Open-ended projects in undergraduate lasers and optics courses

We describe an approach to undergraduate laboratories in two upper-level classes at Bethel University: Optics and Lasers. These courses integrate a standard lecture, lab exercises, and open-ended projects. The projects typically have a novel aspect. Examples include a lithium magneto-optical trap, plasmonics, digital and analog holography, ultrafast fiber laser optics, quantum optics and atomic and molecular spectroscopy.