JOSEPH N. TRACHTMAN received a Doctor of Optometry degree from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, completed his Internship and Residency in Vision and Child Development at the Optometric Center of New York, earned a Master of Education degree from the Johns Hopkins University, and received a Master's in Vision Science from the State University of New York, State College of Optometry. He also earned a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Yeshiva University, where the topic for his research was the use of biofeedback to reduce nearsightedness. Dr. Trachtman completed his formal education with a National Library of Medicine Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Computers in Medicine at Mt. Sinai Medical School, New York. From 1970 to 1972 he was a Captain in the U.S. Army, where he was the Chief Optometry Officer, U.S. Kirk Army Hospital, Aberdeen Proving Ground. Dr. Trachtman is Board Certified as an Academic Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development; a distinction held by only 60 doctors around the world. Between 1977 and 1982, Dr. Trachtman practiced optometry and continued his research into environmental causes of nearsightedness at City College of the City University of New York. The research was funded by the National Eye Institute. He began marketing his biofeedback vision-training instruments in 1984, and holds 12 patents for these devices. Dr. Trachtman has personally provided vision training for an array of patients that range from world-class athletes to learning-disabled schoolchildren. In addition to attending to his patients, and his business efforts, he has has taught a variety of courses at the State University of New York, College of Optometry, Touro College, Wagner College, and the College of Staten Island of the City University of New York. He regularly contributes articles to professional journals and has lecture worldwide with over 70 publications, and over 100 presentations. Dr. Trachtman himself has been written about in the books 20/20 IS NOT ENOUGH by Seiderman and Marcus and THE GAME ACCORDING TO SYD by Syd Thrift as well as in numerous magazines, including GQ, OMNI, and EAST-WEST/NATURAL. He and his work were featured in the 1990, 1993, and 2015 issues of SPINOFF, an annual publication of NASA.
Sessions
Three Gems in the Crown of Developmental Optometry: Who Were Not Optometrists (Q&A follows via Zoom)