Dr Rod D Watkins AM

Historical Significance: Dr Watkins was a graduate in optometry at the University of Melbourne in 1966. He completed his Masters degree under the supervision of Professor Barry Cole from which emerged some important papers on anomalous trichromasy published in Vision Science. He studied optics at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London obtaining the Diploma of the Imperial College. He was briefly a lecturer in optometry in the Victorian College of Optometry where he researched vision standards in civil aviation for the Department of Civil Aviation. He moved to work for SOLA as director of research and the person responsible for corporate strategic planning. He completed a PhD in optics at Flinders University. He established his own optical design and manufacturing company, Scan Optics, in Adelaide that made ophthalmic instruments especially designed for use in third world countries. He was a member of the Board of the National Vision Research Institute from 1972 until 2011 and its Chairman from 1988 to 1997.He was a Councillor of the Flinders University in Adelaide and very active internationally in prevention of blindness and in setting international standards for optics. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005.See his profile Clin Exp Optom 2000; 83: 232-233