Professor Heinz Baron died on February 19th 2016 in Frechen (near Cologne) ,Germany at the age of 88 years.
He was a member of ISCLS for over 50 years and holder of the Herschel medal.. Heinz was an excellent expert in the field of contact lens optics, Professor at the college ( university) for Optometry, Cologne and editor of the DOZ ( German Journal of Optics and Optometry ).
Heinz Baron was born on 28th July 1927 in Hindenburg, now Zabrze, Silesia. He graduated from school in an era of sinister political changes. At the age of 17 he joined the Wehrmacht as very young soldier and learned the terrible horrors of war.
Luckily he saw the end of the war on the Western Front, but he had to cooperate in the building of a reservoir as a prisoner of war in France. During this time, Heinz bought his very good knowledge of the French language. His family fled from Silesia and settled in the Cologne region where Heinz, after his release as a prisoner of war, joined them. He completed his physics studies swiftly and was awarded a Dr. rer. nat. Doctorate.
In 1956 he married his wife Rosemarie, and soon daughter Dagmar came into the world. In 1960 Heinz Baron started his work as a lecturer at the advanced school of optometry in Cologne, (HFAK Höhere Fachschule für Augenoptik), later becoming Deputy Director. He learned about contact lenses and they soon became his specialty.
This was also the starting point of our friendship. In 1963, we met for the first time at the company Müller-Welt in Stuttgart. As I had heard some really good stuff about him I met him with great respect. Later we met regularly in Aschaffenburg. Heinz Baron was a fixture at the annual contact lens meetings. It was his métier and he challenged the theoretical foundations of contactology. At a Meeting in 1968 he talked about orthokeratology. I had no idea, but was very impressed.
Heinz was internationally an expert in the field contact lenses. In addition to teaching at the HFAK and the journalistic work for DOZ (Deutsche Optikerzeitung – German optometric journal) he was also involved in developing standards in optics. In the national (DIN) andinternational (ISO) standardisation working groups we had many opportunities for fruitful cooperation. With his profound theoretical knowledge of optics and physiological operations, the development of the contact lens was repeatedly awarded a boost. His countless talks and publications elevated him to international contact lens expert. Heinz was a member of the International Society of Contact Lens Specialists (ISCLS), an international elite association of eye care professionals. For his achievements he was awarded the Herschel Medal of ISCLS excellent. He also gained recognition and bestowed honours by many other professional organizations such as ZVA (Zentralverband der Augenoptiker und Optometristen), VDC (Registered Association of German Specialists for Contact Lenses) and WVAO (Scientific Association for Optics and Optometry).
Dr. Heinz Baron was unforgettable, not only for his work, but also through his personality. He was a straightforward, honest person with rough edges.
Once you had won his confidence, due to his exemplary character, in all its facets, you could rely on his friendship and unselfish support and have a really good time.
For many he will remain ever present through his extensive work, but for me the many hours we spent together are unforgettable. I’m happy and grateful to have had him as a friend.
Peter Höfer