Rudolf Kingslake

Who was Rudolf Kingslake?

Rudolf Kingslake was an eminent academician, lens designer, and engineer.

Rudolf Kingslake was born in London, England in 1903. He studied optical design at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, under eminent optical designer and theoretician Alexander Eugen Conrady, and earned a Masters degree in Optical Design. Kingslake later married Professor Conrady's daughter, Hilda. In 1929, Kingslake was invited to come to the United States to teach at the University of Rochester, where he founded the Institute of Applied Optics, now known as The Institute of Optics. In 1937, Kingslake became the head of Optical Design department of Eastman Kodak while continuing his teaching at the University of Rochester.

In 1958, Kingslake and wife Hilda edited an unfinished manuscript by Conrady and published a sequel to Conrady's book, Applied Optics and Optical Design.

Since 1974, SPIE has awarded the Rudolf Kingslake Medal to recognize the most noteworthy original paper published in the society's journal, Optical Engineering.

Rudolf Kingslake died on February 28, 2003 in Rochester, NY at age 100, two weeks after the death of his wife, Hilda.