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Laboratory notebooks and other materials, 1955-2008, documenting the research of Charles J. Koester, an optical physicist who was on the faculty of the Columbia University Department of Ophthalmology/Harkness Institute of Ophthalmology, 1977-1991.
History and Biography
Charles J. Koester, optical physicist, was born at Niagara Falls, N.Y. on January 26, 1929 to Carl John and Helen Hogan Koester. He was raised in Fostoria, Ohio. Koester was educated at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University) (B.S., physics, 1950) and the University of Rochester (Ph.D., physics and optics, 1955).
He was employed at the American Optical Corporation's research laboratory, 1955-1977, where he led the team that built the first laser instrument used in human medical treatment.
In 1977, Koester was appointed assistant professor of biophysical ophthalmology in the Columbia University Dept. of Ophthalmology/Harkness Institute of Ophthalmology. There he worked on the control and use of polarized light, fiber optics, lens design, and specialized microscopes.
Koester served on the Board of Directors of the Optical Society of America, 1974-76, and was a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Optical Society and the Ernst Abbe Memorial Award from the New York Microscopical Society. He held more than 60 patents.
Koester died April 18, 2020 in Glen Rock, New Jersey, survived by his wife, four children and several grandchildren.
Organization
Laboratory notebooks, correspondence, drawings, photographs, and slides documenting Koester's work as an optical physicist, first for the American Optical Corporation and then as a faculty member in the Columbia University Department of Ophthalmology. His research was largely devoted to creating new types of microscopes and lens for use in the treatment of patients.
Administrative Information
Gift of David C. Koester, son, 2021 (accessions #2021.020, #2021.029)