James P. C. Southall

Last updated
James P. C. Southall
BornApril 4, 1871
Norfolk, Virginia, US
DiedAugust 24, 1962
Scientific career
Fields Physics

James P. C. Southall (1871-1962) was an American physicist, professor at Columbia University (1914 to 1940), and specialist in optics. He was president of the Optical Society of America (1921) and translator of Physiological Optics by Helmholtz.

Contents

James Southall was born in Norfolk, Va., on April 4, 1871. [1] He attended Richmond College from 1886 to 1888 and obtained an A.B. in 1891 and an M.A. in 1893 at the University of Virginia. He was an instructor in physics at the University of Virginia between 1891 and 1893, and he taught physics and mathematics at the Miller Manual Training School, in Albemarle, Va. He had a fellowship at Johns Hopkins from 1898 to 1899 and taught at Hobart College, Geneva, N.Y., from 1899 to 1901. From 1901 to 1914, he taught at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, and in 1914 he joined the faculty at Columbia University, where he served until his retirement in 1940. His two specialties were geometrical optics and physiological optics. He wrote Principles of Geometrical Optics in 1910 and Mirrors, Prisms and Lenses (1918, rev. eds. 1923, 1934). But he is probably best known as editor of the American edition of Helmholtz's Physiological Optics (1924–25). He also wrote Introduction to Physiological Optics (1941). He wrote many papers, a number of which appeared in JOSA, on optical illusions and geometrical optics. He served as president of the Optical Society of America in 1921. [2]

During the First World War, he was a consultant to the War Department on range finders, periscopes, gunsights and similar optical equipment. Fifteen of his articles were published in JOSA on such topics as ray tracing, conjugate surfaces and the early pioneers in physiological optics. In retirement, he returned to Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, and donated most of his books and papers to the library there. [3] He was buried at the University of Virginia cemetery.

Southall's gravestone at the University of Virginia Cemetery in Charlottesville, Virginia. Grave of James P. C. Southall.jpg
Southall's gravestone at the University of Virginia Cemetery in Charlottesville, Virginia.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermann von Helmholtz</span> German physicist and physiologist (1821–1894)

Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The Helmholtz Association, the largest German association of research institutions, is named in his honour.

'Optica is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and carries out charitable activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André Maréchal</span> French physicist

Robert Gaston André Maréchal was a French researcher and administrator in optics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siegfried Czapski</span> German physicist

Siegfried Czapski was a German physicist and optician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perley G. Nutting</span> American optical physicist (1873–1949)

Perley Gilman Nutting (1873–1949) was an American optical physicist and the founder of the Optical Society of America (OSA). He served as its first president from 1916 to 1917. OSA is now known as Optica.

Seibert Quimby Duntley was an American physicist. He was born in Bushnell, Illinois on October 2, 1911.

John Adolph Sanderson was president of the Optical Society of America in 1967. He was the former head of the optics division at Naval Research Labs and the Research and Education Officer for the Optical Society of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floyd K. Richtmyer</span>

Floyd Karker Richtmyer was a physicist and educator in the United States.

Joseph Wilfred Goodman is an American electrical engineer and physicist.

Duncan T. Moore was president of the Optical Society of America in 1996 and was awarded the society's Edwin H. Land Medal in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth M. Baird</span> Canadian physicist (1923–2022)

Kenneth MacClure Baird was a Canadian physicist, metrologist and inventor, born of Canadian parents in China in 1923.

Archie Garfield Worthing was an American physicist. Starting in 1925 he served as head of the physics department at the University of Pittsburgh, and was president of the Optical Society of America during 1941–42.

Wilbur B. Rayton was president of the Optical Society of America from 1933–34.

The Journal of the Optical Society of America is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of optics, published by Optica. It was established in 1917 and in 1984 was split into two parts, A and B.

Richard C. Powell is an American professor emeritus of physics and vice president emeritus of the University of Arizona (UA), whose career focused on research in materials science and laser optics. He served as president of the Optical Society of America in 2000.

The David Richardson Medal is awarded by the Optical Society to recognize contributions to optical engineering, primarily in the commercial and industrial sector. The award was first made in 1966 to its namesake David J. Richardson. He received it for distinctive contributions to the ruling and replicating of gratings, used to determine the transfer functions of lenses. There is a prize associated with the medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maximilian Herzberger</span> German-American mathematician and physicist

Maximilian Jacob Herzberger was a German-American mathematician and physicist, known for his development of the superachromat lens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David A. B. Miller</span> British physicist

David A. B. Miller is the W. M. Keck Foundation Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, where he is also a professor of Applied Physics by courtesy. His research interests include the use of optics in switching, interconnection, communications, computing, and sensing systems, physics and applications of quantum well optics and optoelectronics, and fundamental features and limits for optics and nanophotonics in communications and information processing.

The Frederic Ives Medal is the highest award of the Optical Society, recognizing overall distinction in optics. The prize was established in 1928 by Herbert E. Ives in honor of his father, Frederic Ives. Initially awarded every two years, it has been awarded annually since 1951. The prize is funded by the Jarus W. Quinn Ives Medal Endowment.

Arti Agrawal is a scientist and engineer known for her work on computational photonics as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM; she has been recognized in both of these areas by a number of awards. Her research is focused on numerical modeling and simulation of photonic devices and optical components. Agrawal is currently serving as Associate Professor and the Director of Women in Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Technology Sydney and Associate Vice President of Diversity for the IEEE Photonics Society.

References

  1. ↑ "James P.C. Southall". The Optical Society. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "Past Presidents of the Optical Society of America". Optical Society of America. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20.
  3. ↑ http://www.osa-opn.org/Content/ViewFile.aspx?id=11137 OSA's First 4 Presidents


Flag of the United States.svg Scientist.svg Stylised atom with three Bohr model orbits and stylised nucleus.svg

This article about an American physicist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.