Mr. James Wymer - 2022 Optical Science and Engineering, (OSE) Best Master’s Project Award Winner

Departmental News

OSA Capitol Hill Visit

Posted: May 13, 2022

Mr. James Wymer - 2022 Optical Science and Engineering, (OSE) Best Master’s Project Award Winner 

On behalf of the OSE Committee and program leadership, we are pleased to announce that James Wymer is the winner of the 2022 OSE Best Master’s Project Award. Congratulations for writing a manuscript that demonstrates academic scholarship and a dedication to research.  

James Wymer is an active-duty officer with the United States Air Force. After completing his commissioning program, James was assigned to work for Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. He began working for AFRL’s High Power Microwave Division in 2017 under the supervision of Dr. Andreas Schmitt-Sody and Dr. Jennifer Elle. To enhance his research, James started work on his Master’s degree in Optical Sciences in 2019 with UNM, where his research focused on studying the effects of ultrashort pulse lasers under the tutelage of Dr. Jean-Claude Diels. James was a member of the part-time OSE degree program.  For most of his tenure at UNM, James worked a full-time job and took a part-time load of classes each semester. Mr. Wymer graduated with his M.S. degree in Optical Science and Engineering with distinction in the Spring of 2022. His M.S. Project manuscript was titled " Ultrashort Pulse Laser Filamentation Electrical and Optical Diagnostic Comparison." The focus of his project was to examine the effect of changing gas pressure on the radio frequency (RF) emissions of an ultrashort pulse laser filament plasma and how those emissions vary longitudinally in the laser focal region. 

During his time at Kirtland AFB, James also became the Deputy Program Manager of the THOR high power microwave counter-UAS system which is a directed energy device that can protect soldiers from unmanned aerial attack systems. Now that James has completed his Master’s in Optical Science, he is pausing his education while he attends Air Force pilot training.  

Congratulations, James Wymer!