Busani named director of Optical Science and Engineering

Tito Busani, an associate professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering, has been named the new director of the Optical Science and Engineering program at The University of New Mexico.

Growing up in a family of educators, Busani was inspired to pursue a career in higher education by his uncle Ambrogio, who retired from teaching elementary school at the age of 85 and his high school Latin professor, Salvaroi Mario, who was a full-time teacher and school principal.

"If it wasn't for my family, I probably wouldn't have ended up being a professor," he said. "Not because they told me to, but you watch them cultivate and you realize how important it is. My uncle really inspired me; he taught to the very end and always put his students first."

He received his PhD in physics and nanotechnology from Universite' J. Fourier in Grenoble-France in 2006 and specializes fabrication and analysis of multi-layer thin films. Previously, he has served as manager of the NanoFab at the Center for High Tech Materials on UNM's south campus. He has over 1200 citations in publications in his career.

Busani, who has been involved with the program for nearly a decade, took over as its director in August. The program, which was established in 1983, is now overseen by Graduate Studies dean Maria Lane.

"Dr. Busani has stepped up to take this leadership role at an important moment for the program," Lane said. "I am excited to work alongside him and other faculty leaders to ensure that UNM's interdisciplinary programs continue to thrive."

While the program is in a strong position, Busani's goal is to build on the success it has already been having.

"The motivation is always to find ways to improve the program," Busani said. "The program is already outstanding, its well established, it has a lot of very good faculty. The big thing for us this year is the migration to Graduate Studies, it's interesting to work with a new, independent entity and see how we can best move the program forward and help it grow."

The program is extremely interdisciplinary and attracts students from across the world. Busani wants to make sure that the program is engaging with the Albuquerque community, as well.

"I think we're probably missing some groundwork in the community," he said. "We foster a lot of PhD students, but how we do that is community based. We need to make sure we are being sensitive to our communities and that New Mexico is benefitting from this."

Among his other goals for the program is to increase its visibility to attract additional applicants.

"We are one of the three major programs in this field in the country," Busani said. "Considering the amount of state funding relating to quantum initiatives, the funding we have in quantum optics, these are things that can increase the quality for students."

His top priority for his first year is to see that the transition to Graduate Studies goes smoothly and to ensure everyone feels comfortable in the direction and stability of the program while working with a new partner and taking advantage of the opportunity it provides to move the program forward.

"(Lane) has been very adaptive, so what is important is that our students and our faculty understand that this transition is not undermining our program, it's to the advantage of our program."

More information about the program can be found here.