College News

Two new staff members have joined the Wyant College of Optical Sciences! Lisa Kondrat is a new administrative associate and Mike Kelso is the new building operations coordinator. Welcome Lisa and Mike!

Students, Do you have an original research question you’d like to explore? 

This new initiative provides awards to undergraduates across all campus colleges for original, innovative student-generated research projects. 10-12 awardees per year will be competitively selected by a cross-campus multidisciplinary committee to receive $1,000-$1,500 each to pursue their research question with a faculty mentor of their choice. The award may be used for stipend/salary, travel, supplies, equipment, and other costs. Find the full details and how to apply here.

Dr. Derek Burrell, OSC alumnus 2023, was named the recipient of the 2024 Optical Group Doctoral Thesis Prize from the Institute of Physics (IOP). This prestigious award recognizes outstanding doctoral research defended in 2023 and highlights groundbreaking contributions to the field of optical science. Reflecting on the award, Derek expressed gratitude for the opportunities at OSC and the collaboration with his advisor, Ron Driggers, professor of optical sciences, with whom he continues to publish.

The final staff recognition awards were presented during the Wyant College Staff Appreciation and Holiday Luncheon. Awards presented included the 4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer, Jason Orlowski; November SPOT Award, Hillary Mathis; and the Honorable Mention, Ian Arnold; and Employee of the Year, Nathan Martinez.

On December 12th outside of the Meinel building, the final staff recognition awards were presented after a fantastic meal during the Wyant College Staff Appreciation and Holiday Luncheon. Awards presented included the 4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer, Jason Orlowski; November SPOT Award, Hillary Mathis; and the Honorable Mention, Ian Arnold; and Employee of the Year, Nathan Martinez. The celebration ended with a lively series of karaoke!

Shibin Jiang, adjunct research professor of Wyant College of Optical Sciences, was named fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, one of two Arizona faculty members elected for 2024. Jiang has been recognized globally as a pioneer in photonic glasses, fiber amplifiers and lasers, and he holds 52 U.S. patents. His academic contributions include editing 40 books and eight special journal issues and publishing 98 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland gave an engaging colloquium to a crowd of about 200 attendees at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences on Dec. 5. Titled "High Intensity Fiber Lasers for Nonlinear Optics," her talk discussed the development of fiber laser amplifiers for nonlinear optical interactions, emphasizing their potential for high average power applications, such as mid-infrared generation and electron acceleration. Ahead of the colloquium, Strickland met with students from the college, sharing insights into her research and career journey while answering their questions. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to connect an inspirational researcher in optics and photonics ahead of the colloquium.

Don't miss the opportunity to check out one or both of these upcoming Spring 2025 OPTI courses. Daniel Soh will teach OPTI 647B Photonic Quantum Information Processing and Ewan Wright will teach OPTI 596-006 Elements of Nonlinear Optics! The latter course has not been offered in over ten years, so don't miss the chance to take it this coming Spring!

The NSF Center for Quantum Networks (CQN) is excited to kick off the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology with the 3rd Annual Winter School on Quantum Networks. Registration is now open! The goal of the Winter School is to provide introductory tutorials at all levels in topics that are new to the participants, who include CQN students, postdocs, faculty, CQN industry partners, other outside qualified persons (including students at non-CQN schools), and industry and government scientists.