SANFORD - Morgan Adams, a student in Central Carolina Community College's Laser & Photonics program, has been chosen to participate in the upcoming SPIE (the international society for optics and photonics) Optical Engineering + Applications Symposium Aug. 28-Sept. 1 in San Diego, Calif.

Adams will give an oral presentation of his paper "IYL 2015 Celebrations" on Aug. 31. He was the event manager of "Helping To Bring My Dream To Light" -- CCCC's International Year of Light celebration held in November 2015. "Indian River State College (IRSC) had hosted two celebrations in 2015 and were instrumental in CCCC's success," said Adams. "The abstract recounts both IRSC and CCCC experiences and take-aways from hosting the celebrations."

"Morgan is a student that 'rises to the occasion' to go the extra mile," said Gary Beasley, CCCC Laser & Photonics Lead Instructor. "Like so many extra-effort projects, without hesitating, Morgan accepted this challenge of submitting a paper for this conference. Submitting a conference paper requires a lot of extra time and effort beyond normal school work required in the Laser program.

"Because of his skill set, including being well organized, great at time management, terrific work ethic, and very intelligent, Morgan was able to do the extra work required for presenting his paper at the conference, while still maintaining top grades in the Laser program," said Beasley. "His efforts will pay off big time! I have had companies tell me that students who present at conferences always stand out above other students during the hiring process. We are so proud of Morgan, and truly enjoy having him as a student."

Guest speakers for the event included Natalia Chekhovskaya, Program Manager, LASER-TEC / Indian River State College; Ron Darbee, Division Superintendent, National Ignition Facility, LLNL; Scott Hamlin, President, MegaWatt Lasers; Joel Sigmund, Market Segment Manager, Disco Hi-Tec America, Inc.; and Kevin Stevens, Ph.D., Director of Research and Development, Northrop Grumman - SYNOPTICS.

Attendees were able to visit the CCCC Laser and Photonics program facilities, including a tour of the labs.

Chekhovskaya said that CCCC is a major partner of LASER-TEC, the Southeast Regional Center for Laser and Fiber Optics Education funded by the National Science Foundation. "The center's mission is to develop and sustain a pipeline of laser and fiber optics technicians. With the exponential advancement of laser and photonic systems applications, public awareness about this emerging field has become a key component in building this highly qualified workforce," she said.

"In 2015, LASER-TEC joined the global celebration of the International Year of Light and hosted a series of events open to general public. 'Helping to Bring My Dream to Light' hosted by Central Carolina Community College was an absolute success and created a great impact on the local community," said Chekhovskaya.

"This event would not be possible without Morgan's effective engagement with numerous members of the local community, the college administration, international photonics professional organizations, and the industry. Full of pride for his achievements, we wish him all the best in his future academic and career endeavors."

"I was greatly excited," said Adams of his selection. "It is very rewarding to get involved in school and career-related functions."

Adams, of Fuquay-Varina, said that he hopes to take the technical skills acquired at CCCC and apply them to problem solving in order to become a value-added employee. "The [CCCC] program is making me more marketable," said Adams. "Program instructors Mr. Beasley and Mr. [John] LaVere have a wealth of knowledge in both theory and application of the field. The instructors aim to produce successful graduates. This creates an environment where a student knows their hard work will pay off in a big way."

Constance Boahn, CCCC Engineering and Computer Information Technologies Department Chair, said Adams is an outstanding student and recruiter for the Laser & Photonics program. "Having a paper published for a conference or journal is an amazing accomplishment for any student to accomplish over the course of their entire academic career, let alone before completing all of the technical courses involved in the Associate in Applied Science degree," said Boahn. "He will go far in his career and we are very proud of him."

To learn more about Central Carolina Community College's Laser & Photonics Technology program, contact Gary Beasley at (910) 814-8828 or by email at gbeasley@cccc.edu.