Adolph Lomb Medal

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Adolph Lomb Medal

Established in 1940 to honor Adolph Lomb's devotion to the society and the advancement of optics.

Society Connection

Adolph Lomb was a charter member of the Society and served as the first Treasurer from 1916 - 1932. He regularly made significant contributions to the Society, even during the economic devastation of the Great Depression. His support was so vital that in 1923, the Society formally acknowledged him as a patron, the only individual to hold that title.

Key Funders

Bausch and Lomb, Elsevier

About Adolph Lomb

Lomb was born in 1866, after a period that many historians characterize as the “launching” of American science. He was part of the first generation to come of age with science occupying a central place in American society and everyday life. His evolution into a man of science and industry thus was a product of his age as much as his family circumstance.

Like many others of his generation, Lomb envisioned science to be at the core of progress. As a result, he expanded the opportunities available to him from his father’s position and wealth. These prospects began with his early education. As the elder Lomb headed the sales division of the Bausch + Lomb Optical Company (B+L), Adolph spent his boyhood in the bustling center of New York City, as well as a year abroad in Europe in 1878-1879.

His early interest in optics was stimulated by his experiences in the family company after the Lombs moved back to Rochester, NY, in 1880. He began on a course of practical education, serving as an apprentice in the various divisions of the B+L factory. There, Lomb became fascinated with the more intricate operations of optics, as well as the complex theories and history behind their application.

Lomb was so invested in his practical education that he delayed his university studies until 1888, when he entered the University of Rochester at age 22. He studied mathematics and physics for two years before transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT in 1893. Lomb thoroughly enjoyed his studies and was sent for advanced academic work in theoretical optics at European centers of science: the University of Berlin, the Royal Technical College of Berlin, and the University of Paris.

The additional education not only provided Lomb with an unsurpassed grounding in theoretical and applied optics, but also had benefits for B+L. After his return to the United States around 1897, Lomb officially began work as a B+L employee. He took an interest in management, quickly rising in rank and responsibility.

Although Adolph had not technically been a B+L employee while studying abroad, he spent considerable time in various workshops, including those of the leading optical firm Carl Zeiss Works in Jena, Germany. The personal relationships he cultivated there were essential in formalizing a later alliance among Carl Zeiss, B+L and Saegmuller in 1908. By 1916, Lomb was assistant secretary of the company and on the board of directors. He would rise to be the first vice president of the company, an office he retained until his death in 1932.

Lomb was a charter member of the Society and served as the first Treasurer from 1916 - 1932. He advanced optics by generously supporting the field and the Society devoted to it.