News from
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Office of Communications
Stanhope Hall
Princeton, New Jersey 08544-5264
Telephone 609-258-3601; Fax 609-258-1301Contact: Mary Caffrey 609/258-5748
June 17, 1998
Gov. Whitman to Visit Princeton Laboratories During New Jersey Technology Week
Princeton, N.J. -- On Thursday, June 18, Gov. Christine Todd Whitman will tour two research laboratories in Princeton University's School of Engineering and Applied Science and hear a briefing on technology education as part of a week-long focus on technology in New Jersey.
Gov. Whitman will arrive at 10:30 a.m. at the Engineering School's Olden Street entrance, where she will be greeted by Princeton University President Harold T. Shapiro and Dean James Wei. During her visit, the governor will see Princeton's Center for Photonics and Optoelectronic Materials, known as POEM, which was founded in 1989. The $17 million POEM facility, which opened in 1993, was financed in part with $10 million in bond funds from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology. Currently, the commission supports two new multi-institutional initiatives at POEM -- the New Jersey Center for Optoelectronics (NJCOE) and the Center for Ultrafast Laser Applications (CULA). Princeton receives approximately $1 million for these initiatives.
POEM represents the fruit of a partnership among the university, state government, and private industry. Research by POEM faculty and graduate students has resulted in profitable collaborations with private firms, including the David Sarnoff Research Center, Lucent Technologies and Sensors Unlimited, all located in the Princeton area. In 1997, POEM generated more than $5 million in sponsored research and accounted for more than a third of the university's "invention disclosures," the first step in a patent application.
Gov. Whitman's visit will begin with a tour of two labs: In Multimedia Research in Education, led by Professor of Electrical Engineering Bede Liu, the governor and Education Commissioner Leo Klagholz will see demonstrations by four New Jersey school teachers. In Laser Systems for High Bandwith Internet, led by Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Keren Bergman and CULA Director Warren S. Warren, professor of chemistry, the governor will see applications of high-speed optical network switching.
At 11 a.m., Gov. Whitman will tour a series of technology demonstrations, featuring both university teams and industry groups, that will be set up in the Engineering School's atrium. A briefing on technology education will follow. Speakers will include James Sturm, professor of electrical engineering and director of POEM; William Russel, director of the Princeton Materials Institute; Ed Zschau, a former congressman and visiting professor at Princeton who teaches entrepreneurship to engineering students; Marc Zabludoff, editor-in-chief of Discover magazine; and Ali Bani-Hashemi, leader of the Virtual Endoscopy Project for Siemens Research Center. Gov. Whitman will also offer remarks.
Gov. Whitman's appearance can be viewed online from the Princeton University web site. The URL is http://www.princeton.edu/RealMedia.
PRESS ADVISORY
EVENT: Gov. Christine Todd Whitman tours research laboratories; hears briefing at Princeton University.
DATE: Thursday, June 18, 1998
PLACE: School of Engineering and Applied Science, Olden Street, Princeton Borough
TIME: Start 10:30 a.m., Olden Street entrance of Engineering School.
PHOTOS: Opportunities in laboratory tours, or at atrium displays
CONTACT: For information about POEM, call Mary Caffrey, Office of Communications, 609-258-5748. Information will be available at the Engineering School prior to the start of the event.
PARKING: Lot 2, located behind the Engineering School. From Nassau Street, turn right on Olden Street, then take the first left; follow to the end.
For campus maps, please contact Mary Caffrey, 609-258-5748. For directions to the University, dial 609-258-2222.