Associate Professor of Physics, Optical Engineering, and NanoEngineering Syed Azer Reza, PhD, has been selected as the first Bruce R. Danner Endowed Faculty Fellow. Reza will focus on the development and enhancement of optical imaging systems and low-light quantum imaging, both of which are essential for students graduating with college degrees in optical engineering, nanoengineering, and physics. The three-year appointment begins on September 1. 

The Bruce R. Danner Endowed Faculty Fellowship was established in March 2025 by alumnus Michael A. Huhnke and his wife, Karen, and named in honor of former professor Bruce Danner, PhD. The fellowship supports a current professor’s expertise in physics, optical engineering or nanoengineering, who will lead conversations with other educators in career fields and encourage research opportunities with undergraduate students.

“Rose-Hulman’s faculty routinely apply their talent and hard work to creating exceptional learning experiences in our scholarly community,” according to Associate Dean of Professional Development and Professor of English Richard House, PhD. “Through endowments like this one, our benefactors enable those efforts. These positions are awarded to outstanding professors, but they truly benefit the whole institution, especially our students.”

Reza plans to leverage his background and expertise in computational optical imaging systems, time-of-flight imaging systems as well as diffuse imaging systems, to develop courses, lab activities as well as research activities for undergraduate and graduate students using optical imaging systems. 

“It is my hope that I am able to assist students and faculty in expanding our educational and research activities in classical and computational imaging, as well as quantum science which drive us to further excellence within and beyond our institution,” said Reza. “I hope that the resources from the Bruce R. Danner Fellowship help us achieve these objectives and lay groundwork for future research and education in these highly influential and important technologies and engage RHIT students, faculty and the greater community in this journey.” 

Over the next few academic years, Reza plans to develop and teach two fundamental courses in optical imaging science — Computational Optical Imaging and Laser Imaging and Ranging Systems — which, once developed, will then be regularly offered to Rose students. The imaging course is relevant to students in several departments, and an advanced version of the course will require lab development around topics discussed in lectures in which students will apply computational imaging concepts to real-world problems.

Reza joined Rose-Hulman in 2019 as an assistant professor. Since then, he has engaged in many successful research projects that yielded nine published journal and 15 papers in conference proceedings of some of the top conferences in the field. Many of his research projects have been conducted with Rose-Hulman undergraduate students as he has mentored around a dozen students. He earned master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Central Florida, as well as an additional master’s degree from Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. Reza earned his bachelor’s degree from Ghulam Ishaq Khan (GIK) Institute of Engineering Sciences & Technology.

Danner was a member of the Rose-Hulman faculty for 30 years; and after retiring in 1998 continued teaching on campus as an adjunct professor until 2012. Danner also played an instrumental role in Rose-Hulman’s implementation of providing laptop computers to all incoming first-year students. He died in 2018.