{"id":66144,"date":"2015-05-04T08:48:59","date_gmt":"2015-05-04T12:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=66144"},"modified":"2020-08-25T11:18:08","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T15:18:08","slug":"first-of-his-kind-graduate-at-ucf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/first-of-his-kind-graduate-at-ucf\/","title":{"rendered":"CREOL Graduate, First-of-his-kind at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The first graduate of a new Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ degree program \u2013 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/degree\/photonic-science-and-engineering-bspse\/\">Bachelor of Science in Photonic Science and Engineering<\/a> \u2013 will earn his diploma Thursday and is looking forward to entering a field that is poised to boom in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Kirk came to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/degree\/aerospace-engineering-bsae\/\">study aerospace engineering<\/a>, but when he took one of his early physics classes it sparked an interest in optics. Then, two years ago at the end of his sophomore year, he heard about the new undergraduate program to be offered by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/college\/optics-photonics\/\">Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s College of Optics &amp; Photonics<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/college\/engineering-computer-science\/\">College of Engineering &amp; Computer Science<\/a>. It\u2019s the first such program in Florida and only the seventh in the nation. The program started at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ in 2013 and now has 70 students enrolled.<\/p>\n<p><em>For information about Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½&#8217;s graduation ceremonies <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-graduation-stories-250000-alumni-mon-daughter-pair-and-more\/\">click here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter researching the field\u2026it became clear that it would revolutionize technology and that\u2019s when I decided to switch majors,\u201d said Kirk, who is from Cooper City just southwest of Fort Lauderdale.<\/p>\n<p>That revolution is just around the corner, he said. The Bachelor of Science degree will enable students to analyze and design optical and laser systems for a broad set of applications.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are so many fields that employ photonics. Currently, research is being done in integrated photonic circuits, which holds promise of greatly enhancing a computer\u2019s processing capability,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are numerous applications from the medical field in cancer detection and laser surgery, space exploration and cosmic imaging, military applications and in a majority of consumer products.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While attending Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, Kirk also has been working at Lockheed Martin on a college work-experience program in research and development of next-generation infrared optics. When he graduates, he has a full-time job already waiting for him in the company\u2019s advanced materials engineering group, and he plans to return to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to earn a master\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Kirk said he had a jump on finishing the degree requirements because he had already completed many of the required engineering courses when he switched fields.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are many research opportunities for undergraduate students,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is also an expanding job market for this specialty, making graduates of CREOL that much more valuable.\u201d CREOL is the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers, which is part of the College of Photonics and Optics.<\/p>\n<p>Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s new program is distinguished by the fact that more emphasis is placed on photonics than optics, said Mike McKee, associate director of the college\u2019s undergraduate program. Generally, optics deals with the science of light including lenses and mirrors, whereas photonics deals with the technologies that incorporate light, such as LED displays, solar panels, use of lasers, and communications.<\/p>\n<p>McKee said the U.S. Department of Labor forecasts a need of about 29,000 engineers in this field in the next decade.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the combined effort of the seven universities that have this degree, it is nowhere close to filling the need,\u201d McKee said, \u201cSo we have a huge demand and a major shortage of majors. Already, our second student to graduate with the major \u2013 going out in the fall \u2013 has a job offer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Going to class full-time and working can make for a heavy load, but Kirk said one of the key lessons he learned in college is the importance of time management.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour performance in college may determine how successful you become in the real world,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing able to find a\u00a0balance between studying, working and socializing is key to success.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kirk said he didn\u2019t feel any particular pressure or competition to be the first to earn the new degree, but \u201cCREOL already has an outstanding masters and Ph.D. program, so to be the first of the undergraduate program is truly a great honor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kirk will graduate during the commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 7.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first graduate of a new Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ degree program \u2013 the Bachelor of Science in Photonic Science and Engineering \u2013 will earn his diploma Thursday and is looking forward to entering a field that is poised to boom in the coming years. Andrew Kirk came to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to study aerospace engineering, but when he took one of his early physics&hellip;","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":66146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,6,27],"tags":[1004,1112,5390,202],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-66144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","category-community","category-student-life","tag-commencement","tag-creol","tag-optics-and-photonics","tag-alumni"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CREOL Graduate, First-of-his-kind at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ | Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ News<\/title>\n<meta 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