Optics of the human eye

Historical Significance: Dr George Smith (1941-2008) was trained as a physicist. He taught optics in the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences in the University of Melbourne from 1975 until his retirement on December 31 2003. He taught a very high standard of optics since his PhD training had been with Professor Hopkins at Reading University. He also supervised a number of PhD students who subsequently pursued successful academic careers making use of their expertise in optics, most notable among them being Professor David Atchison. He was a productive researcher, especially in collaboration with others, and as a result canvassed a wide range of optical research problems in both applied optics and visual optics. He published two books jointly with David Atchison. See his obituary Clin Exp Optom 2008; 91: 324-326. David Atchison qualified in optometry at the University of Melbourne where he also completed his masters degree and a PhD. He obtained his DSc at QUT. He became professor of optometry at the Queensland University of Technology where he achieved a great reputation for his research in visual optics. He became of Fellow of the Optical Society of America in 2005, See his profile Clin Exp Optom 2005; 88: 58-59