Cañada College

LASER-TEC is the Center for Laser and Fiber Optics Education, founded in 2013 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and headquartered at Indian River State College in Florida. It was established to help meet the goals of educating and sourcing domestic talent in the areas of optics and photonics. As a service to students, recent graduates, and prospective employers, Photonics Spectra runs a profile of one of the LASER-TEC colleges each month.

Cañada College offers two Photonics and Laser Technology (PALT) certifications to prepare students to work in a variety of sectors, including telecommunications, health care, aerospace, and other end markets that apply light and lasers.

Cañada College’s certificate programs are designed for high school graduates and have no prerequisites. The PALT certification provides the foundational knowledge and hands-on skills in optics and lasers that students need for entry-level, career-track jobs in photonics’ high-growth sectors. Students can choose to complete the PALT certificate and then take three additional stackable courses to complete the PALT Advanced certificate program.

Enrollees in the programs will also gain opportunities to intern during the programs with partners such as Coherent Inc.

Graduates of Cañada College’s PALT certificate programs have the skills to:

• Apply fundamental knowledge to construct, measure, and analyze a variety of modern optical and photonic devices and systems.

• Work with microscopes, telescopes, lasers, coatings, and optical fibers.

• Use commercial computer software technology to design and analyze optical systems.

• Develop and apply teamworking skills.

• Maintain a lab book, in which they clearly describe problem statements, experimental setups, and lab work results.

How to recruit from this college

If possible, visit Cañada College to present your company and employment opportunities to our students. Send job postings and recruiting visit requests to the contact person below.

Contact information

Ramakrishnan Kalyanaraman
+1 650-306-3196
kalyanaramanr@smccd.edu

Cañada College
Science and Technology
Bldg 16-205
4200 Farm Hill Blvd.
Redwood City, CA 94061

Program website

www.canadacollege.edu/engineering/PALTprogram.php

Students in the Photonics and Laser Technology certificate program at Cañada College work on a quantitative evaluation of the laws of geometrical optics. Courtesy of Cañada College.