[visionlist] Herschel W. Leibowitz (1925-2011)

[Rick Tyrrell]

Scholar, educator, and philanthropist Herschel W. Leibowitz died on February 13, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania at the age of 85. Leibowitz was widely recognized for his research in visual perception and for his approach to conducting research that both advanced theory and helped in the understanding and relief of societal problems.

Leibowitz's research investigated basic issues of visual psychophysics, perception of size, distance, and motion, peripheral vision, and oculomotor functioning. He also studied problems of aviation, traffic safety, motion sickness, postural instability (especially during stair descent), and the effects of stress on perception. Indeed, one of the striking characteristics of Leibowitz's research was his symbiotic view of "basic" and "applied" science. In the early 1970s, for example, Leibowitz's lab developed the laser optometer and used it to advance our basic understanding of the eyes' focusing behavior (visual accommodation); these "basic" experiments simultaneously addressed real-world difficulties such as night myopia and visual fatigue. He also connected advances in visual psychophysics and neuroscience with a wide range of matters in health science, national defense, child development, and transportation safety. He proposed that the hazards of night driving, for example, can be better understood through the neurological concept of two visual systems, explaining drivers' over-confidence at night as resulting from sustained efficiency of visual guidance combined with selective degradation of focal recognition abilities. In general, Leibowitz enjoyed bringing into the laboratory the visual challenges that are routinely faced by people in highly demanding situations.

Leibowitz was also a tireless advocate for psychological science. He frequently organized and served on review panels for the NRC, NSF, NIH, NIMH, the DoD, and the U.S. Olympic Committee (among many others), and he served on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals. Once when offering testimony to a Congressional committee, Leibowitz pointed out that the military was investing less annually in human factors research than the cost of a single aviation mishap despite the fact that the military was blaming many such mishaps on human error.

A defining characteristic of Leibowitz's approach to science was his enthusiasm for cultivating the development of younger scientists. He encouraged his graduate students to indulge their curiosity ("study what bugs you!"), while always insisting on attention to his favorite question "Why is that important?" Leibowitz loved inter-disciplinary collaboration and he built productive friendships with colleagues in fields ranging from anthropology to zoology, including athletics, biomechanics, health science, law, physiology, and physics. His extended family of former graduate students and colleagues gathered in State College on several occasions for LeiboFest celebrations of science, friendship, and mentorship. The book "Visual Perception: The Influence of H.W. Leibowitz" was written by his students and close colleagues in 2003; the book contains pearls of wisdom that continue to prove useful.

Leibowitz' early studies at University of Pennsylvania were interrupted by World War II, and he was a Private during the Battle of the Bulge. He later earned his M.A. and his Ph.D. from Columbia University under the guidance of Clarence Graham. Leibowitz' dissertation explored the effect of pupil size on visual acuity for photometrically matched stimuli. He began his career as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin (1951-1960). Following two years as manager of behavioral research at IBM, Leibowitz returned to academia in 1962 as a member of the Department of Psychology at Penn State University. He was named an Evan Pugh Professor in 1977. By the time of his retirement in 1995 Leibowitz had published more than 250 articles in scientific journals and had been recognized as one of the most influential researchers in perception (White, 1987, Big bangs in perception: the most often cited authors and publications, Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 25, 458-461).

Among his numerous honors, Leibowitz received the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award for the Applications of Psychology (1994), the American Academy of Optometry's Prentice Medal (1987), Pennsylvania Optometric Association's Van Essen Award (1987), and honorary Doctor of Science from the State University of New York (1991). He launched distant collaborations with the support of fellowships from the Guggenheim (1957-58) and Alexander von Humboldt (1976-78) Foundations and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford.

In later years, Leibowitz also became an avid runner. Locals recall the lanky 6' 5" Leibowitz loping across Penn State's campus on cold winter days in his size-16 running shoes with socks on his hands instead of his feet. He claimed that he did his best thinking while running, and he ran a lot. Leibowitz was 50 when he completed the first of his 15 marathons.

For all that he accomplished, however, Leibowitz's scientific and personal philosophies will often be distilled down to a single maxim known as "Leibowitz' Law." Linking neuroanatomy, psychophysics, and everyday experience, Leibowitz's Law is illuminating for its simplicity, for its accuracy, for its implicit request to honor simple truths, and for reflecting Leibowitz's unique sense of humor. Leibowitz' Law states that "You can't see a damn thing in the dark!" It is telling sample of Leibowitz's unique approach toward science, education, and friendship.

Herschel Leibowitz will be remembered for his energy, his generosity, his irrepressible sense of humor, and his tireless dedication to teaching, research, and public service.

All are invited to visit http://hershleibowitz.posterous.com/ to find an electronic tribute to Hersh Leibowitz. The page is set up so that anyone can share memories, thoughts, and stories of Hersh by posting a comment. You do not need to register with the website in order to post a comment or to see others' comments.
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