James C. Wyant

James Clair Wyant (July 31, 1943 – December 8, 2023) was a professor at the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona where he was Director (1999–2005) and Dean (2005–2012). He received a B.S. in physics from Case Western Reserve University and M.S. and Ph.D. in optics from the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester.

Career He was a founder of the WYKO Corporation and served as its president and board chairman from 1984 to 1997. He was also a founder of the 4D Technology Corporation and served as its board chairman. Wyant was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of Optica, SPIE (International Society of Optics and Photonics), and the Optical Society of India, an honorary member of the Optical Society of Korea, and former editor-in-chief of the OSA journal Applied Optics. and the 1986 president of SPIE. Since 2010, he had been a member of the Board of Trustees of Case Western Reserve University. In April 2019, the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona was renamed to be the James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences in his honor.

Awards

AccountabilIT Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arizona Technology Council, 2019 SPIE Visionary Award, 2019 Optica Joseph Fraunhofer Award SPIE Gold Medal, 2003 SPIE Technology Achievement Award SPIE Chandra Vikram Award University of Rochester College of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Award Doctorado Honoris Causa from the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica in Puebla, Mexico. Arizona's “Innovator of the Year” Product Award Tom Brown Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award University of Arizona Technology Innovation Award; Optica Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize Optica Honorary Membership