Edward S. Bennett, OD, MSEd, FAAO, FSLS

Dr. Ed Bennett is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Optometry.  He is President and Executive Director of the Gas Permeable (GP) Lens Institute and is the Clinical Features Editor for Contact Lens Spectrum. He is a past Chair of the Contact Lens and Cornea Section Council of the American Optometric Association (AOA) and is a Diplomate and a past Chair of the Cornea, Contact Lenses and Refractive Technologies Section of the American Academy of Optometry.  He is a past Chair of the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators and past President of the MD-OD Contact Lens Foundation of St. Louis. He is also a Fellow in the Scleral Lens Education Society and a Distinguished Fellow in the National Academies of Practice.  He has authored over 200 publications including 14 texts and lectured at over 500 scientific and continuing education symposia.  He was inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame in June, 2022 and was elected as an inaugural member of the Academy Hall of Fame that same year. He is a recipient of both the Dr. Josef Dallos Award and Leonardo da Vinci Award (CLMA), The Distinguished Service Award (GPLI), the Achievement Award, the Frank Fontana Award, and the Legends Award (AOA Contact Lens and Cornea Section), the Dr. Leonard Bronstein Memorial Award, the Global Specialty Lens Symposium Award of Excellence, the Annual Kevin Tuohy Memorial Award (CLSA), the University of Houston College of Optometry Award for Distinguished Research on the Cornea and Contact Lenses, the University of Missouri-St. Louis Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the American Optometric Foundation Michael G. Harris Award for Excellence in Optometric Education, the National Keratoconus Foundation Ambassador Award, The Dr. R.A. Koetting Memorial Award from the St. Louis Optometric Society, and the 2nd annual Distinguished Alumni Award from the Indiana University School of Optometry.  He was named one of the 50 most influential optometrists in America by Optometric Management and was honored as one of the 30 most influential in contact lenses in the last 30 years by Contact Lens Spectrum. He is a past member of the Education Committee of the Global Specialty Lens Symposium, an Editorial Review Board member for Review of Optometry, and an Editorial Board Member for Review of Cornea and Contact Lenses.