Arthur Francis Turner, 'father of optical coatings,' dead at 89

17 Jun 2002

University of Arizona optical sciences professor emeritus Arthur Francis Turner died of congestive heart failure at his home this week.

Following four years as an instructor at MIT, Turner turned his attention to anti-reflection coatings at Bausch and Lomb, where he worked until 1971. From the end of World war II until his retirement, Turner led the field of optical thin-film coatings. In 1961, Turner and his colleagues were awarded a technical Oscar form the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the development of the cold mirror, which eliminated the very serious threat of fire hazard from motion picture projectors. After leaving the industry in 1971, Turner joined UA as a professor for another decade until his retirement.