{{Short description|American scientist and physicist}} {{Infobox scientist | name = James Fienup | image = James Fienup 1986.png | caption = Fienup in 1986 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|April 17, 1948}} | birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | fields = Applied physics | workplaces = University of Rochester | alma_mater = College of the Holy Cross (BA)<br />Stanford University (MS, PhD) | thesis_title = Improved synthesis and computational methods for computer-generated holograms | thesis_url = https://books.google.com/books/about/Improved_Synthesis_and_Computational_Met.html?id=FS5HAAAAIAAJ | thesis_year = 1975 | doctoral_advisor = Joseph W. Goodman }}

'''James Ray Fienup''' (born April 17, 1948) is an American optical scientist and applied physicist. He is the Robert E. Hopkins Professor of Optics at the Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester, where he researches imaging science.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=James R. Fienup |url=https://www.hajim.rochester.edu/optics/people/faculty/fienup_james/index.html |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=Institute of Optics |publisher=University of Rochester |language=en-US}}</ref> Fienup was the editor-in-chief of the ''Journal of the Optical Society of America'' from 1998 to 2003.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Professor Fienup {{!}} Fienup Research Group |url=https://labsites.rochester.edu/fienup/james-r-fienup/professor-fienup/ |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=Institute of Optics |publisher=University of Rochester |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Early life and education == Fienup was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 17, 1948.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Cederquist |first=Jack |last2=Robinson |first2=S. R. |last3=Kryskowski |first3=D. |last4=Wackerman |first4=C. C. |date=April 1986 |title=Cramer-Rao lower bound on wavefront sensor error |url=https://labsites.rochester.edu/fienup/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Cederquist_CRLB-WFS_OptEngr1986.pdf |journal=Optical Engineering |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=586–592 |via=University of Rochester}}</ref> After being educated at St. Louis University High School, he attended the College of the Holy Cross, where he graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), ''magna cum laude'', in physics and mathematics. Fienup then pursued graduate studies at Stanford University as a fellow for the National Science Foundation.<ref name=":0" />

In 1972, Fienup obtained a Master of Science (M.S.) from Stanford in applied physics and then received a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in the field in 1975.<ref>{{Cite web |title=James R. Fienup |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/author/37352552800 |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=IEEE Xplore}}</ref> His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Improved synthesis and computational methods for computer-generated holograms".<ref name=":3" /> His doctoral advisor was the physicist Joseph W. Goodman.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=J.W. Goodman - Former Ph.D. Students |url=https://www-ee.stanford.edu/~goodman/phd.html |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=Stanford University}}</ref>

== Career == After serving as a research assistant at the Stanford Electronics Laboratories, Fienup became a senior scientist at the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan in July 1975. He remained there until June 2002, when he assumed a position at the University of Rochester as its Robert E. Hopkins Professor of Optics.<ref name=":1" />

Fienup is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of Optica. He received the Emmett N. Leith Medal in 2013, "for the integration of optics and digital systems as demonstrated in pioneering contributions to phase retrieval, image restoration, wavefront sensing and computational imaging."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Optical Society Announces 17 Award Recipients for 2013 {{!}} Optica |url=https://www.optica.org/about/newsroom/news_releases/2013/the_optical_society_announces_17_award_recipients_for_2013/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=www.optica.org}}</ref> He is also a member of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).<ref name=":2" />

== References == <references />

== External links ==

* [https://labsites.rochester.edu/fienup/james-r-fienup/publications/ List] of publications at the Fienup Research Group of the University of Rochester

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fienup, James}} Category:College of the Holy Cross alumni Category:University of Rochester faculty Category:Stanford University alumni Category:Activists from St. Louis Category:Scientists from St. Louis Category:Living people Category:American opticians Category:1948 births