Smith-Kettlewell Institute
The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco was founded in 1959 by Arthur Jampolsky, Alan B Scott, Carter Collins & Edward Tamler, and over the years became internationally known for the work of its scientists in vision and oculomotility. In the early 1990s, senior faculty considered the Institute's needs in relation to the scientific environment, and developed a highly successful recruitment program, which seeded strong programs in retinal physiology, cortical physiology, and computational vision.
In 2000, Founder Jampolsky announced that the institute would return to its "founding principles”. The recruitment program was dismantled, and the institute’s newly constructed physiology facility was shuttered. Within a few years, most of the institute’s scientists had been pushed out or left. NIH-funded programming consequently fell below required levels, and NIH Training (supporting students) and Core (supporting shared facilities) grants were lost. A technology-oriented rehabilitation engineering group (RERC) survives.
The current executive director of Smith-Kettlewell is John Brabyn.
Major Work:
- botulinum toxin for strabismus correction.
- sensory substitution systems.
- RIAS (Remote Infrared Audible Signage) orientation for print-disabled persons.
- color random-dot autostereogram - 3-D perceptions from 2-D renderings.