Why should I study applied physics with an optics emphasis?

Optics is a particularly interesting field of physics that offers a very wide range of possible careers. It has many practical everyday applications such as in media and data storage (e.g., flat panel displays, touch screens, CDs, Blue-ray discs), but it can also be used to probe the deeper mysteries of the physical world by using lasers to slow down atoms (to temperatures of thousandths of a degree above absolute zero) so their structures can be studied and explored. Such cooling is called a magneto-optical trap, and it's not only the basis of atomic clocks, but done by our undergraduate students in our state-of-the-art Atomic and Molecular Optics (AMO) Lab. This AMO lab has been funded by the National Science Foundation and grants from local industry. 

What can I do with this degree?

An intense study of optics can lead to a wide variety of careers. Optical engineering is becoming increasingly important as companies in the Twin Cities are experiencing a shortage of engineers who can expand on the development of data storage devices and optical displays. Optical techniques are also commonly used in medical fields. We have had multiple students with a strong optics background end up doing graduate work or post-doctoral work at Mayo Clinic. Optics is such an important field of physics that it often forms the basis of a productive career in physics—either with a bachelor’s degree or by doing graduate research for a Ph.D. 

What unique experiences or opportunities will I have?

Students do research in the department’s AMO lab year round. Many do open-ended, research-like projects as part of their normal coursework and labs. Other students (typically three to six at a time) are paid to do research during the summer months. Seniors often meet their research requirement by working in the AMO lab, while still more just spend time there because they find the work interesting and fun.

Every January we have students and professors presenting their work at the international Optics and Photonics Winter School and Workshop hosted by the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona—arguably the finest school in optics in the world. But there are other conferences that students present at throughout the year. For example, in September 2017, a dozen current students travelled to Washington, DC, to present their research, mostly about optics or using optical techniques, at a national conference.

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Since 2007, I've had the privilege of advising six Bethel students in our Ph.D. program at the University of Minnesota. They are smart, hard-working, creative, and possess unusually broad and sophisticated skills in experimental physics and optics.

Sang-Hyun Oh
Professor and Sanford P. Bordeau Chair, University of Minnesota

Bethel’s Physics alumni now make up a strong core of our measurement and automation team. Beyond their obvious technical abilities, they demonstrate the character of Christ in their endeavors, which above all is valued. I wish to express my gratitude for your teaching and referrals of such excellent people.

David Dikken
Current job: CEO, MTL Corporation

Bethel served as a launchpad for me to eventually discover my purpose in Jesus' kingdom, which includes my career as a budding entrepreneur founding Laminera, as well as how I've evolved in my faith and integrated the two.

Lauren Otto '12
Founder and CEO of Laminera

People get the idea that Christianity is anti-science, when that is not true at all. As a Christian physicist, my job is an opportunity to discover the amazing mind of God and how He so intricately orchestrated the universe to work-and also made it so that we could discover it for ourselves.

Laura King-Steen '08
Icing Cloud Calibration Engineer, HX5 Sierra at NASA's Glenn Research Center

The beauty of physics-based education is that it forces the student to learn how to think, to understand, and to solve problems. I don't believe a career exists in which the ability to solve problems effectively is not one of the most valuable assets a person can have. If this is true, then studying physics is one of the best ways to prepare for ANY career, technical or not.

Aaron Montello '06
Operations Manager, Prima Power Laserdyne

The strong foundation I was given by Bethel's physics department provided me with all the tools I needed to succeed in my graduate school career in electrical and biomedical engineering.

Daniel Klemme '13
University of Minnesota