Miranda van Iersel, an assistant professor in New Mexico State University’s Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Gentec-EO Laser Lab Awards, an international recognition that supports hands-on optics and photonics education.
As part of the award, van Iersel received a Pronto SI laser power meter, a portable device that measures the power and intensity of laser beams. The instrument will be integrated into multiple undergraduate and graduate courses, allowing students to directly connect theoretical concepts to real-world optical measurements.
Van Iersel learned about the award opportunity while attending an international conference on optics education in Glasgow, Scotland. Gentec-EO, a global leader in laser measurement technology, invited educators to apply by outlining how the device would enhance classroom and laboratory instruction.
“It was a very short proposal focused on how the device would be used in education,” van Iersel said. “I’m teaching several optics- and laser-focused courses, so it was easy to explain how valuable a small, portable measurement tool like this would be for students.”
The Pronto SI will be used across three core courses in the electrical and computer engineering curriculum, beginning with a 400-level Introduction to Optics course. For many students, the class serves as their first in-depth exposure to optical concepts, ranging from ray and wave optics to lasers and fiber optics.
“Because this is their first serious introduction to optics, demonstrations are incredibly important,” van Iersel said. “With this device, I can bring laser measurements directly into the classroom and show students how things like alignment affect laser power in real time.”
In the 500-level Fundamentals of Photonics course, students participate in multiple laboratory experiments throughout the semester. The new device will be incorporated into experiments on optical alignment, fiber optics, Gaussian beam characterization and polarization effects.
“For example, when students are aligning an optical setup, they can now see exactly how even a slight misalignment impacts the measured power,” van Iersel said. “That kind of immediate feedback really helps build intuition, which is essential for anyone working in optics or photonics.”
Graduate students will also benefit from the award through a specialized elective course on lasers. In this class, students work with open laser cavities and explore how factors such as mirror distance and internal obstructions influence laser output and beam modes.
“The Pronto SI allows us to expand the experiments and better connect theory to the measurements students will encounter in real research labs,” van Iersel said.
Beyond formal coursework, van Iersel plans to use the device for outreach activities, including demonstrations for middle and high school students during campus open house days and summer camps. She also anticipates incorporating the tool into undergraduate research projects, internships, and senior capstone experiences.
Much of van Iersel’s research focuses on how light interacts with complex environments such as air and water, work that has practical implications for optical communication, environmental monitoring and sensing technologies.
“When you’re driving through a dust storm or looking into muddy water, the reason you can’t see clearly is that light is being scattered and absorbed,” van Iersel said. “Understanding how much light makes it through a medium is critical, whether you're talking about visibility, communication or environmental sensing.”
Van Iersel’s lab is currently exploring optical techniques to detect microplastics in water, a growing environmental concern. By studying how light scatters and is absorbed by different materials, researchers aim to develop faster methods for identifying contaminants.
“These are problems students don’t always realize are connected to optics,” van Iersel said. “But once they see how measuring light applies to everything from internet communication to environmental health, it really changes how they view the field.”
With the Gentec-EO Laser Lab Award, van Iersel is expanding opportunities for NMSU engineering students to gain hands-on experience with professional-grade optical instrumentation, an investment that supports both education and research across multiple levels.
“This is exactly the kind of tool that helps students bridge the gap between equations on a page and the real systems they'll work with in their careers,” van Iersel said.
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CUTLINE: Miranda van Iersel, an assistant professor in New Mexico State University’s Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Gentec-EO Laser Lab Awards. (NMSU Photo by Vladimir Avina)
Photo description: A woman stands in a photonics laboratory where a green laser beam experiment is set up to show its intensity on an optical instrument.
CUTLINE: As one of the recipients of the 2025 Gentec-EO Laser Lab Awards, New Mexico State University College of Engineering Assistant Professor Miranda van Iersel received a Pronto SI laser power meter, a portable device that measures the power and intensity of laser beams. The device is seen in the photo with a green laser beam on it. (NMSU Photo by Vladimir Avina)
Photo description: An optical instrument is set up in a laboratory, where a green laser beam passes through a beaker of water.