LILLINGTON — Jamie Yeatman, a first-year student in the Laser and Photonics Technology program at Central Carolina Community College’s Harnett Campus, will present at the 2009 SPIE Optics and Photonics Symposium in San Diego in August. SPIE is an international society promoting an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light.

Yeatman is the daughter of Gail and Hubert Yeatman, of Dunn, and a 2008 Triton High School graduate.

Her presentation will discuss the use of new teaching methods, such as Problem Based Learning (PBL), to help prepare photonics students to solve real world technical problems. Gary Beasley, lead instructor in the laser and photonics program, will assist Yeatman with the presentation.

Central Carolina C.C. has been successfully using the PBL method since 2007 when Beasley was awarded a National Science Foundation grant through the New England Board of Higher Education to field test a PHOTON PBL photonics curriculum. CCCC was one of only 27 secondary and postsecondary schools around the nation selected to do the testing. Photonics is the study of the use of light, such as lasers, for industrial and other purposes.

The conference trip is funded by a Conference Experience for Educators (CEE) grant from the Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems Division of the National Science Foundation. The grant, also administered by NEBHE, provides funds for PHOTON PBL participants to present a paper or workshop at a professional association’s regional or national conference.

In addition to attending the conference, participants will have opportunities to network with colleagues, conference speakers and vendors and to expand their knowledge and understanding of the field of optics and photonics, as well as state-of-the-art education strategies.

The New England Board of Higher Education is a nonprofit, congressionally authorized agency whose mission is to promote greater educational opportunities and services for residents of New England. NEBHE programs are principally focused on the relationship between New England higher education and regional economic development.

To learn more about Central Carolina Community College’s Laser & Photonics Technology program, contact Beasley at (910) 814-8828 or by email at gbeasley@cccc.edu. For more information about NEBHE or the PHOTON PBL Project, go online to www.nebhe.org.