The telescope analyzes different wavelengths of light to determine the materials in space.
The mobile lab visit couples with the FRCC Optics and Laser Technology program run by Amanda Meier. The program teaches skills that allow students to become a laser, electro-optics or optics technician.
FRCC brings in industry leaders and companies to help demonstrate potential careers within the optics and photonics industries, Meier said.
“We like hands-on opportunities to really show prospective students, their families and the community at large what it is that they can work on,” Meier said. “There is an industry that really wants them to be part of it and there is excitement around this type of technology and a lot of growth in career paths that are really accessible for more people than maybe traditionally have had access to them in the past.”
The Laser and Optics program is a two-year or less program that is designed to help the student get into the industry quickly. In addition to experiencing the lab, visitors can tour the FRCC Laser and Optics program facility.
The mobile lab is located in the parking lot of the Center for Integrated Manufacturing, 1351 S. Sunset St. It will be there on Wednesday 1-4 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is an open to the public event.
