Polarimetry as a Gateway to Careers in Optics

Over the past two decades, we have found polarimetry to be an effective topic for attracting students to optics and training them for careers. Students appreciate applications of polarized light to a wide range of fields such as biology, medicine, environmental sensing, and materials science. Here, we showcase ways to incorporate polarimetry into the undergraduate curriculum, from simple measurements for first-year students to the construction of Stokes and Mueller polarimeters at the senior level. Many of the former students who worked on these projects are now optics professionals in industry, academia, and government laboratories.