Connecting Ideas

Moving at the Speed of Light




The fiber-optics industry is moving at--metaphorically at least--the speed of light, and UMBC has placed itself in the vanguard of research universities advancing this highly specialized field. UMBC's Optical Communications (OC) Laboratory is working with corporate and government laboratories to develop the next generation of high-speed telecommunications technologies, while UMBC's graduate program in photonics is playing an important role in meeting the regional and national demand for trained scientists and engineers.

The photonics program is among UMBC's larger graduate programs, with nearly 50 students pursuing advanced degrees under the guidance of nine professors. Electrical engineering professor Gary Carter, the photonics program director, finds corporations and labs literally knocking on his door, eager to hire the Ph.D.'s who emerge with valuable experience conducting cutting-edge research in the OC Lab. Headed by Carter and professor Curtis Menyuk, the lab collaborates closely with such telecommunications industry leaders as Ciena and Corvis, and such government clients as the Defense Department and the National Security Agency, on both theoretical and practical application projects.

UMBC's powerful combination of a photonics research lab and scientific training center has made the University a driving force in the Baltimore-Washington area's booming fiber-optics industry.

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