Stephen A. Benton, inventor of the rainbow hologram and a pioneer in medical imaging and fine arts holography, died of brain cancer , Nov. 9 2003. He was 61.  Benton was director of the MA Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) and the Rudge ('48) and Nancy Allen Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Laboratory.

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MIT President Charles M. Vest said, "Steve brought a joy and spirit of inventiveness to all that he did. He was a gifted teacher, scientist, engineer and artist who personified the best of MIT."

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Benton was known for his enthusiasm for all things optical -- an enthusiasm, he said, that was ignited the minute he put on a pair of plastic 3-D glasses to watch the film "The House of Wax," at age 11. "There was a realism and a sense of excitement like nothing I had ever felt before. Not only was I amazed; I determined then and there to figure out how it worked," Benton once said.

 

Benton was born in San Francisco in 1941 and grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif. He received his undergraduate degree from MIT in electrical engineering (1963) and worked with stroboscopy pioneer Professor Harold "Doc" Edgerton. During this time, Benton also worked at the Polaroid Corp., participating in Edwin Land's vision research laboratory. Benton received the M.S. (1964) and Ph.D. (1968) from Harvard University.

 

"Steve was not only a superb scientist who led his field for decades, he was also a wonderful practical craftsman of the holographic image, and a Pied Piper for students, artists and designers who worked with advanced imaging technology. His influence on the art and design worlds has been profound and enduring," said architecture professor William J. Mitchell, who is academic head of MIT's Program in Media Arts and Sciences.

 

Benton had his first glimpse of a hologram in 1964. It was a "little coffee cup, but it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. I knew my life would never be the same," he said. Holography works like photography in that it records light wave patterns on chemically sensitive film or glass. Converging direct and indirect laser beams create its exciting 3-D effect.

 

Benton invented rainbow holography -- a process that makes a hologram visible using common white light, also known in its credit card iteration as "Benton holograms."

 

Benton returned to MIT as a visiting scientist in the Laser Research Center in 1980. He became founding head of the Spatial Imaging Group in 1982. A founding faculty member of the Media Lab in 1984, Benton delighted in both the scientific and aesthetic applications of holography. He held 14 patents in optical physics, photography and holography, and his own works in holography have been displayed at the Museum of Holography in New York.

 

In 1985, Benton began generating synthetic holograms from 3-D digital databases, initially creating a 3-D image of a green car floating in front of the Boston skyline.

 

He described holography as a true "intersection of art, science and technology." While he considered viewing a good hologram to be a "magical experience," the rigor and depth of his research yielded far more than visual wizardry. Holograms have been used to create three-dimensional composites of CT and MRI scans that have been very useful in medical diagnosis.

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In 1968, Benton began working on the rainbow hologram, or the Benton hologram, at Polaroid Corporation. Rainbow holography makes use of common white light to visualize holograms rather than lasers, thereby leading "holography out of the lab". This type of hologram is commonly seen as the dove on the VISA card. The first rainbow hologram, termed "Motif 1," was presented on a 4-by-5-inch glass plate. It consisted of three chess pieces illuminated by a single white light bulb. Dr. Benton first presented his invention to the optical society in California in 1968. This discovery was also of great interest to the artistic community, as "fiercely bright images which could be manipulated in an artistic context were observed". Since the rainbow hologram was very easy to mass-produce, today, credit card companies and state agencies widely make use of rainbow holograms to deter counterfeiting of credit cards and identification cards.

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His research in holography helped in the advancement of holographic technology integral to medical imaging devices like CT and MRI scanners.

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In 1988, Dr. Benton patented methods and devices for projecting and recording holographic stereograms. This invention utilized a semi-cylindrical "alcove" display system in front of which an image is projected. This provides the viewer with a wider angle of view compared to the traditional hologram (180 degrees compared to 30 degrees), allowing viewers to look around most of the image content.

 

Among his many achievements, Dr. Benton was active in a number of professional societies. In 1999, he held the position of vice president for the Society for Imaging Science and Technology, and from 1990 – 1993, he served as a member of the board of directors for SPIE. He played a vital role as a member of OSA's board from 1978 – 1981, having been president of the New England section of OSA from 1976 – 1977.   Dr Benton was a Fellow of OSA, SPIE, and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology. He also was a member of the Board of trustees for the Museum of Holography in New York and was the chairman for the U.S. National Committee for the International Commission for Optics from 1980-1984. He received the Edwin H. Land Medal in 2005.

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"As a world leader in both technology and the arts, Steve Benton epitomized the Media Lab. Rather than mere users of holography, he and his lab invented many aspects of it, including the basic science behind holographic video," said Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of the MIT Media Labs and the Jerome Wiesner Professor of Media Technology.

 

Benton is survived by his wife, Jeanne Lamphier Benton; a daughter, Julia Benton; a son, James; and brothers Nicholas and Chris. He was a longtime resident of Lincoln, Mass. 

                                   - - WEBB CHAPPELL