OSA Fellow Arthur H Guenther was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA, and would go on to become the state’s youngest Eagle Scout. He received a B.S. in chemistry from Rutgers University in 1953 and a Ph.D. in physics and chemistry from Pennsylvania State University in 1957.

After graduating from Penn State, Art served for 31 years in the Air Force, 14 as chief scientist at the Air Force Weapon Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M. He was chief scientist at both Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, and science advisor to the governor of New Mexico. At the end of his career, he held the position of research professor at the Center for High Technology Materials at the University of New Mexico.

He contributed to more than 350 publications, nearly 100 of which were in refereed journals. His achievements led to many awards, including the Meritorious Executive Award from President Reagan, the SPIE Director’s Award, the IEEE Harry Diamond Award, the OSA David Richardson Award, the LIA Arthur Schawlow Award, and the first Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the New Mexico Optics Industry Association. Notably, he was one of the first two Americans to be invited to join the prestigious Russian Academy of Science.

Guenther passed away in 2017.