July 25, 2022

These stunning NASA images are among the first taken by the Webb Space Telescope. Many Hajim School faculty, students, and alumni contributed to the Webb project. Upper left: Stephan’s Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies, best known for being prominently featured in the holiday classic film, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Upper right: The Southern Ring Nebula star at the center has been sending out rings of gas and dust for thousands of years in all directions. At bottom: This landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” is actually the edge of a star-forming region called NGC 3324 at the northwest corner of the Carina Nebula. 

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

The first images from the James Webb Space Telescope have inspired awe and wonder. A full suite of images was released by NASA on July 12. “I’m gobsmacked,” one veteran astronomer told The New York Times. Even to those of us with little or no background in the field, the photos are like magnets, drawing our untrained eyes to this “new vision of the universe and a view of the universe as it once appeared new.”

It is estimated that about 20,000 engineers, astronomers, technicians, and administrators participated in the Webb project. Prominent among them are many Hajim School faculty, students, and alumni, including Duncan Moore, ’74 (PhD), our Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Professor in Optical Engineering Science, who co-chaired the Webb project’s Optical Product Integrity Team along with Jim Wyant ’69 (PhD), ’21 (Honorary). James Fienup, our Robert E. Hopkins Professor of Optics, also served on the panel, and Lee Feinberg ’87, an Institute of Optics graduate, was given one of the Webb project’s most important leadership roles, as Webb’s optical telescope element manager. (Read more.)

Even before Webb was launched, mechanical engineering alumna Laryssa Sharvan Densmore ’83, director of space products and manufacturing at Northrop Grumman, the primary contractor for Webb, was confident that the telescope would “change the way we see the galaxies, unfold our past, and open our scientific aperture of understanding as it relates to astronomy, astrophysics, and our place within this universe.” Laryssa was right, as these striking images demonstrate.

CONGRATULATIONS TO . . .

Our SPIE student chapter, which was a runner-up for the first ever Presidential Award for Outstanding Student Chapter presented by the international society for optics and photonics. The award recognizes a SPIE student chapter that demonstrates an exceptional level of participation, enthusiasm, program quality, professionalism, and involvement in their institution, the local community, and the SPIE community. Further emphasis is placed on robust outreach to undergraduate students, community service, increased technical education efforts, and developing an engaged—and engaging—chapter community.

Congratulations as well to Yiwen E, research associate in the lab of X.C. Zhang, the M. Parker Givens Professor at The Institute of Optics. Yiwen received a second class prize in the first Women in Ultrafast Science Global Award competition, sponsored by the journal Ultrafast Science to celebrate the achievements of outstanding women researchers in the field. Earlier this month, we described Yiwen’s contributions to a collaboration with LLE to generate therahertz waves of record intensity.

ADVICE ON SBIR AND STTR

The University is providing an opportunity for grant writing and consulting assistance to its researchers who are planning to partner with a small business to develop and submit a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) proposal. Visit https://redcap.link/UR_SBIR_STTR  to register. The initial application deadline is August 1 (followed by open/rolling review of applications, while funding is available).

REMINDER