February brings a positive outlook for the spring and summer as the pandemic subsides and most events return to their physical locations.

 

We share with great sadness the loss of our dearest friend John Greivenkamp. John was a grand champion and advocate of photonics education. 

 

This newsletter is loaded with useful information. The U.S. Department of Labor and LASER-TEC are collaborating on the critical project of updating the Photonics Technician website on O*NET Online, and we ask for your assistance. Natalia gives us an update on the Women in Photonics Technologies project. This month, we feature excellent open educational resources from Edmund Optics, MKS Instruments, and Thorlabs. A few scholarships and award opportunities are available; share them with your students. An outreach and recruiting opportunity is coming up on March 14 (3.14) – Pi Day, with suggestions and resources. We continue with a reminder about the large selection of LASER-TEC resources available to all on our website. Northwestern Michigan College is February’s featured photonics program.

 

Also, don’t forget to look at the upcoming events on the left column and the 449 posted job openings for electro-optics/photonics technicians nationwide; share this information with your students, counselors, and advisors.

 

Wishing you a great February,

 

Chrys Panayiotou

Fort Pierce, Florida