Robert E. Hopkins

Who was Robert E. Hopkins?

Robert E. Hopkins was president of the Optical Society of America in 1973.

Recognized as an expert in optical instrument design, aspheric optics, interferometry, lasers, and lens testing, Hopkins has been characterized as the "father of optical engineering."

Born in Belmont, MA, in 1915, Hopkins attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under a full scholarship, earning a BS in 1937. He received his MS and PhD from the University of Rochester. In 1948, he was awarded a US Navy Citation for outstanding wartime service in the Office of Research and Development.

Hopkins was appointed to the UR faculty in 1945 and was named Professor of Optics in 1951. He led the Institute of Optics as Director from 1954 to 1964, during the time when computers were first used to design optical systems and both fiber optics and the laser were born. He travelled frequently to Ithaca to use an early computer at Cornell University and brought the first computers to the UR in 1955. His lens designs included the Todd-AO lens used for the film "Oklahoma!". In 1963, he organized the "Laser Road Show" for the National Science Foundation to introduce laser technologies at colleges, universities, and corporations.