Our mission is to provide infrastructure for students, faculty, and industrial partners who share research interests in optoelectronics and optical communications, and to promote awareness of the importance of optical technology.

And to:

• Educate and train, through existing UNC Charlotte academic units, the new generation of scientists and engineers required to support the need for highly trained professionals in optics fields. Involve students in the process of inquiry that leads to senior theses, graduate dissertations, and peer-reviewed publications.
• Conduct pure and applied research in optical science and technology and create intellectual property. Foster technology transfer between the University, other research centers, and the industrial community. Acquire significant public and private support for the general optics program and specific research applications.
• Promote interdisciplinary optics activities linking the University and the greater optics community that are guided by a sharing of clearly understood goals and objectives. Encourage interaction and cooperation among the faculty, student, and professional participants.
• Organize meetings, conferences, and symposia for the benefit of the optics community. Create and maintain communication channels for the dissemination of information about optoelectronics, optical communications, and the optics community.

The Center's technical focus from the beginning, and which continues to strengthen, is in advancing the integration of optical and electronic functionality for next generation photonic devices and systems. Particular applications of this research focus have evolved over the last three years in sensors and communications-related modules as well as developing methods for their low-cost manufacture.