Graduate student, Rama Buddhineni, is working toward an MSEE with thesis work in the area of design and calibration of acoustic motion accelerometers using fiber optic interferometry. Liming Yang is working on multiplexing of interferometric sensors for her thesis. Qiushuang Guo is developing theoretical models of chirped fiber optic Bragg gratings. Because of the extremely sensitive and expensive equipment, the Optics and Acoustics Lab is not open for every student. Students who want to do work or research in the optics or acoustics field must have a faculty advisor for their project and work out lab access times.
Students learn about structures, wave - guiding, and signal degradation in optical fibers.
Topics such as optical sources, power launching , and coupling are discussed. The class also covers photodetectors, optical receiver operation and transmission link analysis. Students learn optical fiber fabrication and cabling. This course deals with the interaction of light within the ocean and at the sea - air interface. The topics studied include hydrooptical characteristics and factors determining the optical properties of ocean water.