People

Meredith Kupinski’s Bio:

Meredith Kupinski joined the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona (UA) in 2008 where she is now a Assistant Professor developing polarimetric instrumentation, polarized light scattering models, and polarization-aware computer vision and graphics capabilities. She earned a BS with Highest Honors in Imaging Technologies from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an MS and PhD in Optical Sciences from UA. Being both an optical engineer and an image scientist, her research considers every aspect of the imaging chain: engineering requirements and optical design, uncertainty and statistics of calibration and data acquisition, and optical physics modeling. Dr. Kupinski’s scientific contributions span various applications: the detection and characterization of abnormalities in medical imaging, estimating parameters to model the Earth’s atmosphere in remote sensing, and computer vision classification. Dr. Kupinski was the recipient of Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) postdoctoral NSF fellowship to study polarimetry for aerosol science. In 2016, she was awarded a Jean d’Alembert visiting scholar position at École Polytechnic in France to work on Mueller polarimetry for cervical cancer detection. Her career goals include leveraging academic resources to build new opportunities for underrepresented students. Dr. Kupinski values multi-disciplinary experiences and exposure to diverse perspectives.


Jeremy Parkinson

  • Optical Engineer
  • jparkinson@arizona.edu
  • I decided to pursue my degree after working as a surgical laser manufacturing technician and taking photonics courses at Irvine Valley college. I completed my B.S in optical science and Engineering at the Wyant college of Optical Science in the spring of 2021. During my undergrad I worked as a research assistant for the Polarization group.
  • My main project uses Infrared Channeled Spectro-Polarimetry to measure the polarization characteristics of Ice particles in clouds with the goal of reconstructing their microphysical properties to better constrain our climate models. My contributions focus on electro-mechanical design and analysis for field deployments as well as assembly, testing, verification and validation of instrumentation.

PhD Students:

Quinn Jarecki

  • 5th Year PhD
  • qjarecki@arizona.edu
  • Quinn Jarecki (he/him) is a 5th year Ph.D. candidate at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences, where he studies polarized light scattering, depolarization, and partial polarimetry. He joined the Polarization Lab in 2017 as an undergraduate research assistant while getting his B.S. in Optical Sciences and Engineering and B.M. in Music Performance. Outside of academics, he is involved in music education and enjoys knitting, video games, and hiking.
  • My research project involves using partial polarimetry to characterize polarized light scattering for computer vision applications.

Masafumi Seigo

  • 4th Year PhD
  • masafumiseigo@arizona.edu
  • Masafumi Seigo is a 3rd year Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona Wyant College of Optical Sciences. For the past 15 years, and concurrent with his doctoral research, he is an engineer for a Japanese company named Nalux. Nalux is a lens manufacturer specializing in plastic optical element design, fabrication, and testing.

Clarissa Deleon

  • 4th Year PhD
  • cdeleon@arizona.edu
  • Master’s Report
  • Clarissa began as a Ph.D. student at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences (UAWCOS) in Fall 2020, coming from Montana State University, where she majored in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Optics and Photonics. During her first year at Optical Sciences, she found her place in the Polarization Lab with her advisor, Professor Meredith Kupinski. She supported a project using an ultraviolet polarimeter for optically thin cloud detection which led to her first SPIE publication. As a proud Latina, Clarissa hopes to become a professor and continue to advocate for Latinx representation in STEM. She is proud to be a part of the legacy of women in optics at UAWCOS as the president of Women in Optics. Clarissa plans to pay it forward as she establishes herself as a researcher and an optical engineer using polarization science and remote sensing for environmental and medical applications. Outside of school, she likes to crochet, cross-stitch, hike, and read. ¡Èchale ganas!
  • Designing and deploying ultraviolet polarimeters to gain a deeper understanding of the changes in Earth’s climate system.

Jaclyn John

  • 3rd Year PhD
  • jj94759@arizona.edu
  • Jaclyn was born and raised in Arizona, received her B.S. in Applied Physics at the UA, and now is studying Optics in the Polarization Lab after learning she enjoys the endless applications of polarimetry and image science. In addition to her research project, she enjoys volunteering for multiple UAWCOS events throughout the year. Outside of school and work, whenever she gets the chance, she enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and scuba diving!
  • Her research involves using polarization in the thermal IR to determine microphysical characteristics of ice clouds, for the purpose of improving climate models and weather-forecasting. She is currently preparing for multiple NASA scientific flights this summer to get a good look at these interesting ice clouds!

Micah Mann

  • 2nd Year PhD
  • micahmann@arizona.edu

Lily McKenna

  • 1st Year PhD
  • lilymckenna@arizona.edu
  • Lily is originally from Ithaca, NY. She received her B.S. in Physics with a minor in Optical Sciences from Rochester Institute of Technology. She is beginning the Ph.D. program at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences in Fall 2023. She found out about the Polarization Lab while looking for grad schools and was immediately very interested in the research and its applications. She is excited to learn a lot more about imaging and polarization. Outside of work and school, she likes to crochet, listen to music, and bike.

Masters Students:

Michael Gartman

  • mgartman@arizona.edu
  • Michael received his B.Sc in Physics from Seton Hall University, and has been employed at Thorlabs in New Jersey for a number of years. During that time, some of his work has involved the design, fabrication, assembly, and testing of various polarization optics. His master’s thesis is focused on the characterization of birefringence of commonly used crystalline materials. His interests other than polarization include spectroscopy and laser damage. Non-optical interests include reading, running, and baking.

Undergraduate Students:

Yan Adeline Tai

  • Junior
  • yanadelinetai@arizona.edu
  • Adeline was born and raised in Hong Kong. She is pursuing a degree in Optical Sciences and Engineering with minors in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mathematics. She works as an undergraduate research assistant in the Polarization Lab.

Alumni:

Samara Sytsma


Jeremy Parkinson


Kira Hart Shanks


Khalid Omer


Former Undergraduate Researchers:

Dennis Timothy Shaw