College News

Jaclyn John, PhD Student at Wyant College of Optical Sciences, has been awarded the prestigious Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) award. It will fund three full years of her research and tuition, allowing her to pursue her dissertation with her advisor, Meredith Kupinski, associate professor of optical sciences. Also supporting Jaclyn's work toward her dissertation is co-PI, Sylvia Sullivan, assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the U of A, and collaborator Jie Gong, PhD, from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Jaclyn's dissertation goals include making thermal polarimetric measurements of chamber-grown ice crystals in Prof. Sullivan's lab and improving the thermal management of Infrared Channeled Spectro-Polarimeter (IRCSP) in high-altitude deployments, which will increase the measurement sensitivity.

The 14th International Conference on Optics-Photonics Design and Fabrication, ODF’24, was co-organized by Optical Design Group (ODG Japan) and the Wyant College of Optical Sciences. A total of 153 attendees shared the latest findings in optics at the conference from July 10-12 at the University of Arizona. Two of four awards were received by U of A students: Jiwon Choi (Student Paper Award) and Yong Jun Kim (Student Poster Award).

The College of Engineering Summer Engineering Academy (SEA) was in full swing this summer at the University of Arizona. Wyant College of Optical Sciences shared the wonder of optics at four camps in June and July. Two camps focused on "Intro to Engineering" and hosted around 30-40 campers each. Another camp was specific to women in engineering and included 50 campers. The final camp was an advanced engineering summer camp split between Arizona's Wyant College of Optical Sciences and Electrical & Computer Engineering and included 30 campers. A total of about 150 high school students experienced the excitement of optical sciences this summer with the help and support of Arizona faculty, staff and students!

At the beginning of August for the second summer, Jay Kueny, optical sciences PhD student, led a small team of veterans as part of the Warrior Scholar Project (WSP). The WSP, hosted by the University of Arizona and other universities nationwide, is a rigorous two-week program designed to help motivated veterans transition into undergraduate studies. This year three veterans participated in the optical sciences focus: J.G. Woolridge, Andrew Suarez and Josh Gandarilla.

The very first Arizona Quantum Boot Camp at the University of Arizona was a resounding success. Undergraduate and high school students came from across Arizona to explore the fundamentals of quantum science. The summer camp was also one of the first events held in the newly opened Grand Challenges Research Building, a fitting location to discuss the challenges presented by quantum sciences with the next generation of scientists and innovators.

Wyant College of Optical Sciences itself saw 71 invention disclosures (out of 307, campus-wide), five exclusive licenses and options (out of 75), 108 patents filed (out of 367), and 26 patents issued (out of 78). Congratulations to all the innovators and researchers who made these steps forward possible this financial year!

The NSF Engineering Research Center, the Center for Quantum Networks (CQN) is wrapping up its summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in the next few days. This year's program includes four students in Arizona and another nine students at CQN partner institutions, visiting from ten different institutions. The summer program ends on Friday, August 9, with student presentations from 10 am to 3 pm at the Grand Challenges Research Building, 1st floor. All faculty, staff, and students, as well as community members are invited to attend and hear more about these exciting projects.

After a harrowing and multi-day delayed launch window the University of Arizona's first student-built satellite, CatSat, successfully communicated with ground stations on July 15th. The CatSat mission is a significant milestone for the University of Arizona, showcasing the capabilities and creativity of student-led space missions.