As a youngster, Imelda De La Rue's head was always in the clouds, and for
good reason. She hoped one day to become an astronomer. Her love of the planets
and stars carried her to university, where she began studying physics in the
hopes of fulfilling her celestial dreams.
But her plans changed after a class in physics. "As I progressed through
my coursework, I realized my real interest and love was for the instrumentation
that astronomers use, such as telescopes and cameras or detectors," she says.
Instead, De La Rue graduated with a degree in electrical engineering with
an emphasis in electro-optics.
"I have an appreciation and respect for what nature has given us, and I
want to learn more about it," says De La Rue. The laws of physics, she explains,
define how the eyes see and what they see. She studies how light will bend
when it goes through a lens, and how it may be distorted.
"I am fascinated by how lenses and mirrors can be arranged in such a fashion
as to reduce unwanted effects and produce images of good quality," explains
De La Rue. And these are the problems that an optical engineer solves by setting
up and conducting lab experiments.
Now, because of De La Rue and her colleagues, astronomers are using adaptive
optics (AO). This means that astronomers can now see deeper into space than
before. Thus, they gather more information about the universe we live in.
In a sense, optical engineers are opening our eyes to a more complex world.
Optical engineer Dick Johnson started in the field when the laser was first
invented. "I thought that sounded so interesting that I decided to pursue
engineering, and particularly physics and optics, in college," says Johnson.
He has worked in the field for over 30 years, and he now owns his own optical
engineering consulting company.
The laser has changed the way we treat the sick (laser surgery) and the
way we shop for groceries (the scanners at checkout) and even the way we listen
to music -- yes, CDs use lasers.
The work of an optical engineer is varied. It can include basic research
or product design. "I have worked on projects ranging from billion-dollar
missile tracking systems to toys that project images of planets and stars
on to the walls of a room for use as background in a room-sized video game,"
says Johnson.
Perhaps the best part of the job is taking pieces and parts and building
them to make a product. To have that knowledge and to share it is exhilarating,
says Johnson.
Gregory Pierce did not become interested in optical engineering until later
in life, when he was working at the Institute of Optics in Rochester. "One
hot summer day, I was looking at the spectral lines of a neon glow lamp with
a spectrophotometer in a dark lab. The colors were beautiful. I wondered how
anyone could not want to do this," remembers Pierce.
Before working at the lab, Pierce hadn't been exposed to this particular
field at all. But he soon found himself making holograms and experimenting
with fiber optics. Shortly after, he took a job at a computer manufacturer,
where he fine-tuned new display technologies. Once this job ended, he went
back to the Institute of Optics. He is keeping his eyes open for a job in
the industry again, rather than with a university.
By working with optics, the physics of light, you will understand such
simple things as why we see rainbows. Pierce explains: "If we take a prism,
a piece of glass that is shaped like a triangle, and put it in the sunlight
and rotate it, we will find some light is reflected and some is transmitted.
However, the sunlight that is transmitted is now split into a variety of colors
like a rainbow.
"This is refraction or bending of the light. This is the reason we see
rainbows. Light is refracted by the raindrops and the colors in the sunlight
are spread out."
With this knowledge, you can also contribute to very important technologically
advanced projects. Pierce says optical engineers work on reverse engineering
problems. That is, they try to understand how a system is operating. Once
they find out, they can make a better product.
Pierce says optical engineers also redesign existing products for more
durability, functionality or efficiency. "The Hubble Space Telescope was this
type of problem. It was providing images that weren't acceptable," he says.
"After looking at the design and the problem, a corrective lens was designed,
manufactured and put in the imaging system. Now, it is giving exciting images
and information to scientists."
Optical engineers will solve new design problems. That is, these professionals
try to find an optical solution to an existing problem.
Optical engineers also have a responsibility to humanity. "Our eyes are
the primary sensory organ for interacting with our environment. Optics provides
methods for enhancing and protecting them," says Pierce.
Before optical engineers, pictures of space were not clear. Zoom lenses
were not used on cameras. IMAX did not exist. Cashiers keyed in price information
rather than scanning it. Optical engineers have done positive things for the
world.
Although Alex Quaglia has worked on a few inventions of his own, he says
that not all optical engineers' work is good. In fact, some inventions can
be downright harmful.
"Many of the guided missiles and other weapons are designed with optical
[visible or infrared] vision systems. It is always difficult to work on a
device that will destroy a complete city."