Washington, DC--The Optical Society (OSA) is mourning the loss of its first executive director, Jarus W. Quinn, 81, who passed away on August 11 in North Carolina. He would have been 82 on August 25.
Quinn, who earned his Ph.D. in physics from Catholic University of America (Washington, DC), served as OSA’s executive director from 1969 through his retirement in 1994. During his tenure, he provided an effective infrastructure and created programs and services to support the rapidly expanding scientific and engineering advancements in the field. Under Quinn, journal publication operations were brought in-house, topical meetings and conferences—such as the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO) and the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC)—were established, the Washington, DC headquarters was purchased, and OSA’s international membership program was expanded.
Quinn received numerous honors and awards throughout his long career, including being named an OSA Fellow in 1969 and being awarded the OSA Distinguished Service Award in 1993. Upon his retirement in 1994 the OSA membership established the Quinn Prize endowment to fund the Frederick Ives Medal, one of OSA’s most prestigious awards. Jarus is also an honorary member, one of OSA’s highest distinctions.
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