A new optical physics lab located in Science Hall has recently been renovated and outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment thanks to a generous $50,000 grant from The Isadore and Anna Oritsky – Gladys and Eli Skaist Philanthropic Fund. The gift was made in honor of Herman D. Oritsky and Herbert Oritsky ’35.

The lab is equipped with a Quantronics 114-Nd:Yag pulsed laser, an optical table, a darkroom for photographic and holographic development, other lasers such as diode lasers and helium neon lasers, computers and assorted support equipment.

Brian Buerke, assistant professor of physics, said the new lab equipment is fairly sophisticated for an undergraduate program, giving Albright students a unique advantage. “With the opportunity to use advanced equipment, the students will have a great experience in learning how to use optics and lasers in many ways.”

Buerke added that optics is the technological backbone of the telecommunications industry and plays a major role in the development of high-speed computing and data storage. In today’s information age, he said, “Knowledge of optics is knowledge of tomorrow’s technology.”

One of the only optics programs nationwide at a small liberal arts college, the optics program leads to a bachelor of science degree in physics with emphasis in optics. The program emphasizes modern optical technologies including fiber optic communication, holography, optical computing, data storage and medical imaging technologies.

Courses in optics began in the fall 2001 semester. During the fall 2002 semester, the Physics Department will offer the first “Advanced Optics Laboratory” course.

Oscar Arias, winner of the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize, former president of Costa Rica, and spokesperson for the Third World, addressed the Albright community in March. President Henry A. Zimon presented him with an honorary doctoral degree.

Arias spoke of the struggle for world peace, moral leadership in an age of globalization, the ethics of service, humanism and non-violence for today’s heads of state, and the new post September 11 reality.

President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990, Arias devoted himself to the peace process in Central America, a region torn by civil war and discord.
In 1987, he drafted a peace plan to end unrest and civil war in Central America. The Arias Peace Plan called for dialogue, cease-fire, freedom of speech and free elections in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. His initiative culminated in the signing of the Esquipulas II Accords or The Procedure to Establish a Firm and Lasting Peace in Central America, signed by all of the Central American presidents.

In 1987, he received the Nobel Peace Prize, and used the monetary award to establish the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress. Under the auspices of the Foundation, three programs were established: The Center for Human Progress to promote equal opportunity for women and gender equity; the Center for Organized Participation to strengthen the action of civil society in central America; and the Center for Peace and Reconciliation to work for demilitarization and conflict resolution in the developing world.

Arias continues his pursuit of global peace and human security, promoting human development, global governance, human dignity, and curtailment of the global arms trade. He advocates preventive diplomacy, and prohibition of arms to nations that support terrorism, and recently proposed that heads of state in the hemisphere endorse a two-year moratorium on the purchase of high-tech weapons. To date 24 leaders have agreed to this moratorium. The measure would extend the reach of an existing treaty that made Latin America the world’s first nuclear-free zone.

Arias’s visit was made possible through a special partnership between Albright College and the Hispanic Center of Reading and Berks County.

For More information about Oscar Arias, please visit the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress