Emeritus Professor Stephen Dain has received the Josef Lederer award from Optometry NSW/ACT (O NSW/ACT). The award, the most prestigious of all awards conferred by O NSW/ACT, was created in 1996 to recognise members whose work has elevated the status of the profession beyond what is normally expected.
Professor Dain was born in the United Kingdom and studied at City University London where he became one of the first to graduate with a BSc in Ophthalmic Optics. He moved to Australia to take up an appointment at the University of Melbourne in 1973 and two and a half years later moved to the University of New South Wales.
The award… was created in 1996 to recognise members whose work has elevated the status of the profession beyond what is normally expected
After many years as a renowned member of the faculty, known for his great passion for colour vision, Professor Dain was appointed Head of School at UNSW, a position he held for eight years from 1998 – 2006. During his time at UNSW he also founded the University’s Optics and Radiometry Laboratory.
Professor Dain has published in excess of 120 papers in peer reviewed journals and continues to produce publications with both clinical and scientific application.
Previous winners of the Josef Lederer award include the late Professor Brien Holden, Professor Brian Layland, Anthony Chapman-Davies, Christine Craigie, William Trinh and Timothy Duffy.
