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UMBC’s newest research center, the Center for Advanced Studies in Photonics Research (CASPR), is a hotbed for innovative photonics research. Robinson Kuis, third-year applied physics Ph.D. candidate, conducts laser technology research in CASPR, which is funded by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. In fact, UMBC is ranked 16th nationwide for NASA funding.

Kuis is studying under the mentorship of Dr. Anthony Johnson, the director of CASPR, and a professor of physics and computer science/electrical engineering at UMBC. Johnson is a leading expert in the area of photonics. Johnson was the 2002 president of the 16,000-member Optical Society of America. Prior to UMBC, he was chairperson and distinguished professor of the physics department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). He also worked in AT&T Bell Laboratory’s photonic circuits research department as a distinguished member of their technical staff for 14 years.

Under Johnson’s mentorship, Kuis is working to shed new light on optical communications, quite literally. In Johnson’s lab, he is in the process of building a laser for the purpose of studying “nonlinear optics” as it relates to telecommunications.

Far below the ocean surface, currents of information are constantly flowing at the speed of light. “If you send an e-mail or make a phone call to Europe today, it’s most likely to be optically controlled,” explains Kuis. Lasers are at the heart of this high-speed telecommunications technology. Through fiber optics, lasers relay information in the form of optical pulses or signals that are sent through optical fiber cables. These pulses must be sent at a wavelength (or communication region) appropriate for telecommunications, of which there are two: 1300 nm and 1550 nm.

Kuis is working on building a 1550 nm laser source to measure the nonlinear index of refraction--or n2of various optical fibers. Nonlinear optics relates to the way intense light interacts with a material. “When you send light through a material, if the intensity of the light is low, then the light experiences the ordinary index of refraction and is essentially unchanged,” explains Kuis. “However, if the intensity is high enough, an additional term is added to the ordinary index of refraction called the nonlinear index of refraction, which can dramatically alter the light propagating in the medium and lead to signal distortion or information errors. With knowledge of n2, system designers can predict the power levels and distances over which one can transmit optical signals without distortion,” says Kuis.

Kuis earned a B.S. in Physics from NJIT where he was a NJIT McNair Fellow. His entry into the world of photonics research began with a challenge from Dr. Johnson, his mentor at NJIT. As a sophomore, Kuis approached Johnson after a stimulating lecture he gave on photonics. “Excited, I went to him and said, ’Can I do research with you?’ He took me into the lab, put a laser in front of me and said, ‘Alright, make it lase. Heres the manual.’” Kuis took up the challenge, and within two hours he had succeeded.

That was enough to impress Johnson who has provided Kuis with immense support ever since. He encouraged him to apply to the Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies Cooperative Research Fellowship Program (CRFP) program, of which he himself is a product, and recommended him to his contact at Lucent Technologies where he worked. He was also supportive of Kuis applying to UMBC and continuing his graduate work in his laboratory. Of Kuis, he says, “He’s an invaluable member of my research team.”