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Jennifer Barton
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After a national search, SPIE Fellow and Board Member Jennifer Barton has been named the director of the BIO5 Institute at the University of Arizona. She served as assistant director from 2009 to 2012 and became interim director in 2015. She has also been on the faculty of the University of Arizona (UA) as a professor of biomedical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, optical sciences, and agricultural since 1998.
The BIO5 mission is to bring together scientists from five disciplines - agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, basic science and engineering - to treat disease, feed humanity and preserve livable environments. BIO5 creates science, industry and education partnerships to engage in leading-edge research, translate innovations to the market and to inspire and train the next generation of scientists.
In a statement released 4 December, UA Senior Vice President for Research, Kimberly Andrews Espy said, "BIO5 has an outstanding record of achievement in advancing collaborative, interdisciplinary life science research. Dr. Barton has the essential experience to grow our impact even further. Jennifer's ability to bring people together, which she has done throughout her career at the UA, makes her a great fit for leading BIO5. With her leadership, BIO5 will accelerate the convergent integration of physical, life, digital and health sciences for research that will benefit all of Arizona."
Barton has a long history with SPIE, including serving on its Board of Directors and on various committees including the Engineering, Science, and Technology Policy Committee and the Membership & Communities Committee. She was session chair at SPIE Photonics West, and the European Conferences on Biomedical Optics. Barton won the 1997 DJ Lovell Scholarship and the 2016 SPIE President’s Award. For her many contributions to the optics and photonics community, she was named a Fellow of the Society in 2008.
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