Posted on September 9, 2002 at 4:13 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Two UAB School of Optometry faculty members will be inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame at this year’s EastWest Eye Conference. The induction ceremony will be October 31 in Cleveland.

The five 2002 inductees will include Lawrence DeLucas, O.D., Ph.D., and Melvin Shipp, O.D., Dr.P.H. The National Optometry Hall of Fame recognizes those whose lifetime achievements have advanced the profession of optometry.

DeLucas, optometry’s first astronaut, has made exceptional contributions to the field of crystallography, first as a payload specialist on NASA’s space shuttle designated U.S. Microgravity Lab 1.

His studies on the effects of microgravity environments on protein crystal growth are leading the way toward the development of new pharmaceutical agents to treat a range of human diseases. DeLucas is a professor of optometry and Director of the Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering at UAB.

Shipp was educated as an optometrist and has pursued his graduate interests through a master’s in public health from Harvard University and a doctorate in public health from the University of Michigan.

Combining those education bases, he has become a leading teacher and advocate for vision concerns in both the optometric and public health communities, especially in relation to health policy regarding vision and driving.

He is the first optometrist to be selected for a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship by the National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine. He has served as an educator, researcher and administrator at UAB and as treasurer of the American Public Health Administration.