At the recent 2024 Wavefront Congress, the late Professor Emeritus Jim Schwiegerling, Robert Shannon Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences, was remembered in a special presentation led by two alumni that he advised. The presentation given on March 8, 2024 was called, "Jim Schwiegerling: The Nicest Professor in the College Also Happens to be Brilliant" and was organized and given by Nathan Lewis, PhD (OSC 2011) and Deanna Moschitta, MS (OSC 2022).

The Wyant College of Optical Sciences announces the establishment of the James T. Schwiegerling Graduate Student Scholarship in Optical Sciences in honor of the late Emeritus Professor of Optical Sciences, Dr. James T. Schwiegerling, Robert Shannon Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences. The deadline for submitting an application for this and other scholarships held at the College is March 17, 2024.

SPIE and Optica have announced Ronald G. Driggers (University of Arizona), Melvin H. Friedman (George Mason University), John W. Devitt (RVS Tactical Products), Orges Furxhi (imec), and Anjali Singh as the 2024 recipients of the Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award for their Introduction to Infrared and Electro-Optical Systems, Third Edition. The professional societies have announced the award via press release. Congratulations, to Prof. Ron Driggers and all the authors of the 2024 Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award. 

Wyant College of Optical Sciences and the NSF-ERC Center for Quantum Networks welcome Brooke Claw as the the newest accountant.

Wyant College of Optical Sciences PhD student, Jaclyn John, was selected as a 2024-2025 ARCS Foundation Scholar. According to the ARCS Foundation Phoenix Chapter, their mission is to advance, "science and technology in the United States by providing financial awards to academically outstanding doctoral students studying to complete degrees in science, engineering and medical research."

Wyant College of Optical Sciences worked with nearly 60 high school girls participating in SheTech on March 1st, 2024 to build Pringles Can-Pinhole Cameras at the Tucson Convention Center. City of Tucson Office of Economic Initiatives oversees the annual Arizona SheTech Explorer Day 2024. The day‐long, industry‐led STEM exploration event provides hands‐on, interactive activities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for rising 9th through 12th grade girls. A special thank you to the volunteers of this event including Meredith Kupinski, Hillary Mathis, Clarissa DeLeon, Annyun Das and Paola Luna.

The National Academy of Inventors has named five University of Arizona faculty members as Class of 2024 Senior Members, one of which was Saikat Guha, Professor of Optical Sciences and holder of the Nasser Peyghambarian Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences, as well as Director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Quantum Networks.

In celebration of Black History Month (Feb. 1 - Mar. 1), we highlight a few of the great Black Optical Scientists and Engineers who have helped shape history. Each of these inspiring innovators were shared over the course of the month on the college's Instagram page.