Charter Sponsors:

• Jarrell-Ash
• Baird Associates, Inc
• Polaroid Corp.
• Rhee Elastic Corp.

Background for Charter Members

J. C. Anderson

Claudius Aschenbrenner

b.1894. Came to the US from Germany after WW-II. Photogrammetric measurement and image transformation. Retired from Itek, 1965. (PPC)

E. H. Ashley, Jr.

Walter Scott Baird

Electrical engineer and spectroscopist.  Founded Baird Associates, later Baird Atomic.  Worked to broaden the OSA interests beyond spectroscopy and photography, set up the OSA Executive Office, and launched Applied Optics. (WTP)

Stanley S. Ballard

Physicist.  Professor at several universities, ending up in Florida.  President of the OSA in 1963.  (WTP)

Marcel Benjamin

American Optical. (PPC)
Early in his career, Marcel and Don Whitney shared an office in the AO Lens design area where John Davis, Dr Estelle Glancy and E.D. (Doc) Tillyer worked:  (RW)
http://www.dickwhitney.net/dbwautoAO.html

C. Biladian

G. Bird

C. Blake

Erkan R. Blout

Early Polaroid chemist.  Elected to National Academy of Sciences.  Philanthropist.  (WTP)

A. Brear

V. Brigham

William Britton

Itek, optical systems. (PPC)

K. Brynes

Charles J. Campbell, MD

Well known ophthalmologist with an MS in optics from U of R. Pioneered laser eye surgery. Chairman of Dept of Ophthalmology, Columbia Univ. Collaborated with American Optical on the development of instruments. (PPC, RW)

R. Carpenter

W. Carr

F. Chamberlain

R. Clarke

Henry Cole

American Optical, Engineering Physicist in R&D, fiber optics division.
Also worked on the Todd-AO cinema process at AO. Henry died in 2015, and had been a regular NES/OSA attendee into the ‘80s, at least. (PPC)

L. Combs

D. Consolvo

Chester Sheldon Cook

          A member of the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston who was one of the people contributing significantly to the reactivation of the long-running annual Stellafane Convention in Springfield, Vermont, after WWII. (JWB) A musician and optician with Harvard College Observatory. The 16” public telescope at the National Air and Space Museum in D.C. is dedicated to his memory.

D. Corse

C. D. Cowfer

John K. Davis

American Optical. Famous designer of ophthalmic optics. (PPC)
John was instrumental at American Optical in Lens design. He worked with Doc Tillyer and Dr. Estelle Glancy and hired Don Whitney. John chaired ANSI  Z80.3 Sunglass committee and designed numerous ophthalmic lenses. At the end of their careers they both also worked at Gentex Optics  http://www.dickwhitney.net/AOHistoryLensDesignersJohnDavisObit.html  (RW)

W. A. Davis

W. C. Davis

Mrs. J. E. Dawson

J. E. Dawson

K. A. Dawson

M. Dawsonn

J. DeDeka

J. M. Devine

J. J. Devlin

Ms. A. Downing

Marc G. Dreyfus

American Optical and other companies.  Worked on light filters for welding, etc.  Used a Bulova Accutron watch used as a light chopper for infrared work.  I met him briefly in 1964. (WTP)

W. Driscoll

S. Q. Duntley

Harold Edgerton

(1903-1990) Known for development of the electronic flash and annual search for the Loch Ness Monster. (WTP) …and his famous high speed photographs. Legendary Professor at MIT. (PPC)

George Ehrenfried

Worked many years at Polaroid.  Kept going after mandatory retirement age of 70.  In his spare time explored limestone caverns and the sewers of Arlington. (WTP)

Charles A. Ellis

An MD, Dr. Ellis worked as an engineer at American Optical, building a blood separating machine in 1951. He died in 2007. (RW)

Henry G. Fernald

Worked in Lens Design with Don Whitney and reported to John Davis, along with Doc Tillyer and Dr. Estelle Glancy. Don and Henry were assigned to compute ray tracing calculations where after a day or two of work independently, would check to see if they obtained the same answers.  (RW)

R. Finn

J. Fipphen

M. Flower          

C. B. Ford

R. Frye

T. C. Furnas

C. Gardella

T. R. P. Gibb

G. Glidden

S. Goldwasser

D. Grant

J. C. Gray

W. P. Greenwood

David Sumner Grey

Renowned lens designer.  Many designs, including optics for the Polaroid Swinger and the later plastic tele-triplet.  Edwin Land asked him to do the optics for the SX-70 camera, but Dave said no.  Din then said he would ask his friend James Baker to do that instead. (WTP)
Grey’s optical design software had very innovative optimization code. It was commercially available at least through the 1980s. (PPC)

Miss G. Griffith

Roy C. Gunter, Jr.

