Visit from Dr. James Wynne, Co-Inventor of the Technology that Underlies LASIK and PRK Refractive Surgery

After visiting our headquarters, Dr. James Wynne, IBM physicist and world-renowned inventor, spoke at the University of South Florida about his latest endeavor “Smart Scalpel.” This is a procedure using excimer lasers to debride char from the skin of burn victims without causing further damage. It is much less painful than what is used today for burn wounds. We’re excited about the new business opportunities that we have planned with Dr. Wynne and we look forward to his next visit to our office very soon.

Dr. Wynne is a senior member of the staff of IBM Research Headquarters and manages the T. J. Watson Research Center’s outreach to local schools. He was raised in New York, earned a B. A. in physics in 1964 and a Ph. D. in applied physics in 1969 from Harvard University. Dr. Wynne and two IBM colleagues discovered the technology that underlies LASIK and PRK Refractive Surgery, which laid the foundation for the development of techniques for changing the shape of the cornea, thus surgically correcting common vision abnormalities of myopia, astigmatism and hyperopia. The techniques commonly used by many ophthalmologists are LASIK and PRK which are practiced around the world and as a results have improved the vision of more than 25 million people. Dr. Wynne has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, won the R. W. Wood Prize of the Optical Society of America (OSA) and awarded the Rank Prize for Opto-Electronics in 2010. He is the author of numerous articles and scientific journals and the holder of many patents, including several in laser dentistry and laser dermatology, and has received numerous Outstanding Innovation Awards throughout his career at IBM.