People
Brandon Chalifoux, Assistant Professor
Prior to joining the College of Optical Sciences (2020-present), I completed my Ph.D. and Postdoctoral training at MIT in the Space Nanotechnology Laboratory. I completed a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Rice Unviersity. Aside from research and teaching, I enjoy rock climbing, mountain biking, and trying to avoid the cholla during both.
Graduate students
Kevin Laverty, PhD student (Optical Sciences)
I began my PhD at the College of Optical Sciences in 2020.
Brody McElwain, PhD student (Optical Sciences)
I graduated from Penn State with a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering Science and Mechanics in 2022. I started my PhD in Optical Sciences at UofA in 2022. I work on technology development for high-resolution X-ray optics. My research has an emphasis on fabrication, assembly, and figure correction of our X-ray Flex Module concept. In my spare time I enjoy climbing at Mount Lemmon and Cochise Stronghold, live music in the Tucson and Phoenix music scenes, film photography, and going to the movies.
Sofia Hillman, PhD student (Optical Sciences)
Lakshmi Priya Keerthi Gurunathan, PhD student (Optical Sciences)
Kyle Ettinger, MS student (Optical Sciences)
Bernie Lee, MS student (Optical Sciences)
Peikun Guo, MS student (Optical Sciences)
Undergraduate students
Francisco Calixtro, BS student (Optical Sciences)
Dillan Synan, BS student (Optical Sciences)
Research staff
Ian Arnold, Research Engineer
I have been a Research Engineer at the University of Arizona since 2018. Prior to that I completed a M.S degree in Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona working with ultrafast attosecond spectroscopy. I also received a M.S. and B.S. degrees in physics from the University of Nevada, Reno where I built atmospheric instrumentation. I am a very hands-on person who enjoys building things.
Jackie Johnson, Administrative Associate
Alumni
Carolyn Hokin, MS Optical Sciences 2025
Thesis: Stability of Thin Films and Stress from Ultrafast Laser-Induced Nanograting Structures
Winona Esher, MS Optical Sciences 2025
Thesis: Surface Roughness Arising from Ultrafast Laser Techniques Performed on Glass for Fabricating X-ray Optics
Josh Richards, MS Mechanical Engineering 2024
Thesis: Investigation of Correction Capabilities of Ultrafast Laser Stress Figuring for Advanced Optical Fabrication
Caroline Humphreys, MS Optical Sciences 2024
Thesis: Impact of Nanograting Direction on Ultrafast Laser Stress Generation in Fused Silica Glass
Hayden Wisniewski, PhD Optical Sciences 2023
Dissertation: Surface Metrology Methods for X-ray Telescope Mirrors, Freeforms, and Heliostats
Alex St. Peter, M.S. Optical Sciences 2023
Thesis: Estimation of ultrafast laser-induced stress in fused silica from evaluation of stress birefringence
Alyssa Baller, M.S. Optical Sciences 2022
Report: Systematic evaluation of the OSIRIS-REx PolyCam