Born: 1934, Tunisia
Died: NA
Country most active: France
Also known as: Genskof or Aron Genskof, Danièle Sylvie Rosa
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women founder Allison Tyra’s book The View from the Hill: Women Who Made Their Mark After 40.
In a 1987 lecture, Danièle Sylvie Aron-Rosa told her audience, “an innovation does not come from a sudden illumination. It requires a time of observation, a certain inclination to gamble, and the feeling that the present is already the past.” Though she didn’t mention it, another important aspect is to give it a really fancy name, like Aron-Rosa’s picosecond Neodymium Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) laser, which is widely used in eye surgeries. She also painted under the pseudonym Genskof, and her works were collected by museums in France and the United States.
Born in Tunisia in 1934, Aron-Rosa studied medicine at the University of Paris and, as a young doctor, her love of physics led to her interest in ophthalmology. After completing her internship, residency, and fellowship, she became a professor and head of ophthalmology at her alma mater in 1962. Applying her physics knowledge to the existing understanding of lasers, she was able to create a faster-pulsing version in the 1970s, experimenting with how precisely it could affect the eye’s anatomy. She was able to develop technology that cut tissues within the eye non-invasively, without affecting the surrounding tissue. Patenting her device in 1978, she performed the first Nd:YAG procedure in 1979, a posterior capsulotomy (cataract surgery).
Among her many accolades are the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (1983), the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Laureate Award (2004, first woman) and induction into the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Hall of Fame (2003, first woman).