Tom Cornsweet

Tom Norman Cornsweet[1] (April 29, 1929 – November 11, 2017) was an American experimental psychologist known for his pioneering work in visual perception, especially the effect that bears his name, and in the development of ophthalmic instrumentation.[2][3]

Tom N. Cornsweet
Born(1929-04-29)April 29, 1929
Cleveland, Ohio
DiedNovember 11, 2017(2017-11-11) (aged 88)
Prescott, Arizona
Resting placedonated his body to science
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCornell University, Brown University
Known forCornsweet illusion
Scientific career
FieldsOphthalmology, psychology
InstitutionsYale University (1955–1959), University of California, Berkeley, Stanford Research Institute, Stanford University, Baylor College of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Brien Holden Vision Diagnostics

Academic background and scientific research
See also: Cornsweet illusion

Cornsweet is known for documenting the effect that bears his name in the 1960s.[4] Prior to his work on this particular optical illusion, Cornsweet graduated from Cornell University and enrolled in a graduate program at Brown University, operating in the vision research laboratory of Lorrin A. Riggs.[5][6] During his graduate studies he was co-author of an early paper describing stabilized images.[5] His 1955 Ph.D. dissertation in experimental psychology involved small movements of the eye. Cornsweet was an assistant professor at Yale University from 1955–1959, and then became professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. His interest in psychophysics led him to develop a widely employed improvement in the staircase method.[7] As an outgrowth of the courses he taught, Cornsweet published a frequently-cited textbook.[8]

Inventor and entrepreneur

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Cornsweet was a key member of the Bioinformation Systems Group at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). While also teaching in the psychology department at Stanford University, he designed or co-designed several innovative instruments for measuring properties of the eye, including eyetrackers,[9] auto-refractors,[10] and optical fundus scanners.[11] He left SRI to become Chief Scientist at Acuity Systems, where he developed the first commercial auto-refractor in 1973. During this time, Cornsweet continued to invent devices for measuring various properties of the eye and also to teach, first at the Baylor College of Medicine and later at the University of California, Irvine.[12] He served as Vice President of research and development for Sensory Technologies from 1994 to 1997. In 1999 Cornsweet retired from UC–Irvine and co-founded Visual Pathways, where his team developed an automated retinal imaging system intended for the diagnoses of glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. Visual Pathways folded after several years after shipping only 24 devices.

Until his death in 2017, Cornsweet was Professor of Cognitive Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Ophthalmology, Emeritus, University of California, Irvine.[13] From 2013 to 2015, he was Chief Scientist at Brien Holden Vision Diagnostics (formerly Quantum Catch),[14] a company developing low-cost ophthalmic instruments for detection and monitoring of disease.

Patents and awards
  • 40 patents, primarily in the area of optical and ophthalmic instrumentation
  • UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching award 1961[15]
  • Charles F. Prentice Medal Award[16] from the American Academy of Optometry, 1984

Publications

Cornsweet wrote three books and published more than 100 journal articles.[17]

Books
  • The Design of Electric Circuits in the Behavioral Sciences. John Wiley & Sons. 1963.
  • Visual Perception. Academic Press. 1970.
  • Why is Everything!: Doing Science[18]
Journal articles

List of publications adapted from Cornsweet's curriculum vitae, published by the University of California, Berkeley.[19]

References
  1. Osborne, Roy (2016-12-29). Books on Colour 1495-2015: History and Bibliography. ISBN 9781326459710.
  2. Purves, Dale (January 8, 2010). Brains: How They Seem to Work. FT Press. pp. 139–142. ISBN 9780137060283. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  3. American Men of Science: Physical and Biological Sciences. Providence, N.J.: Bowker RR. 1967.
  4. Plait, Phil (December 7, 2013). "Viral Illusion Will—and Should—Have You Doubting Your Eyes". Slate. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  5. Riggs, Lorrin A.; Ratliff F.; Cornsweet J.; Cornsweet T. (1953). "The Disappearance of Steadily Fixated Visual Test Objects". Journal of the Optical Society of America. 43 (6): 495–500. Bibcode:1953JOSA...43..495R. doi:10.1364/josa.43.000495. PMID 13070111. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  6. D.H. Kelly, ed. (March 30, 1994). Visual Science and Engineering: Models and Applications. CRC Press. p. 91. ISBN 9780824791858. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  7. Cornsweet, TN (September 1962). "The Staircase-method in Psychophysics". Am. J. Psychiatry. 75 (3): 485–491. doi:10.2307/1419876. JSTOR 1419876.
  8. Cornsweet, Tom N. (1970). Visual Perception. New York, NY: Academic Press. p. 475. ISBN 978-0-12-189750-5.
  9. Cornsweet, TN; Crane HD (1973). "Accurate two-dimensional eye tracker using first and fourth Purkinje images". Journal of the Optical Society of America. 63 (8): 921–928. Bibcode:1973JOSA...63..921C. doi:10.1364/JOSA.63.000921. PMID 4722578. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  10. Cornsweet, TN (August 1973). "Computer-assisted automated refractions". The Australian Journal of Optometry. 56 (8): 310–313. doi:10.1111/j.1444-0938.1973.tb00727.x.
  11. Kelly, DH; Crane; Hill; Cornsweet (1969). "Non-contact method of measuring small eye- movements and stabilizing the retinal image". J. Opt. Soc. Am. 59: 509.
  12. "Conferences, Workshops, Seminars" (PDF). The Linguistic Reporter. Center for Applied Linguistics. December–January 1982–1983. p. 9. Retrieved December 23, 2013. Check date values in: |date= (help) Note: Part of The Linguistic Reporter (1959–1982), Volume 25, published in 1982.
  13. "Obituary: Tom N. Cornsweet". dcourier.com. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  14. "Leap in Detection and Diagnoses of Eye and Other Disorders". Medical Design Technology. Advantage Business Media. August 3, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  15. "UC Berkeley teaching award".
  16. "Charles F. Prentice award". Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  17. "TN Cornsweet Google Scholar publications". Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  18. Cornsweet, Tom. "Why is Everything!: Doing Science by Tom Cornsweet". Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  19. "Curriculum Vitae: Tom N. Cornsweet: Professor of Cognitive Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Ophthalmology, Emeritus: University of California, Irvine" (PDF). University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
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