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Rochester
inReview
New provost
Brian]. Thompson,
internationally
known optical scientist
and engineer and
dean of the College of
Engineering and Applied
Science, became
provost of the
University] uly 1. He
succeeds Richard D. O'Brien, who has
been named executive vice chancellor
and provost of the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst.
The position of provost is the second
highest academic and administrative
post at Rochester.
Thompson, who joined the University
in 1968 as director of the Institute
of Optics, has been dean of the engineering
college since 1975. In 1982 he
was named the first William F. May
Professor of Engineering in recognition
of his achievements" as a scientist,
as a teacher, and as an educational
administrator. "
A native of England and a graduate
of Manchester University, where he
also received a Ph.D. in optics, he has
served on the faculties of Manchester
and of the University of Leeds.
The winner of numerous awards for
his contributions to optics, Thompson
is a leading researcher in the fields of
coherent optics, holography, phase
microscopy, and image processing.
His experimental studies on partially
coherent light and its effects are the
standard works in the literature of this
field. His illustrations of these and
other optical phenomena are widely
used in optical texts and monographs
dealing with coherent optics.
20
Thompson also developed and pioneered
an important branch ofholography
that led to the first direct applica,tion
of holography-dynamic particle
size analysis-now used in a variety
of fields.
He is the author of more than 150
scientific and technical papers. His
book on physical optics has been translated
into Russian, Polish, and
Chinese.
Thompson's many awards include
three from the Society of Photo­
Optical Instrumentation Engineers
(SPIE): the President's Award, the
Pezzuto Award, and the Rudolf Kingslake
Medal. He is a fellow and former
director of the Optical Society of
America; a fellow, life member, and
past president of SPIE; and a fellow of
the Institute of Physics and the Physical
Society of Great Britain.
He is serving or has served on the
editorial boards of many international
journals and is chairman of the Honorary
Advisory Board and the International
Advisory Board of the Marquis
Who's Who Directory of Optical Scientists
and Engineers.
Active in national and international
scientific organizations, Thompson
has twice served as general chairman
of the Biennial International Congress
on High Speed Photography and
Photonics and has been a member of
the National Academy of Sciences­
National Research Council (N AS­
NRC) Committee on Vision and on
the NAS-NRC Dimensional Metrology
Evaluation Panel. He also has
served on the U.S. Army Scientific
Advisory Panel, the U.S. Committee
for the International Commission on
Optics, and the Technology Advisory
Council of the N ew York State Urban
Development Corporation.
Medical school deanship
Dr. Robert].] oynt, chairman of
the Department of Neurology and Edward
A. and Alma Vollertsen Rykenboer
Professor of Neurophysiology at
the School of Medicine and Dentistry,
has taken over as acting dean of the
school.
He succeeds Dr. Frank E . Young,
who recently was named commissioner
of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Young will be on leave from
the University as professor of microbiology.
He has been at Rochester
since 1970, when he was appointed
chairman of the Department of Microbiology.
While serving as dean, a post
he had held since 1979 , Young developed
a laboratory engaged in research
on the cloning of genes used in industrial
processes and on the development
of vaccines to eradicate a number
of infectious diseases.
Recognized for his leadership in
neurological teaching, practice, and
research, Joynt came to Rochester as
professor and chairman of neurology
in 1966.
The author or co-author of more
than 150 scientific publications, he is
known especially for his work on dementia,
metabolic disorders of the nervous
system, neuroanatomy, and medical
history. He is the principal investigator
on a million -dollar research
project on Alzheimer's disease supported
by the National Institute on
Aging.
Former president of the American
Academy of Neurology and the American
Board of Psychiatry and Neurology,
] oynt is chairman of the Board of
Scientific Advisors of the Office of
Biometry of the National Institute of
Neurological and Communicative Disorders
and Stroke.
of George Dennis O'Brien
as Eighth President of the
University of Rochester
September SO-October 1, 1984
Culminating in the formal inaugural
ceremony in the Eastman
Theatre on Monday evening, the
events of the inauguration will include
also a reception and brunch
for student representatives, seminars
on "Prospects for Undergraduate
Education" and on "Graduate
and Professional Education and the
Career," and a gala inaugural concert.
Watch for an account of this
memorable occasion in the next
issue of Rochester Review.