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In Memoriam: Ronald W. Waynant, 1940-2016
May 08, 2016
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Ronald W. Waynant, OSA Fellow and former committee volunteer, passed away on 8 May 2016. Ron was born in Gettysburg, PA, on 4 October 1940, the son of Vaughn and Naomi Waynant. Ron was valedictorian of Thurmont High School class of 1958 and attended Johns Hopkins University, earning a Bachelor's in Engineering Science in 1962. He completed his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering while working for Westinghouse and the Naval Research Laboratory. Dr. Ronald Waynant was educated at Johns Hopkins University and Catholic University of America and worked with lasers for more than 45 years.
He worked at Westinghouse for seven years on applications of ruby and neodymium lasers, at the NRL for seventeen years working on UV and vacuum UV gas lasers inventing novel laser pumping techniques, and at the Food and Drug Administration working on medical applications, fiber optic delivery and optical sensors for over twenty years. He was a fellow of the ASLMS, IEEE, OSA, and AIMBE. His interests were laser generated x-ray imaging, novel laser delivery and sensing, and mid-infrared sources and systems for optical diagnosis of disease. He also played a seminal role in the development of photobiomodulation and light-tissue interactions. Dr. Waynant served as Laser Safety Representative on the ASLMS Board of Directors from 2007-2010.
Ron is survived by his wife of 39 years, Priscilla Pilson Waynant, his daughter, Marcia W. Patchan (Robert), his sons, William and Kristopher (Tara), and three granddaughters, Kathryn, Julianne, and Mackenzie. He is also survived by his sister Deborra Lego (B. Timothy). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association at alz.org in tribute to Ronald.
