Millennium Magazine_2ndEd

114 MILLENNIUM-SECOND EDITION F or more than two decades, Dr. Bruce Alan Drum has served as a physicist for the Food and Drug Administration in Rockville and Silver Spring, Maryland, where he evaluates new ophthalmic medical devices for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed in the U.S. At a young age Dr. Drum became interested in science, which ignited his passion to pursue it as a career. As a freshman in high school, he wanted to be a physicist even though he was unsure what the role entailed. He subsequently attended Ohio State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in physics and later a PhD in biophysics. Before his tenure at the Food and Drug Administration, he served the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University as a postdoctoral fellow for a year, as well as an assistant professor from 1984 to 1991. From 1975 to 1984 he was a research faculty member at George Washington University. In addition to his work with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, he has served as a vision consultant. Dr. Drum has contributed to the field through his research in visual optics and psychophysics. His accomplishments include developing models for brightness perception and human color vision and creating ophthalmic devices, as well as being involved in the federal regulation of those devices. Two significant results from Dr. Drum’s research include his discovery of two components of achromatic brightness perception that correspond to two different neural pathways in the brain, and his discovery that short-wavelength-sensitive cone photoreceptors in the retina contribute in a complex manner to the perception of red, yellow, green and blue colors. He has written book chapters and articles in professional journals, and edited conference proceedings. Dr. Drum is a member of the Imaging and Perimetry Society, the International Colour Vision Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Optical Society, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. He attributes his success to hard work. BRUCE ALAN DRUM, PHD PHYSICIST, CENTER FOR DEVICES AND RADIOLOGICAL HEALTH U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION Columbia, MD