RRPC's 2013 Optics Summer Sizzler

It’s nearly June, and June is when Rochester hosts the RRPC Optics Summer Sizzler!

Will you help with a contribution?  Do you know of someone else that will?

For our printable informational flyer, click here.

This year, in addition to students from East High School and Gates Chili High School, we are welcoming students from Greece Olympia High School.  By 2014, all three schools will be teaching Monroe Community College dual-credit optics.

How did this happen?

Four years ago, RRPC and local volunteers began a summer optics immersion camp to attract students to the MCC program.

The results? 

• The MCC Optics program is fully enrolled for September 2013.
• Two area high schools now offer dual-credit optics courses with MCC (with Greece Olympia coming on board next year)
• East High School is now teaching optical fabrication in a full optics fabrication laboratory as part of their dual-credit effort
• Gates Chili has a fully enrolled dual-credit optics class
• MCC has hired a full time optics professor, with a number of adjuncts from our industry
• MCC’s optics advisory board meets regularly and is helping to upgrade the MCC labs
• RRPC members have already begun tapping into the talent pool

We have accomplished this with volunteers, enthusiastic science teachers, and the generosity of sponsors from our industry.  Numerous people have made generous contributions of their time and money in the past three years.  Some of them are listed here:

Thorlabs Advanced Glass Industries PLS Launch Solutions Angstrom Precision Optics Dan Balonek ASE Optics Josh Cobb Citizens Bank Paul Conrow Corning Jim Crittenden CVI Melles Griot JML Optical G-S Plastic Optics Andy Germanow ITT SSD Marcelo Guimaraes Lasermax Katherine Hasman Monroe Community College Jennifer Kruschwitz Moondog Optics Ross Micali Optics Technology Elise Michaels Optimax Systems Paul Michaloski OptiPro Ron Schulmerich Rochester Precision Optics Jim Van Kouwenberg Sydor Optics Alexis Vogt Advanced Glass Industries RPC Photonics Angstrom Precision Optics Vincent Associates ASE Optics Michele Nichols Citizens Bank

This year, once again we are looking for sponsors to help defray the expenses of materials for the Sizzler: Sizzler t-shirts, lunches for the five day event, optics grab bags, and stipends for student assistants and other expenses, including, on day five, A TRIP TO THE THE CORNING MUSEUM OF GLASS.

Our goal is $14,000.

 Our first donation is over $2,000 in equipment, t-shirts and lab snacks from Thorlabs!

Thank you for your support!

DONATE USING OUR SECURE PAYPAL ACCOUNT

$500    $1,000    $1,500    $2,500

You do not need a PayPal account.
Just use the credit card option to the lower left of the screen.

Alternatively, and for smaller donations, you may send a check to:

RRPC Optics Summer Sizzler
c/o Rivers Organization
312 West Commercial St.
East Rochester, NY 14445

Our original blog post about the Summer Optics Sizzler is here.