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TCNJ physics department joins regional NSF-funded photonics initiative

Zay Farzan knew nothing about photonics when she transferred to TCNJ, but that quickly changed after joining professor David McGee’s physics lab. There, she got in touch with her experimental side, building lenses and getting hands-on with the lasers and advanced microscopes that help researchers push the boundaries in the burgeoning field of photonics: the generation, detection, and manipulation of light.

This summer, Farzan applied what she learned in McGee’s lab at an internship at Thorlabs in Newton, New Jersey, a leader in fiber optics — and one of TCNJ’s partners in a regional engine funded by the National Science Foundation that’s committed to advancing photonics research, workforce development, and technology transfer.

group of students in a microelectronic packaging lab
TCNJ team visits Microelectronic Packaging Lab at Princeton Materials Institute. L to R: Mika Music, Ryan Leon, Komang Januariyasa, Zay Farzan, Cody Pedersen, lab manager Bert Harrop. Photo: Daniel Day, Princeton University Communications Office.

Co-led by Princeton University and Rowan University, the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines initiative is a collaboration among universities, government agencies, and industry partners across New Jersey, the Lehigh Valley, and Delaware. The goal is to answer an important question for a developing field, McGee said: “How do we capitalize on a geographical heritage of optics and photonics research in New Jersey?”

The NSF gave the engine a $1 million development award last year to lay the groundwork for the Advancing Photonics Technologies collaboration. Its members have met monthly to build partnerships and prepare a proposal for a $15 million grant that would fund joint projects and further exploration of the region’s potential as a photonics hub.

One of my favorite things about science is we can get all these different people together — all these perspectives — to help further our goals,” senior physics major and McGee lab member Ryan Leon said.

For students like Leon and Farzan, the collaboration has already made a difference. They visited Thorlabs in the spring, then toured Princeton’s cutting-edge Micro/Nanofabrication Center in July, where they suited up in head-to-toe protective gear to learn about the university’s highly sensitive nanofabrication and imaging machines.

group of students in a clean room laboratory, wearing white coveralls.
TCNJ team visits the cleanroom facility at Princeton’s Micro/Nanofabrication Center. Photo credit: Daniel Day

“We already do a lot of the work their machines would allow us to do, but we could do it on a bigger scale, much more precisely,” said Farzan, who is now intent on building a career in photonics after graduation.

The leaders of Princeton’s lab have already invited McGee and his students to utilize their facilities, McGee said. The NSF Engine ensures similar opportunities will continue to emerge, whether at research-oriented academic institutions or at industry partners like Thorlabs and Nokia Bell Labs.

The visit to Princeton was eye-opening, both for the students and for McGee, who saw the chance to take “proof of concept” work done at TCNJ and apply it at a higher level.

“And,” McGee said, “it’s right in our backyard.”


— Ben Seal

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