Startup Wildcats is thrilled to launch the Student Milestone Funding initiative, made possible through the generous support of Ray Zinn, founder of Micrel and a visionary entrepreneur. This funding provides University of Arizona students with critical financial support to advance their ventures, bridging the gap between ideation and execution. Join the Startup Wildcats Platform and submit your application today. Learn more about Startup Wildcats.

We are excited to welcome Ember Deitz Goldstein as the new Director of Development at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences! Ember brings a wealth of experience in university fundraising, having held leadership roles at Oberlin College, Boston University, and Harvard, as well as Columbia University, where she also earned her MBA. Read more about her background and experience. Please join us in welcoming Ember to the Wyant College of Optical Sciences! Feel free to reach out and introduce yourself—Ember looks forward to connecting with the college community!  Find Ember in Meinel 721 or reach her at embergoldstein@arizona.edu or 520-626-8754.

The University of Arizona Office of Research, Innovation & Impact invites the Wyant College of Optical Sciences community to attend the inaugural University of Arizona Research, Innovation & Impact Distinguished Lecture Series. First to the stage is Dr. Edward I. Moses on February 18 presenting The Path to Laser-Driven Commercial Fusion Energy: Past, Present & Future. Dr. Moses will discuss fusion energy’s pivotal role in addressing global energy challenges, its potential to revolutionize sustainable power, and the breakthroughs needed to bring this vision to reality.

Two Wyant College of Optical Sciences Alumnae were included among the 2025 SPIE Society Award Recipients at the recent Photonics West Conference. Honoring transformative advancements in a variety of professional areas — including medicine, astronomy, lithography, optical metrology, optical design, and community leadership — the Society's awards recognize technical accomplishments as well as committed service to SPIE and support of its organizational mission. Jannick Rolland (OSC PhD 1990) received the 2025 SPIE A. E. Conrady Award in Optical Engineering and Katherine Creath (OSC PhD 1985) received the 2025 SPIE Chandra S. Vikram Award in Optical Metrology.

A team of students collaborating from the Takashima Advanced LIDAR and Display Lab and the Willomitzer Computational 3D Imaging and Measurement Lab have been awarded the Best Student Paper Award at the Emerging Digital Micromirror Device Based Systems and Applications XVII conference during SPIE Photonics West 2025. This is the third time students from the College have won this award for their work in LiDAR and AR displays, with previous wins in 2020 and 2022. Congratulations!

Congratulations to alumnus John R. Rogers (OSC PhD 1983) was elected as a 2025 Fellow Member of Optica. Rogers is currently working as a principal scientist with the Optical Solutions Group at Synopsys, Inc., an Industrial Affiliates Partner of the Wyant College of Optical Sciences. Fellow membership in Optica is limited to no more than ten percent of the membership and is reserved for members who have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics.