Jacobus Oschmann has been named the 2014 alumnus of the year by the University of Arizona’s College of Optical Sciences. Oschmann, now vice president and general manager of Civil Space and Technology at Ball Aerospace Corp., is being recognized for his significant contributions to the field of optical sciences, namely in optical design and technology development. He holds two patents for his development of an optical transmitter “for projecting a line of light onto a relief pattern at a first to a normal of the surface,” according to Justia Patents. Oschmann has authored more than 20 publications. He is also a fellow and lifetime member of SPIE, chair of its membership committee and has served on the board of directors. He is a chairman of the SPIE conference on Optical, Infrared and Millimeter Space Telescopes. Additionally, he serves on various NASA, National Science Foundation and Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy review and advisory boards for a broad range of technology and both ground- and space-based observatories. In 2012, he and his wife established the Jacobus and Michelle Oschmann Scholarship in Optical Sciences and Business Leadership at UA, which supports first-year graduate students in optical sciences who may also pursue a career in business management. For more information, visit www.arizona.edu.