Optical connections: Stanley Stookey - a true pioneer in the science of glass

How many pairs of Stookey lenses has your practice dispensed this week? Being glass, the answer is probably not many, as most lenses are resin these days; but for the principle of photochromic lenses we have the pioneering glass scientist, Stanley Donald Stookey, who died in November 2014 aged 99, to thank. And if you’re reading this on your tablet or mobile – well, you have Stookey (and some frozen chickens) to thank again.

Born in the small village of Hay Springs, Nebraska, in 1915, to two teachers, he took a master’s degree in chemistry before gaining a doctorate in physical chemistry in 1940 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He had two job offers, from Corning Glass Works and Nabisco, the baking and food company. Not wanting to go into baking, he opted for glass research which, ironically, involved baking glass at high temperatures.