Connections. University of Arizona physicist Wolfgang Fink, Ph.D., constantly makes them as he pursues research in medicine, space exploration and robotics.

The energetic associate professor embraces connections that enhance investigations into his varied interests. He enthusiastically pursues private- and public-sector connections that can turn his discoveries into marketable products.

The down-to-earth Fink, 43, is director of the UA Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory. He holds the Edward & Maria Keonjian Endowed Chair in Microelectronics.

He has joint appointments in the UA College of Engineering departments that deal with biomedical, electrical and computer, and systems and industrial engineering, as well as ophthalmology and vision science.

The spectacled German native is a visiting associate in physics at the California Institute of Technology and holds professorships in ophthalmology and neurological surgery at the University of Southern California.

His research passion lies in autonomous robotics for space exploration with an assist from work in artificial retinas for humans.