James C. Wyant is the dean of the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona. He received a B.S. in physics from Case Western Reserve University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in optics from the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester.
Wyant is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of OSA, SPIE and the Optical Society of India. He was the 1986 president of SPIE and has held many leadership positions in OSA. He has been an elected member of the OSA Board of Directors and a member of the Executive Committee, Long Range Planning Committee (chair), Fraunhofer Committee (chair), Adolph Lomb Committee, Education Committee, Finance and Investment Committee, Ives Medal Committee, Investment Subcommittee, Fellows and Honorary Members Committee, and CLEO Optical Metrology Committee.
He has been involved in many journal activities including the editorial advisory panel of Optics Letters, the associate editor of JOSA, associate editor of Applied Optics, topical editor of JOSA, topical editor of Applied Optics, topical editor of Optics Letters, editor of the Optical Technology Division of Applied Optics, and associate editor of Optics Express. Wyant is currently editor-in-chief of Applied Optics.
He has received several awards for his technical work including the OSA Joseph Fraunhofer Award; SPIE Gold Medal; SPIE Technology Achievement Award; R&D 100 Award five times; and Photonics Circle of excellence awards for optical products five times. He received the University of Rochester College of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Wyant has also been involved in several entrepreneurial activities. He was a co-founder of the WYKO Corporation, 4D Technology and DMetrix and the president of WYKO from 1984 to 1997 when the company was sold to Veeco Instruments. He has served on several boards of directors, including WYKO (chair) from 1984 to 1997, ILX Lightwave from 1988 to the present, Veeco Instruments from 1997 to 1999, Optics 1 from 1999 to the present, DMetrix from 2001 to the present, and 4D Technology (chairman) from 2002 to the present.
For his entrepreneurial activities, he has received several awards including the University of Arizona College of Business and Public Administration Entrepreneurial Fellow; Arizona’s “Innovator of the Year” Product Award; the Tom Brown Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award; and the University of Arizona Technology Innovation Award.
Wyant is the author of more than 300 written publications and invited talks on interferometry, holography and optical testing and he has been the major advisor of 31 graduated Ph.D. students and 23 M.S. students.
Advancing the Science and Technology of Light
