Purpose:

           The US Air Force awarded a grant to The University of New Mexico to educate students and award advanced degees in the research fields of high energy lasers, including physics, electrical engineering, optical sciences, and chemistry.  At the same time, the Air Force started a partnership among the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), New Mexico Tech (NMT), and The University of New Mexico (UNM).  This partnership provides all the necessary funding, personnel, and laboratory equipment for the students to complete their studies and research in an efficient manner.

The core of this grant activity is AFRL's Center of Excellence for High Energy Lasers (COE for HEL) located at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albququerque, NM only 10 miles from the UNM campus.  Here, Air Force scientists and engineers conduct research on the next generation of lasers. To find out more information about the COE for HEL, please download our COE pamphlet.

Students accepted into this program will have the opportunity to earn a salary, tuition-free, while taking classes and conducting research at AFRL's High Energy Laser Division on Kirtland AFB in pursuit of their Masters or PhD degrees.  Because the research will be conducted on a Department of Defense facility, only US citizens may apply (emphasize) to this unique assistantship program.

These web pages explain more about the COE, its partners, and how you can get involved.  Please contact us if you have any questions.