Photon PBL Challenges

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PHOTON PBL (Problem-Based Learning)

A Photonics Curriculum and Professional Development Project
funded by the Advanced Technology Education program of the National Science Foundation
Contact Fenna Hanes for more information.

• Blinded by the Light - What dangers does a pilot face when an aircraft is targeted by a laser pointer?
• Stripping with Light, fantastic! - PhotoMachining, Inc. needs to develop a process for stripping the coating from 50 micron wire
• DNA Microarray Fabrication - Boston University graduate students need to determine the best starting exposure time for a DNA microarry fabricator
• High Power Laser Burn-In Test - IPG Photonics needs a way to run 100-hour unattended burn-in tests on a 2-kw laser.
• Shining Light on Infant Jaundice - Partners Photodigm, Drexel and SMU ask, "Can technology provide a safe and effective portable home treatment for newborn jaundice?"
• Watt's my Light? - The package says a 26 watt fluorescent has the same light output as a 100 watt incandescent. Can Cal Poly Pomona students verify this statement?
• Of Mice and Penn - Can optics provide a non-contact measurement method as part of a UPenn McKay Orthopaedic Research Labproject to study the healing of tendons?
• Hiking 911 - Two boys are lost in deep woods in rough terrain. Penn State Electro Optics Center (EOC) needs to recommend the best technology to locate them.