About This Webinar
With the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act and growing demand for photonic integrated circuit technology, the semiconductor industry is once again gaining momentum. But even as the U.S. rebuilds its domestic manufacturing infrastructure, a larger challenge looms around the question of how it will develop a qualified domestic workforce to fulfill its new manufacturing capacity.
In response, the U.S. has initiated a set of government-funded project-based learning (PBL) programs to attract young learners to advanced manufacturing fields. One such program, SparkAlpha, applies the PBL methodology to foster technology entrepreneurs by connecting students with integrated photonics concepts and encouraging them to visualize new products that could help launch the next great startup.
Registrants to McComber’s presentation will learn how the PBL methodology successfully introduced integrated photonics to K-12 and college students using the unique characteristics of integrated photonics as a basis for programming. This methodology is portable and can be applied in a wide variety of cultures and educational settings to effectively engage a diverse range of future members of the workforce, including those typically underserved in STEM fields.
***This presentation premiered during the
2023 Photonics Spectra Conference. For more information on Photonics Media conferences, visit
events.photonics.com.
About the presenter
Kevin McComber, Ph.D., is the CEO of Spark Photonics, an integrated photonics design firm, and he serves as the executive director of the Spark Photonics Foundation, a nonprofit STEM education and outreach organization. McComber earned a doctorate in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.