Earl Smith Myopia

Myopia, one of the more progressive eye conditions affecting children and adults, affects over a billion people in the world today, and that total is steadily rising.1 A particular optometry pioneer, Dr. Earl Smith III, OD, PhD, has worked diligently throughout his career to aid the children of myopic parents from developing the condition. Dr. Smith has made multiple important contributions to the field of optometry and continues to today at the University of Houston.

His career began many years ago, and his spirit to help started at a young age. Dr. Earl Smith was born in the late 1940s in Norfolk, VA after World War II had taken the victorious United States by storm. The diligent Dr. Smith would graduate from the University of Houston with
That remains true for Dr. Smith. Most of his research over his career has been based on the optics of the eye itself. In fact, for a rewarding 33 years, Dr. Smith has received funding from the National Institute of Health’s National Eye Institute.3 While examining the external and internal factors that affect the eye’s vision from refraction, Dr. Smith has received numerous awards throughout the years. His first prestigious moment occurred in 1996 when he received the Glenn Fry Award. In 2010 he received the Prentice Medal from the American Academy of Optometry (AAO); both honors were due to his measurable strides in determining vision’s effect in refractive development and eye maturation.2 After the Prentice Medal, Dr. Smith went on to attain accolades from all corners of the field of optometry. These include the following: the Korb Award for Excellence from the Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the American Optometric Association (AOA), Distinguished Scholar and Fellow by the National Academy of Practice in Optometry, Educator of the Year in 2003, and Optometrist of the Year in 2009 by the Texas Optometric Association. With all of Dr. Smith’s significant research and awards he has found time to be involved in the vision science community as well serving as a fellow or a president. These include the AAO, the American Optometric Foundation, and the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry.3 Dr. Smith is certainly a desirable contribution to these organizations and optometry itself due to his major contribution: myopia prevention research and