The Wyant College of Optical Sciences was founded in 1964 as the Optical Sciences Center by Aden B. Meinel. The five subsequent directors were Peter A. Franken, Harrison H. Barrett, Robert R. Shannon, Richard C. Powell, and James C. Wyant. In 2005, the Center became the College of Optical Sciences, with Jim Wyant as founding Dean, who, along with the current Dean, Thomas L. Koch, have led the College to further growth and continued success as a premier institution for excellence in optics education and research. The College was renamed the Wyant College of Optical Sciences in 2019. More than 3,000 students have graduated from the College with bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees. There are about 36 faculty, 34 joint faculty, 67 adjunct professors, and about 23 other research professionals. The Meinel Building complex on the campus of the University of Arizona houses about 180K square feet of classrooms, research labs, conference rooms and offices. The Wyant College actively engages with the optics industry and government agencies in research contracts.

As the field of optics is booming, the Wyant College is planning to continue growing with new building facilities and new faculty. The past and present of the Wyant College have been very fruitful, and the future appears bright.

On behalf of the Wyant College of Optical Sciences, the editors of this focus issue thank our colleagues for taking the time and effort dedicated to contribute. It is a pleasure to thank The Optical Society leadership and staff for their invitation to highlight the research at Wyant College in this August 2020 feature issue of Applied Optics.

Readers who would like to learn more about the Wyant College of Optical Sciences are invited to visit the College website at http://www.optics.arizona.edu/. Historical notes about the Wyant College can be found at http://www.optics.arizona.edu/about/history.