In the mid 1980's, the Department of Physics at Lawrence University recognized the widespread and growing importance of lasers in scientific research and industry but the near absence of exposure to this tool in undergraduate physics programs around the country. In response, we raised about $330,000 from the General Electric Foundation, the W. M. Keck Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the J. N. Pew, Jr., Charitable Trust, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Coherent, Tektronix, and numerous other vendors of equipment to conduct a pilot project that explored ways to incorporate the use of lasers into undergraduate physics curricula. In support of this venture, we built the Lawrence Laser Laboratory, which gives students access to a large array of laser equipment and associated instruments and supports the performance of a rich spectrum of experiments, some of which explore the laser in its own right and some of which use lasers in the study of various physical phenomena. Beyond constructing the facility itself, this project has resulted in the development of three new courses:

• Light! More Light! (Goethe's exclamation and the Lawrence watchword), a low-level course (no prerequisites other than ``scientific curiosity'') for non-majors that examines our current understanding of light, wave-particle duality, the classical and quantum descriptions of light, the interaction of light with matter, and the basic properties of lasers and laser radiation.
• Lasers in the Natural Sciences, an intermediate-level course for non-majors that requires only modest prior exposure to science and emphasizes applications of lasers to physics, chemistry, and the life sciences.
• Laser Physics, a senior-level physics course (with prerequisites in electricity and magnetism, optics, and quantum mechanics) that addresses the fundamental mechanisms of lasers at an advanced level.

Experiments Available

Following is a list of the specific experiments currently available in the Lawrence laser facility:

• Laser Assembly and Cavity Stability
  
• Polarization of Laser Beams
  
• Use of a Spectrum Analyzer
  
• Transverse Character of Laser Beams
  
• Interference of Light
  
• Tunable Diode Laser System and Optovoltaic Spectroscopy
  
• Saturated Absorption Laser Spectroscopy
  
• Quantum Beats and Time-Resolved Laser Spectroscopy
  
• Second Harmonic Generation
  
• Optogalvanic Laser Spectroscopies
  
• Faraday Rotation
  
• Holography
  
• Polarization Spectroscopy
  
• Optical Zeeman Effect
  
• Laser Heterodyning
  
• Raman Spectroscopy
  
• Populational Dynamics in a HeNe Discharge

Students and faculty members in physics at Lawrence have access to the following assemblage of lasers and measuring instruments for the performance of experiments involving lasers:

Lasers

20	HeNe 1--5 mW, red, yellow, green
6	HeNe 3 mW, open frame (custom design, homebuilt)
1	Ar+ ion and CW dye, Coherent Innova 70-4, CR-599-01
20	Tunable Diode laser system (custom design, homebuilt)
800	Diode laser, 5 mW, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Sony, Sanyo
2	Nitrogen laser, pulsed (custom design, homebuilt)
5	Pulsed dye laser (custom and commercial)
1	Ruby laser (pulsed)

Optical Equipment

3	Spectrum analyzer/controller, 7.5 GHz, Coherent 240/251,
	(ranges 550--650 nm, 650--775 nm, 750--875 nm)
1	Spectrum analyzer, Spectra-Physics 470-04, 550--650 nm
6	Plane-parallel Fabry-Perot (custom design, homebuilt)
5	Wavemeter, Burleigh Wavemeter jr, WA-2000, and Coherent Wavemaster
4	Laser power meter, Coherent 212 and Melles Griot
1	Laser power meter, Coherent 210
10	Photomultiplier tube, RCA 4840, Hamamatsu R212
8	PMT mount and housing (custom and commercial)
5	Monochromator, Spex 1401, Spex 1870, Cary 14 (modified),
	Beckman DU and Seiss (modified)
1	Holography kit, Newport HL-1 and HL-1A (less platform)
1	Fibre optics Kit, Pocatek KOP-100
4	IR beam probe, Optical Engineering, 24-3
1	IR viewer, FJW 84499 with visible filter
100	Miscellaneous mirror and lens mounts, Newport and custom
1	Iodine cell, Opthos
5	Rubidium and Cesium cell, Opthos
8	Neon, Krypton, and Xenon cell, Opthos and custom
1	Spatial filter, Newport 910-B
1	Sodium cell/oven, Klinger NA6046/KA6041
2	Rubidium hollow cathode lamp, Hamamatsu L233-37NB
8	Assorted optical breadboards
1	Optical table, 4'x6'x8'' top and leg set, TMC
1	Optical top, granite slab 2.5'x4'x4.5'' thick; 500 lb

250	Mirrors, beamsplitters, lenses; Newport, Edmunds, Virgo
200	Optical screw, sleeve, knob
5	Safety goggles, various types
50	Neutral density filters
15	Silicon PIN detectors
20	Interference filters
1	Beam expander telescope, X5, Spindler, Hoyer
20	Piezo transducers

Electronic Instrumentation

1	Frequency synthesizer, Hewlett-Packard
3	Digital oscilloscope, Tektronix 2432A, cart, Tektronix 340A
2	Fast/bright analog oscilloscope, Tektronix 2467, cart, camera
5	Lock-in amplifier, Stanford Research and PAR
1	Photon counter, Stanford Research SR400
1	Fast preamplifier, Stanford Research SR440
2	Chopper and controller, Stanford Research SR540
10	Frequency counter, Hewlett-Packard, Fluke
2	GPIB interface package, Tektronix GURU II$+$
4	X-Y recorder, Hewlett-Packard 7035B
3	Digital plotter, Tektronix HC 100
5	Microcomputer, IBM PS/2
1	RF spectrum analyzer, Tektronix

Publications and Talks

• ``From Feasibility to a Focus on Laser Physics'', invited address by J. R. Brandenberger at 1991 Annual Meeting of AAAS, Washington, D.C. (Feb. 18, 1991).
• ``Lasers at Lawrence: A Nexus for Teaching and Research'', invited address by J.R. Brandenberger at Project Kaleidoscope National Colloquium, Washington, D.C. (Feb. 4-5, 1991).
• ``Lasers and Modern Optics in Undergraduate Physics---A Report to Foundations, Corporations, and Undergraduate Colleges'', J. R. Brandenberger, September, 1989.
• ``Laser Physics and Modern Optics in Liberal Arts Colleges'', proceedings of Sloan Conference held at Lawrence University; edited by J. R. Brandenberger (1987).