| John Howard | |
| Birth Name: | John Nelson Howard |
| Birth Date: | 27 February 1921 |
| Birth Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Death Place: | Newton, Massachusetts |
| Citizenship: | USA |
| Fields: | Physics Optics |
| Workplaces: | Air Force Geophysics Laboratory |
| Known For: | Founder of Applied Optics |
John Nelson Howard (February 27, 1921 – April 15, 2015) was president of the Optical Society of America in 1991.[1] [2] 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 (OPN).