[[File:RKE Eyepiece David Rank.png|thumb|Diagram of a RKE eyepiece developed by Rank]] '''David Herr Rank''' (January 2, 1907 – January 17, 1981) was an American spectroscopist.
Rank was born in Annville, Pennsylvania and attended Lebanon Valley College in his hometown.<ref>{{cite news |title=David H. Rank |url=https://www.osa.org/en-us/history/biographies/david_h_rank/ |accessdate=July 28, 2018 |publisher=Optical Society of America}}</ref> He pursued graduate study at Pennsylvania State University beginning in 1930 and joined the faculty in 1935.<ref name="nytap"/> Rank was appointed the Evan Pugh Professor in Physics in 1961.<ref>{{cite news |title=Evan Pugh Professors |url=https://www.research.psu.edu/ovpr/faculty-honors/evan-pugh |accessdate=July 29, 2018 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |archive-date=October 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013220306/https://www.research.psu.edu/ovpr/faculty-honors/evan-pugh |url-status=dead }}</ref> He retired in 1972 and died at Centre County Community Hospital in State College, Pennsylvania, on January 17, 1981, aged 74.<ref name="nytap">{{cite news |title=David Rank, a Physicist Known for Optics Work |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/19/obituaries/david-rank-a-physicist-known-for-optics-work.html |accessdate=July 29, 2018 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=January 18, 1981}}</ref>
He was a Fellow of The Optical Society and APS, and he received the Frederic Ives Medal in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Optica Publishing Group |url=https://opg.optica.org/josa/viewmedia.cfm?uri=josa-71-9-1148&html=true |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=opg.optica.org}}</ref>
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Category:1907 births Category:1981 deaths Category:20th-century American physicists Category:Lebanon Valley College alumni Category:Eberly College of Science alumni Category:Pennsylvania State University faculty Category:People from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania Category:American spectroscopists Category:20th-century American chemists