Glenn Ansel Fry (September 10, 1908 – January 5, 1996) was an American scientist who studied physiological optics and optometry.

Life and work

Fry was born in Wellford, South Carolina. His parents were Sebastian R. Fry and Amy Brown. Fry completed a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in 1929 and a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

(supervised by William McDougall) from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

in 1933. In 1933, Fry became a

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

Fellow at the Washington University School of Medicine Department of

Ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

. In 1935, Fry was appointed as an assistant professor in the department of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in Columbus. With the support of the Professor of Physics, Fry established a graduate course in physiological optics. In 1937, he established a School of Optometry and became its director. In 1949, Fry became co-director of the Institute of Research in Vision at the university. In 1963, he succeeded in starting a course leading to a

Doctor of Optometry Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

degree. Fry became a full professor in 1966. Prior to 1935, Fry married Martha Ray. They had three children.

Research

Fry's earliest paper in on color vision.

Awards

* 1954 Foundation Lecturer of the

British Optical Association The British Optical Association (BOA) was founded in February 1895 as the first professional body for ophthalmic opticians ( optometrists) in the world. The British Optical Association Museum and Library was founded in 1901; it retains the BOA na ...

* 1954 Beverly Myers Achievement Award of the American Board of Opticianty * 1961 The Tillyer Medal of the Optical Society of America * 1964 The Apollo Award of the

American Academy of Optometry The American Academy of Optometry (AAO) is an organization of optometrists based in Orlando, Florida. Its goal is to maintain and enhance excellence in optometric practice, by both promoting research and the dissemination of knowledge. The AAO hold ...

* 1969 The Gold Medal of the

Illuminating Engineering Society The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), formerly the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), is an industry-backed, not-for-profit, learned society that was founded in New York City on January 10, 1906. The IES's stated mi ...

* 1969 Honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

from

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

* 1970 Honorary Doctor of Science from

Pennsylvania College of Optometry Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mar ...

Honors

Prior to 1987, the College of Optometry at Ohio State founded the Glenn A. Fry Medal in Physiological Optics.

References

1908 births 1996 deaths American scientists Duke University alumni Ohio State University faculty Optical physicists American physiologists Scientists from South Carolina People from Spartanburg County, South Carolina Washington University in St. Louis fellows {{US-scientist-stub