This July, the IEEE Photonics Society hosted an instructive STEM Outreach Ambassador “Lunch & Learn” at IEEE Photonics Summer Topicals Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico for 100 attendees. This workshop included hands-on demonstrations to help attendees gain familiarity with the practice of teaching K–12 optics and photonics curricula as well as to arm volunteers with the tools to work with elementary teachers and implement light-based science into local classrooms. Guests included conference attendees, pre-university teachers from residing primary schools in the region and even a few children. It was delightful to see a crowd of such mixed age and education take similar delight in what the demonstrations had to offer!
The main collaborator of the event was the Puerto Rico Photonics Institute (PRPI), i.e., a research and academic center in optics and photonics representing regions in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. As the only photonics center in Puerto Rico, the PRPI has developed education and outreach coalition projects by partnering with other institutions and private companies in the fields of photonics and optics. Founded in 2011 with academic courses started in 2016, as a part of the School of Science and Technology at Universidad Metropolitana, PRPI operates with foundational support from the PR Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) and the PR Science, Technology, and Research Trust (PRST). The institute’s education and training programs are supported by a TAACCCT grant from the US Department of Labor called New Horizons—Puerto Rico Lasers and Photonics Career Pathways.....
Printed in 2017 October issue of IEEE Photonics Society News
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