University programs with “photonics” in their names are a rather new development – a reflection of the growing importance of photonics not only to science but to the world – so we decided to poll our readers and find out what subjects they studied at university that led them into the field of photonics. School: Autonomous University of Barcelona Major: Computer Science (hopefully, MSc in photonics in 2012) Jordi Alonso @jordialonso (Twitter) School: University of St. Andrews Major: Physics BSc School: University of St. Andrews and Heriot-Watt University Major: Photonics MSc School: University College London and Cambridge University Major: MRes in Photonic Systems School: UCL Major: PhD Lee Cairns @leecairnsy (Twitter) School: University of Utah Major: Physics (Experimental and Theoretical) and Electrical Engineering (mostly optical and microwave engineering) Patricia Comeford (Facebook) School: Monroe Community College Major: Electro-Optics David DiPonzio @ddiponzio (Twitter) School: Temple University Major: Laser & Photon Engineering, and Mass Media Matthew Falcon (Facebook) School: Imperial College London Major: Everything from rods and cones to Q-switched lasers and lens design Antony Hurden @GroundedInnov (Twitter) School: Defence Institute of Advanced Technology in India Major: Laser and Electro-Optics Rudrakant M. Sollapur (Facebook) School: NIT Warangal, India Major: Photonics in college Rajeev Ranjan @rajee_vran (Twitter)