BME Seminar Series: Thomas Raasch Associate Professor of Optometry, OSU

"Freeform Optics and the Eye" 

Thomas Raasch, Associate Professor of Optometry, Ohio State University 

This presentation will include an overview of freeform optics as applied to the eye and vision. Optical imperfections of the eye, measurement of those imperfections, and correction of certain visual conditions with freeform optics will be discussed. This will include strategies for correcting aberrations in highly-aberrated eyes, and a demonstration of a novel method for design of progressive addition ophthalmic lenses. 

About the Speaker: 

Thomas Raasch received the Doctor of Optometry and PhD in Physiological Optics from the University of California at Berkeley. He was a research fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Wilmer Eye Institute (1989-91), and then an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at JHU (91-94). He served as the director of the Wilmer Low Vision Rehabilitation Service. Since 1995 he has been a member of the faculty at The Ohio State University College of Optometry. 

Dr. Raasch's professional and academic background include extensive clinical experience in low vision rehabilitation, research in visual performance, and in the relationships between the optical state of the eye and visual performance. Dr. Raasch is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, a Silver Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and a Senior Member of the Optical Society of America. He has served on NIH/CSR review boards on several occasions, on the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Advisory Panel, and on the External Advisory Committee of the NSF-funded Center for Adaptive Optics. He is the former vice-chair of the OSU Cancer Institutional Review Board, and is currently a vice-chair of the Biomedical Sciences IRB. 

This talk is co-sponsored by SPIE Student Chapter at Ohio State University.