College News

The Wyant College Industrial Affiliates Showcase and Meeting took place Feb. 19 - 21 in Tucson, AZ. The event kicked off with a busy poster session and corporate showcase in the Bear Down Gym. The second day was filled with student and faculty presentations that outlined current Wyant College research. On the final day student interviews took place as well as lab tours and a pizza party punctuated with a few exciting outreach demonstrations courtesy of students from this semester's Outreach Class.

IOPScience has recognized Prof. Judy Su with the 2023 JPhys Photonics Early Career Award. The award recognizes Prof. Su as an emerging leader and author of the best paper from the journal's emerging leader's issue. Prof. Su said of the award, "I am highly honored and it is indeed a privilege to receive such a distinguished award. I believe using microcavity frequency combs for biosensing will open up new dimensions and I hope that our paper contributes to this path. I deeply appreciate the diligence and creativity of students in my lab and the generous funding support from NIH and NSF in making continuing discovery possible."

On February 9, hundreds of people gathered on the University of Arizona campus to celebrate the amazing life of Dr. James C. Wyant, founding dean and professor emeritus. Speakers included Mrs. Tammy Wyant speaking on behalf of the Wyant family. From the University of Arizona, speakers included Dr. Robert Robbins, President, Dr. Tom Koch, dean, Wyant College of Optical Sciences and Dr. Bob Shannon, professor emeritus and former director of OSC. Speakers from Jim’s alma maters were Dr. Eric Kaler, President, Case Western Reserve University and Dr. Tom Brown, Director, The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester.

SOCk and WiO are BACK. Activities are in full swing. Events and activities are being planned. And Fall 2023 Semester success is being celebrated while the student clubs are forward-looking to the excitement planned for this Spring 2024 semester. With WiO's Prism Week (March 11-15), SOCk's Laser Fun Day (Apr 20), and SOCk's Annual Camping Trip on Mt. Graham (April 26-27) on the calendar there's a whole lot to be looking forward to! Make sure that you are part of the excitement! Club officers and contact information is available here. SOCk has also been updating their website with exciting news from student events and initiatives. Check out the most recent post on a recap of SOCk's 2023 accomplishments!

Robert Edmund, CEO (retired) of Edmund Optics, recently established the John P. Schaefer Graduate Student Scholarship in Optical Sciences. This scholarship is to recognize UA President Emeritus John Schaefer’s commitment to support optics education and to empower the next generation of optical scientists. A passion that Robert also adamantly holds.