Huge thank you to the Thorlabs Team for their generous initiative to educate the public and train students in the beautiful applications of Photonics!
Thorlabs Mobile Photonics Lab 2026 Experience is hosted by the Department of Physics and Astronomy on UNM's Main Campus! Please come join the fun, learning about the beauty of light and how it can be tamed for advanced applications which drive modern society forward!
When:
February 24 - 26, 2026
Where:
PAIS building (UNM Main Campus). Mobile Lab will be parked on the West side of PAIS building.
Preliminary Schedule:
Day 1: February 24, 2026 (Tuesday) Advanced Quantum Optics Lab (1.5 hr session; 6 persons / session)
Day 2: February 25, 2026 (Wednesday) Intro to Photonics Experience (15-45 min sessions; up to 15 persons / session)
Day 3: February 26, 2026 (Thursday) Intro to Photonics (15-45 min sessions targeting high-school participants)
Who Should Sign-up:
If you're undergraduate or graduate student at UNM (Physics and Astronomy , Optical Science and Engineering , Electrical Enginering, etc), we welcome you to sign-up for participation and volunteering using the Google Form link below. Of course, we warmly welcome science students from all institutions in New Mexico to sign-up!
(Note that space is limited, so we will reserve spaces on a first-come basis.
If capacity is reached, preference will be given to those students who also volunteer).
Your Help is Needed!
We are seeking student volunteers who can dedicate some of their time to offer the following help:
- Co-teach the Labs together with the Thorlabs staff (prior training will be provided by Thorlabs. No worries - it will be fun!);
- Present at information booths during the event (you'll be trained/briefed by senior reprsentative at each booth, stay tuned).
We're planning to host a few information booths from UNM programs (Physics and Astronomy, OSE, Electrical Engineering, etc) and local companies interested in this outreach opportunity. Therefore, we need volunteers to help by being present at the booths and addressing general-knowledge questions about the organization behind the booth
(proper training/briefing will be included).
Content and Target Audience:
Advanced Quantum Optics Lab (1.5 hr session). (Great for beginning graduate students, especially in quantum emphasis)
Generation and detection of single photons. Measure coincidences to compare classical and quantum sources.
Intro to Photonics Experience (15-45 min sessions). (Great for all levels, priority given to undergrads).
Biomedical imaging (Image inside fingers and nails with live optical coherence tomography (OCT) system); Spectroscopy (Correlate color with wavelength, Visualize H2O and CO2 absorption lines in room air); Optical Communications (Transmit music with a laser beam; Demonstrate how light can be guided by water and relate to optical fiber).
Note for UNM Faculty:
Please reach out by January 30th, if you would like to organize a class-wide visit on Day 2 (Wed) -- session duration can be adjusted from 15 to 45min. Number of students needs to be discussed, w/ maximum at 15 participants
General note: Please check the page regularly, as information can change. This website is intended to have the most up-to-date information about the event. In case of questions, contact:
Denis Seletskiy or Alexander Albrecht (UNM, Physics and Astronomy, OSE).
GOOGLE FORM FOR PARTICIPATION AND VOLUNTEERING