An important aspect of MIRTHE is that it stresses both fundamental science and practical applications, said Alexey Belyanin, assistant professor of physics at Texas A&M University. "This center adopts a comprehensive, unifying approach that pushes forward each of the necessary ingredients for a sensor: infrared sources, detectors, circuits, interconnects all while working in close collaboration with end users," he said.
This approach will allow each of MIRTHE's research teams to capitalize quickly on each other's advances, said Johnson. "We make use of established technologies while also pursuing novel high-risk approaches," he said. "The potential payoff is enormous."
A key mission of MIRTHE is to help ensure a competitive U.S. workforce by educating students who carry forward the center's knowledge to industry, government and academia. The center seeks to make science attractive to a diverse population of students by demonstrating the direct relevance of technology in solving societal problems. MIRTHE will incorporate extensive efforts to engage college and K-12 students in hands-on science and engineering projects, with major outreach programs taking place at the City College of New York, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Princeton.
Fred Moshary, professor of electrical engineering at City College New York said MIRTHE's goals are an excellent match for current activities at CCNY. "Our programs have a strong focus on recruitment and training of traditionally underrepresented minorities in science and engineering," Moshary said.
At the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, MIRTHE will partne
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Contact: Teresa Riordan
triordan@princeton.edu
609-258-9754
Princeton University
2-May-2006