Gerald Westheimer

Gerald Westheimer (born 13 May 1924) is an Australian scientist at University of California, Berkeley researching the eye, its optics, and how we see details in space and in three dimensions.

Life and career Westheimer was born on 13 May 1924 in Berlin into an observant Jewish family—long settled in Germany and traced back at least Joseph Aaron Westheimer who had been born in 1768 in Menzingen, Baden (Joseph was granted special residential status as a "protected Jew"). Westheimer is the younger of two sons. In 1938, state-sanctioned attacks against Jews in Nazi Germany prompted the family to emigrate to Australia, settling in Sydney.

Shortly after arriving in Sydney, Westheimer completed high-school by self-study and enrolled in the professional Optometry program at the Sydney Technical College, from which he graduated with honours and the College Medal in 1943. While practising optometry he pursued further study, leading to a BSc in mathematics and physiology from Sydney University and submission of a thesis for the Fellowship of the Sydney Technical College.

In 1951, Westheimer went to the US, first as a graduate student at Ohio State University (PhD, Physics-Physiological Optics) with Glenn A. Fry, influenced by Paul Fitts, In addition there is an autobiographical sketch.

According to the academic genealogy site Neurotree, Westheimer has 11 academic children and 99 academic grandchildren.

Research

Even as a boy, Westheimer was interested in astronomy, optics, and the eye.

Recognitions Scientific 1978 Tillyer Medal, Optical Society of America 1979 Proctor Medal, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 1984 Fellow, Royal Society of London 1986 von Sallman International Prize in Vision and Ophthalmology, Columbia University 1986 C.F. Prentice Medal, American Academy of Optometry 1988 Bicentennial Medal, Australian Optometric Association 1992 Ferrier Lecture, Royal Society of London 1994 Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2010 Barry Collin Research Medal, Optometrists Association of Australia 2021 Ken Nakayama Medal for Excellence in Vision Science Academic Honorary Doctorates in Science and Medicine General Order of Australia, member of General Division