The Origin of the Idea

For decades we have heard warnings that America stands to lose its technical edge because of the lack of adequate numbers of new science students. Many industries and universities have been involved for years in "reach out" programs to attract students into the fields of science and engineering. Educators at leading secondary schools are also taking this issue seriously and are endeavoring to find new ways to attract students into key scientific disciplines.

The science program at Regents School is part of these efforts. In recent years we have often heard Regents students express excitement about pursuing college study in biology. This is because we have acquired the equipment and faculty expertise to expose biology students to the most up-to-date technical advancements in their studies. Students now extract their own DNA and use DNA fingerprinting to identify specific DNA sources. We even now have our first Regents graduate pursuing a graduate degree in marine pathology, and several students in pre-med programs.

Are our students similarly attracted to college studies in physics and chemistry? Until now, the answer has been no, just as it is for most schools. The problem is that typical high school studies in physics and chemistry deal with principles discovered hundreds of years ago. Students are not motivated to pursue college study in a discipline that has failed to capture their imagination. Capturing that imagination by exposing students to cutting-edge research and technology requires a lot of sophisticated equipment. In most cases the expense, expertise and facilities requirements are way out of reach for a high school. But it occurred to me that a laser optics lab, though still very expensive by high school standards, might just possibly be within reach.

Then one day our Head of School, Rod Gilbert, asked me what I would want to do in the Math-Science department if funds were not the issue. Apparently, the floodgates of heaven had opened up and we had funding.  A year and a half later, after visiting four different laser optics facilities in Texas and Florida, we are ready to begin developing our own. We are truly blessed to have this opportunity.