While Chrys is enjoying his well-deserved vacation, he asked me to share our warm wishes for the happiest of holiday seasons to all our LASER-TEC family.

We have been through so much in the last two years. Certainly, 2021 wasn’t 2020, yet it still presented many challenges and unwelcomed implications. As we reflect on 2021, we recognize all wins–big and small–in our laser, optics, photonics, and fiber optics community. The photonics industry remained strong and continued hiring technicians at a high rate. Many colleges opened their doors to face-to-face sessions with more meaningful hands-on training.

We, at LASER-TEC, focused on multiple initiatives to sustain the photonics technology ecosystem. We developed and offered virtual professional development programs, conducted community outreach, and built bridges between colleges and industry. And at most importance to our program, we went full speed on developing open educational resources to help colleges and industry offer specialized programs.

In this December issue, you will find details about our latest initiative, Women in Photonics Technology–a community that provides meaningful support to female students and graduates of college photonics programs. Dr. Jim Pearson is retiring from his role as a Co-PI of LASER-TEC and passes the baton to the President of the Florida Photonics Cluster, Dr. Alexei Glebov. The Laser Technology Program at Central Carolina Community College has hosted its Advisory Board Meeting, and Gary Beasley shares about the proceedings on this event. With the closure of the OP-TEC website, we moved the supplemental resources (widgets and videos) for the Fundamentals of Light and Lasers textbook to the LASER-TEC website. Consider bookmarking this page as you prepare for your spring classes using this textbook.

We are wishing you the very happiest, warmest, and most peaceful of holidays and looking forward to a new 2022 year!

Natalia Chekhovskaya
Fort Pierce, FL