Back, Frank G.

Biography

Frank Gerhard Back was born in Vienna, Austria, on August 25, 1902. Upon completion of his secondary schooling in 1920, Back matriculated at the Technische Hochschule (Technical University) in Vienna, where he received his masters in engineering in 1925 and a doctorate in science in 1931. He worked as a self-employed consulting engineer in Vienna until September of 1938 when he moved to France. Back remained in France for less than a year and during the summer of 1939, he immigrated to the United States.

After working as an engineer for several companies in New York City, Back started his own company called Research and Development Laboratory in 1944. A year later, Back started a second company, Zoomar Inc., and served as its president and head engineer until his retirement in the late 1970s.

Throughout his life, Back invented several optical devices and improvements of existing optical technologies. He held numerous patents in the United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, France, Britain, and Italy. At Zoomar he developed and patented an optically-compensated zoom lens for television cameras in 1948 and one for single lens reflex (SLR) 35mm cameras in 1959. From the late 1940s to the 1970s, Back and Zoomar Inc. continually advanced optical technologies and introduced optical innovations for television and motion pictures, as well as astronomical, medical, commercial, and even military applications.

Back was also recognized for his expedition to the Philippines in 1955 to observe and photograph the solar eclipse on June 20th. He intended to provide conclusive evidence for Einstein's theory of relativity by calculating the optical distortation, if any, of starlight caused by the sun's gravity. Prior to his trip, Back conferred briefly with Albert Einstein on the type of data needed in order to prove the theory of relativity. He published a narrative report of his trip and his findings later that year in a book entitled HAS THE EARTH A RING AROUND IT?

Over the course of his career, Dr. Back received numerous honors and awards from professional organizations in his field including the Royal Photographic Society, the Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers, and the Society of American Military Engineers. In addition, Back lectured frequently at professional conferences and published regularly in professional journals in the United States and abroad.

Frank Back died in San Diego, California, on July 6, 1983.

From the guide to the Frank Back Papers, 1899 - 1983, (University of California, San Diego. Geisel Library. Mandeville Special Collections Library.)