October 29, 2007
Gift establishes optical engineering center
The Institute of Optics announced the creation of the
Robert E. Hopkins Center for Optical Design & Engineering on October
23. The new center, made possible by a $2 million gift from former Corning
Tropel Corporation CEO John Bruning, celebrates the achievements of
Professor Emeritus Robert Hopkins, director of the Institute from 1954 to
1965 and widely revered as the “father of optical
engineering.”
“We are proud to kick off this new center, which
will set the standard for optical engineering in the 21st century,”
says Institute of Optics Director Wayne Knox. “It’s a fitting
way to honor Bob Hopkins, one of the icons of optical engineering. And many
thanks to John Bruning for making it possible.”
The Center for Optical Design & Engineering (CODE)
will enable the leading optical engineering program in the world and will
attract the very best optical engineering experts to Rochester to teach and
conduct cutting-edge research, according to Knox. Bruning’s gift
provides support for the center and will help to fund a new faculty
position. All of this will directly feed the center’s educational
commitment by offering students a hands-on experience as they pursue their
bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in optical
engineering.
“We envision that CODE will be the training
ground for the leaders in optical engineering for generations to
come,” says Kevin Parker, dean of the School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences. “Here we will combine the best faculty, the best
research, and the best facilities and equipment in optical engineering that
will attract aspiring leaders from around the world.”
The Robert B. Goergen Hall for Biomedical Engineering
and Optics will house the new center. Its space within Goergen Hall is
designed to encourage collaboration among the faculty, the student base,
and the expected increased number of graduate students. Perhaps most
importantly, according to Knox, Goergen Hall also contains a laboratory
suite reserved specifically for the optical design, fabrication, and
metrology needs of the center.
“It is a great pleasure to be able to facilitate
further growth at the Institute of Optics with this wonderful new center
and I am particularly pleased to have the opportunity to honor Bob Hopkins
in doing so,” says Bruning, an executive scientist with Corning
focusing on technology and strategy. “Bob contributed enormously to
the world of optics as a scientist, an engineer, an entrepreneur, and
leader. It is my sincere pleasure that this center will carry his name and
legacy.”
Hopkins stands as one of the Institute of
Optics’ most significant figures—an innovator in the field of
lens and optical system design, and a teacher and mentor for hundreds of
students. In the early 1950s, Hopkins was among the first to exploit the
computer as a tool for handling problems in lens and optical-system
design, and among the first to recognize the important role the laser would
play in the future of subjects like solid state physics and quantum
physics.
In 1953, he cofounded Tropel Inc, dedicated to
manufacturing precision optical systems and instruments for industry. He is
renowned for his work in lens design, image quality, and geometrical optics
in general. His appreciation for research and teaching led him to expand
the institute’s roles in those areas during his tenure as director.
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