College News

The future of the super camera is here—and it’s only getting sharper. At The Camera Lab, led by David Brady, J.W. and H.M. Goodman Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences and professor of optical sciences, researchers are developing super cameras that push beyond conventional imaging limits. This revolution is moving toward terapixel per second capture rates. In 2012, Brady led the team that developed the world’s first gigapixel camera as principal investigator on the DARPA AWARE program. Today, he's taking the work to the next level, building a display that can keep up.

Inventing is core to the university's commitment to pursuing solutions to grand challenges. The National Academy of Inventors has named Professor Jennifer Barton, Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the BIO5 Institute; and Associate Professor Euan McLeod as Senior Members of its newest cohort of 162 honorees from across the nation.

Inventor Mohamed ElKabbash has developed an advanced radiative cooling system for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chips with minimal change to the chip design. The technology is available for license.

The Wyant College Industrial Affiliates Showcase and Meeting took place Feb. 17 - 19 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.

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.

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.

Congratulations to Daewook Kim, associate professor of optical sciences, and Xiushan Zhu, research professor of optical sciences, who were elected as 2025 Fellow Members of Optica. 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. 

Arizona Photonics Days continues to be a standout event, and this year was no exception. The Wyant College of Optical Sciences was honored to participate on the final day, hosted at the Grand Challenges Research Building. Dean and Professor Tom Koch delivered an insightful talk and was honored with a special recognition for his outstanding contributions to the Optics Valley community. His leadership continues to inspire growth in our field. A big thank you to all those who took part in the tours of the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab and the GCRB. These tours provided an incredible behind-the-scenes look at the groundbreaking work happening in optics and photonics, sparking rich discussions and new ideas among attendees.