Dean's Welcome

The College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona is the world’s premier optical institute, with outstanding faculty members, an international student body, a challenging curriculum, pioneering research programs and close relationships with the optics industry.

Optics today continues to expand its impact in remarkable ways with fast-paced breakthroughs and technologically challenging applications. Our research thrusts have initiated many of the changes we see in the field, and we are continually working to reflect those changes in our renowned academic programs. These programs — bachelor's, professional certificates, master's, and Ph.D. — are also available to students worldwide through our distance learning program and a special series of short courses available for purchase on DVD. Our weekly Colloquium, in which we invite leading optical scientists and engineers from around the globe to share their knowledge, are routinely videotaped and made available to you — at no cost — via our website.

Our research programs encompass exciting, rapidly changing areas ranging in size from the world’s largest telescopes down to the mystical realm of quantum nanophotonics. Our technologies impact real-world applications ranging from new displays in smart phones to emerging 3-D systems; from engineering new imaging systems in consumer cameras to adaptive airborne or space systems for defense and scientific exploration; from biomedical imaging for disease diagnosis and treatment to the ultrahigh capacity optical fiber communications technologies that will enable the future growth of the Internet. Recent developments in optical technology will impact clean and renewable energy, provide sensors and data for more accurate weather prediction, and realize solutions for more cost-effective manufacturing. At the College of Optical Sciences, the development of new research initiatives is as dynamic as the field of optics itself and is the foundation of our educational program.

If you would like to visit OSC in person, please call me to request a tour. It is always a pleasure to escort visitors through our laboratories and introduce them to our students and faculty members. You can reach me by email at tlkoch@optics.arizona.edu or by telephone at 520-621-6997.

Wishing you all the best,
Thomas L. Koch, Ph.D.
Dean of the College of Optical Sciences