NSU Horizons Spring 2013

31 HORIZONS Ryan Beck, president of the optometry class of 2015, is also Nova Southeastern University’s representative for the American Optometric Student Association. He wrote to the President’s Distinguished Professor board, quoting poet Khalil Gibran: “ ‘The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.’ No other professor I have studied under has emulated this more than Jiang,” said Beck. Beck also lauded Jiang’s passion and his ability to cover incredibly difficult topics in a manner that was easy for his students to comprehend. “I feel I’m lucky because students like me,” Jiang said modestly. When he started teaching, he asked himself which teachers he had learned from the most. The answer was easy, he realized—the ones he liked. “If you want students to study better, the teacher should be liked by students,” said Jiang. With this approach, he hopes they learn more—just as he did. Jiang came to NSU to continue a decade-long relationship with NSU’s optometry dean, David S. Loshin, O.D., Ph.D., who collaborated with him at the University of Houston, and has since supported his works at NSU. Jiang praises his time in NSU’s optometry program, which has upward of 400 students from around the world, and an impressive list of nearly 50 instructors. “These years at NSU have been wonderful,” Jiang said. Jiang’s association with Loshin has helped NSU in other ways. While at Houston, Jiang won a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, which provided substantial lab resources. When he came to NSU, he brought that equipment along to set up a new lab. A plethora of published papers and abstracts consume nearly six pages on Jiang’s resume. Among the most significant is his work researching myopia (nearsightedness). The purpose of his study is to find a mechanism or method to delay the devel- opment of myopia. When not at the NSU lectern or in conferences abroad, the professor also has a home in Irvine, California, with his wife, who was his university classmate during the 1960s and who later became a senior engineer in China. Their son is principal computer engineer for a private firm. Upon receiving the President’s Distinguished Profes- sor Award, Jiang wrote to his longtime supporter—Loshin. In the letter, he thanked DePiano, along with George Hanbury, NSU president and chief executive officer, and Ray Ferrero, Jr., J.D., chancellor. Jiang concluded, “Because of our joint efforts, I believe that the optics course in the NSU College of Optometry is the best in the United States.” n Bai-Chuan Jiang holds a spectrum tube that can emit special light.