LILLINGTON - Central Carolina Community College was well represented at the recent National Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigators Conference in Washington, D.C. The American Association of Community Colleges, with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), held the event.
CCCC students Nickolas Jorgenson, a second-year Laser program student, and Isabelle Karis, a first-year Laser program student, applied for and were awarded a National Science Foundation ATE student grant to attend the conference. The NSF ATE student grant covered part of the trip and LASER-TEC funded the reminder of the trip.
Gary Beasley, CCCC's Lead Laser Instructor, who serves as a LASER-TEC Co-Principal Investigator, also attended the program.
According to the American Association of Community Colleges website, the conference was to bring together approximately 850 people to focus on the critical issues related to advanced technological education.
"Nickolas and Isabelle learned a lot about educational programs across the country with a mission to make sure the United States stays competitive in the world of technology," says Beasley. "They were also able to network with industry leaders, students from other schools in the United States, and educational professionals from around the world.
"During the conference, Nickolas and Isabelle set-up a booth to share with conference attendees their CCCC program educational experiences," said Beasley. "Some topics covered with attendees at their booth were public event activities sponsored by the SPIE/OSA student chapter organization; educational field trips, like to Photonics West at San Francisco; and how much our industry partnerships have helped and continue to help our Laser program to be recognized throughout the United States as a resource for talented laser technical professional graduates."
Beasley noted that his two students also worked at the LASER-TEC booth, greeting conference attendees and answering questions about LASER-TEC's activities and mission. "Several times throughout the conference, many conference attendees commented on how great Nickolas and Isabelle were, and how wonderful it was that they attended the conference," said Beasley. "It was just such a pleasure to see them learning, engaging, meeting, and networking with professionals, and having a great time doing it!"
LASER-TEC is an example of a NSF Advanced Technical Education (ATE) Center in the field of Lasers and Fiber Optics education, which has a mission to help increase the number of students pursuing careers in lasers and fiber optics to help fill the growing industry demand.
Dr. Chrys Panayiotou, of Indian Rivers State College, is the Principal Investigator of the LASER-TEC NSF ATE Grant. CCCC has a LASER-TEC sub-award.
To learn more about Central Carolina Community College's Laser & Photonics Technology program, contact CCCC Laser and Photonics Technology Lead Instructor Gary Beasley at 910-814-8828 or by email at gbeasley@cccc.edu.
For more information on Central Carolina Community College, visit the website www.cccc.edu.
Central Carolina Community College students Isabelle Karis and Nickolas Jorgenson are pictured at the CCCC student booth at the recent National Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigators Conference in Washington, D.C.
Central Carolina Community College students Isabelle Karis (second from left) and Nickolas Jorgenson (second from right) are pictured at the CCCC student booth at the recent National Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigators Conference in Washington, D.C. They are pictured with Dr. Chrys Panayiotou (left), of Indian Rivers State College, who is the Principal Investigator of the LASER-TEC NSF ATE Grant. At right is Gary Beasley, CCCC's Lead Laser Instructor.