Facts: - death place: newton , massachusetts - known for: founder of applied optics - birth name: john nelson howard - fields: physics optics - death date: 15 april 2015 - workplaces: air force geophysics laboratory - birth date: 27 february 1921 - name: john howard - citizenship: usa - birth place: philadelphia , pennsylvania Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of john howard -lrb- optical physicist -rrb- .
Answer:
john nelson howard -lrb- february 27 , 1921 -- april 15 , 2015 -rrb- was president of the optical society of america in 1991 .he was the founding editor of the scientific journal applied optics .howard was also a chief scientist of the air force geophysics laboratory .he was a fellow of the optical society and received the osa distinguished service award in 1987 .in his later years he was a contributing editor to optics and photonics news -lrb- opn -rrb- .