Mary G. Turner: The 2024 SPIE María J. Yzuel Educator Award
Mary Turner, a Technical Fellow in Optical Design at Edmund Optics, has spent her career as an optical engineer sharing her knowledge with others. Having started her career as an electronics technician with the US Army, her areas of expertise have grown to include optical design software, stray light analysis, infrared optics, optical design, and illumination optics. A world-renowned leader in optical systems, Turner’s contributions have shaped generations of optical designers around the world, particularly in her highly regarded role as an educator of optical design. As an instructor, she has made significant contributions at Zemax, the Breault Research Organization, the University of California, and the University of Arizona. As a senior scientist at Zemax, she was responsible for developing the scope and course materials that were used for multiple levels of training classes; she provided technical support, training, and consulting related to the Zemax Optical Design Program; developed course materials for technical seminars on various aspects of optical design and analysis; and taught 25 to 40 classes annually, imparting her knowledge to more than 4,000 students a year.
An SPIE Member for nearly 30 years, Turner became a Fellow in 2006. Among other Society roles, she has been a member and/or chair of the SPIE A.E. Conrady Award in Optical Engineering, and the SPIE Awards and the SPIE Fellows committees. From 2003 to 2010, she was co-chair for the SPIE Optical Design Technical Working Group. Her lifetime commitment to and love for teaching were established early in her career: When she was featured in the 2006 SPIE Women in Optics publication, Turner said, “In my job with Breault Research Organization, I often provide training in the area of optics in general, usually related to providing an understanding of how to best use optical design and analysis software to achieve a required system performance. As I conduct a class, my biggest thrills come when I can see the ‘light go on’ for the students, indicating to me that the student now owns the material being discussed, [that] it is not simply a rule or a formula.”
“I first met Mary at the end of the 1990s when I was a young researcher in optics and took classes from her at Zemax and ASAP,” says University of Laval Professor Simon Thibault. “She still ranks among the most exceptional teachers I have had: the notes from the Zemax training course were much more useful than expected because she added clever lens design tips not only on how to use the software itself, but also on how to do lens design. She is not only an excellent laboratory instructor and teacher of lens and illumination design, she is also fully invested in and dedicated to her students and, as a mentor, generously shares professional and personal experiences with her trainees. In part, this is why she has inspired a considerable number of women in optics. Dr. Turner’s reputation is widely recognized in the international optics community and her teaching skills are thoroughly appreciated and very well known to anyone working in this field. The community has greatly benefited from her outstanding leadership in terms of student training and professional services.”
Meet the other 2024 SPIE Society Award recipients.
Read more about Mary G. Turner and the SPIE María J. Yzuel Educator Award.