Worked on projects for American Optical.
Died in 2006, he was a Professor from Clark U and Holy Cross who worked with "Doc" Tillyer  (RW)
He wrote extensively about the ToddAO wide-screen movie project: https://www.in70mm.com/newsletter/2002/67/todd_ao/index.htm  (PPC)

R. M. Hainer

A. Hall

C. L. Hanson

Arthur Cobb Hardy

President of OSA 1935-6.  Ives medal 1957.  With F. H. Perrin published Principles of Optics in 1932. (WTP)

Wagn H. Hargbol

Member of the Amateur Telescope Makers in Boston.  Known for his large ground and polished mirrors.  He made the 16” diameter spherical mirror I used in a balloon-borne automated infrared Schmidt telescope, from 1958 to 1965. (WTP)
Trained several opticians who later worked at Polaroid. (SDF)

George Russell Harrison

(1898-1979) MIT Professor and Dean for 49 years. He founded the MIT Spectroscopy Lab, which was later renamed the George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory. https://web.mit.edu/spectroscopy/history/harrisonbio.html (JH)

 G. G. Harvey

P. W. Hayes

Stanley W. Haskell

An early and continuing member of the Optical Engineering Dept. at Polaroid.  Developed CNC programs for making freeform lens tools.  Retired in 1988, died only recently. (WTP)

R. Hills

Possibly Dr. Robert Hills, Jr., who became Director of Optics at Itek in 1968. (PPC)

W. Hitchcock

F. H. Hopewell

H. Husek

W. Lewis Hyde (Lem)

Former president of OSA in 1970 and well known.  Lem took samples of Polaroid Quintic lenses to the S. A. Vavilov State Optical Institute in Russia after the USSR broke up.  In the name-restored St. Petersburg he gave his hosts St. Petersburg tee shirts from Florida, decorated with palm trees. (WTP)
Pioneer in fiber optics. Worked at Polaroid, American Optical. Professor at U. of Rochester, and Provost at N.Y.U. (PPC)

R. James

Richard F. Jarrell

Spectroscopist, founder of Thermo Jarrell Ash Corp. (PPC)

C. S. Johnson

Robert Clark Jones

Known for his analytic study of polarized light, including the Jones Matrices.  Studied inherent limits of light detectors and film speed, diffusion of dyes in instant films, etc.  Years later I learned that he had also patented a brilliant electric device I had built a copy of many years earlier, while in school, to distinguish between voice and music on a radio and kill commercials! (WTP) 
Worked at Bell Labs and Polaroid. (PPC)

G. Joos

J. H. Jurmain

Mrs. C. Jurmain

R. Kiardas

J. F. Killion

G. W. King

Edwin Herbert Land (Din)

I think he once worked at Polaroid. (WTP) 
That sounds right. (PPC)

W. G. Langton

W. S. Law

H. J. Levesque

R. C. Lord

D. A. Low

Duncan E. Macdonald

Director, Boston University Optical Research Laboratory and co-founder of Itek. Aerial photography expert. (PPC)

R. P. Mahan      

David W. Mann

His name is on the nodal slide optical bench used by [Polaroid’s] Optical Engineering Department at 38 Henry Street, Cambridge. (WTP)
David Mann’s company was later bought by GCA, for its lithography technology. (SDF)

C. H. Matz

Miss K. A. McCarthy

R. H. McFee

Dwight P. Merrill

Originally worked for the Navy, inspecting Polaroid polarizing goggles.  Joined Polaroid after WWII.  Did quality work in various places, ultimately with Optical Engineering at 38 Henry St., Cambridge. (WTP)

H. Mueller

G. W. Ogden

F. J. O'Neil

V. A. Orlando

N. G. Parke

R. F. Parsons

Richard S. Perkin

Co-founder of Perkin Elmer (1937), as an optics design and consulting business. (PPC)

M. Peterson

E. A. Pickard

S. Pond

J. W. Power, Jr.

R. R. Ralston

L. A. Riggs

Cless N. Robbins

American Optical 
Spent most of his career in AO Frames, but believed to have started in Machine shop. (RW)

Howard G. Rogers

Famously developed color Polaroid film.  Retired after 49 years.  Had been pumping gas before joining Polaroid. (WTP)

O. E. Schaefer

C. Schwartz

William A. Shurcliff

With Stanley Ballard wrote a famous book about polarized light, still available from Amazon.  Also, some books about effectively insulating houses. (WTP)

Miss P. L. Sirons

W. Smith

R. S. Speck

R. C. Spencer

C. L. Starck

S. W. Stark

J. Sterner

Miss A. Sutton

Mrs. J. D. Sykes

E. P. Todd

H. A. Wadman

S. H. Walters

J. T. Watson

Cutler D. West

Famous crystallographer and subject of many interesting stories.  Rode his bike to Polaroid and worked in his underwear on hot summer days.  Developed a way to grow large sodium nitrate crystals to replace calcite for polarizing devices.  I met him briefly at Steve Fantone’s wedding reception. (WTP)

B. W. Wheeler, Jr.

Miss F. Whitman

Donald B. Whitney

Started at American Optical in 1947, becoming an ophthalmic lens design expert. He progressed as a Plant Manager, Director of Vision Technology R&D, retiring from AO in 1982. He was very active in ANSI Z80, established US participation at the start of ISO, and chaired the OMA Lens Technical Committee (PPC, RW)

V. Williams

D. E. Williamson

M. K. Wilson

Miss B. A. Wright

W. J. Young

M. J. Zigler

Information contributed by

William T. Plummer (WTP)

Dick Whitney, Zeiss (RW)

Stephen D. Fantone, Optikos (SDF)

Jeff Hecht (JH)

Peter Clark (PPC)

John W. Briggs (JWB)