Jay M. Enoch
About Optica
In Memoriam: Jay M. Enoch, 1929-2025
30 March 2025
Jay Enoch, Optica Fellow and Past President of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), passed away in March 2025. Enoch was known for his contributions to optometry with an emphasis on teaching and research. He was made an Optica Fellow in 1963 and a Senior Member in 2011. Enoch was the Dean of Berkeley Optometry at the University of California from 1980 to 1992, during which he was instrumental in the expansion of the program. Following his time as dean, he served as a professor at the graduate school.
Enoch graduated from Bronx High School of Science and received his Bachelor's degree in Optometry from Columbia University in 1950. He attended the University of Rochester Institute of Optics in 1953 and received his PhD in Physiological Optics from Ohio State University in 1956. Enoch practiced optometry and held teaching appointments at various universities, including The Ohio State University, Washington University, and the University of Florida. He was also active with several institutions outside of the US, such as Waseda University Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo, the University of Bologna, Italy, and the University of Modena, Italy. Enoch contributed to numerous publications, including eight books and more than 300 papers and reports in the areas of perimetry, contact lenses, psychophysics, hyperacuity testing, and studies of retinal receptor optics.
Enoch received a number of accolades during his career, such as the Glenn Fry Lecture Award (1971), the Charles F. Prentice Medal (1974), the Francis I. Proctor Medal of ARVO (1977), an Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (1985), and the Otto Wichterle Medal (1986). Enoch was a Fellow of Optica (formerly the Optical Society of America) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was an American Academy of Optometry member and an honorary life member of the University of California Optometry Alumni Association. He was also inducted into the Berkeley Optometry Hall of Fame.
Optica and the scientific community mourn his loss.
