Applications are open for the 2026 OMS^3 Summer Course
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting the 5th annual Optoelectronic Materials Synthesis, Spectroscopy, and Systems Summer Course (OMS³), IMOD’s annual in-person training event, at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. The OMS³ course brings together researchers from IMOD’s institutions and partners.
As in past years, the OMS³ course blends intensive lab-based sessions with professional development programming designed to strengthen both scientific expertise and collaborative capacity across the IMOD network. Participants will rotate through hands-on modules in quantum dot synthesis, LED hetero-integration, quantum sensing, and theory/modeling, gaining direct experience outside their home specialties. By the end of the week, theorists will fabricate and characterize materials and devices, experimentalists will run calculations, and the whole cohort will build a deeper shared vocabulary that will fuel interdisciplinary collaboration across the Center.
Due date:
March 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM PDT
Course dates:
July 30–August 4, 2026
Complementing the technical sessions, professional development workshops will focus on science communication and career success. The 2025 course featured a visit to one of IMOD’s industry partners, FOM Technologies, an advanced manufacturing toolmaker with its U.S. offices at the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, an open-access UW facility with several pieces of FOM equipment. OMS³ participants heard from FOM and Testbeds senior staff scientists who earned their PhDs in the MacKenzie and Ginger Groups as well as a career networking panel, offering participants a broader perspective on career paths.
Like Summer 2025, Seattle’s Pacific Science Center will host the OMS³ cohort for a half-day to engage with the public and lead young students and their families through hands-on activities representing IMOD research concepts. Last year, visitors painted with sunlight, saw quantum dot samples glow different colors under UV light, powered LEDs with mini solar panels, used different prisms to refract laser pointers, and looked through special lenses that diffract light into patterns or rainbows.
Following the week-long course, participants are invited to attend the 2026 IMOD Annual Meeting held on the UW campus. OMS³ continues to serve as a cornerstone of IMOD’s training ecosystem, equipping the next generation of optoelectronics researchers with both the technical and professional tools to succeed in highly interdisciplinary science.