The Malcolm P. Aldrich Research Professor Emeritus of Ophthalmology, died at age 95. Dr Balazs devoted decades to studying the potential uses of hyaluronic acid, a viscoelastic substance discovered in 1934 by Dr Karl Meyer in an ophthalmology lab at Columbia. Dr. Balazs and his company received a patent for a hyaluronan derivative called Healon, which transformed cataract and corneal surgery. Products Dr. Balazs helped develop also improve mobility for people crippled by osteoarthritis of the knee. Because hyaluronan was found to prevent postoperative scar tissue and can retain almost 100 times its weight in water, it has been used in skin moisturizers, sunscreens, wrinkle creams, and other cosmetics.