Leo Maurice Hurvich (September 11, 1910 – April 25, 2009) was an American psychologist who conducted research into human

color vision Color vision, a feature of visual perception, is an ability to perceive differences between light composed of different frequencies independently of light intensity. Color perception is a part of the larger visual system and is mediated by a co ...

. He was married to fellow cognitive psychologist Dorothea Jameson. The pair collaborated on much of their work, including an elaboration on the

opponent process The opponent process is a color theory that states that the human visual system interprets information about color by processing signals from photoreceptor cells in an antagonistic manner. The opponent-process theory suggests that there are thre ...

theory. Hurvich was a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

and he received the APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology from the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

Biography

Hurvich attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, earning undergraduate and doctoral degrees. He spent several years working at Harvard before he became a researcher at

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

. While working for Kodak, Hurvich was called before the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

mathematics faculty member W. T. Martin testified that he was a former communist and he said that he thought Hurvich had been part of a circle of communists at Harvard. Hurvich asserted his right not to testify before the committee. From 1957 to 1962, he was on the faculty of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Hurvich was a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

in 1964. He finished his career at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, from which he retired in 1979. He was married to Dorothea Jameson, a psychologist with whom he collaborated on his vision research. The pair conducted important research that quantified the

theory of color vision. Hurvich and Jameson's adaptation of the opponent process theory became known as a more complete explanation of color vision than the Young-Helmholtz theory. Hurvich was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1975. Jameson and Hurvich shared the 1971 Howard Crosby Warren Medal from the

Society of Experimental Psychologists The Society of Experimental Psychologists (SEP), originally called the Society of Experimentalists, is an academic society for experimental psychologists. It was founded by Edward Bradford Titchener in 1904 to be an ongoing workshop in which mem ...

and they were among four recipients of the 1972 APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology from the American Psychological Association. Hurvich received the 1982 Edgar D. Tillyer Award from the

Optical Society of America Optica, founded as the Optical Society of America (later the Optical Society), is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and ca ...

. Jameson died in April 1998. Hurvich died at his New York City home in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurvich, Leo 1910 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American psychologists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni New York University faculty University of Pennsylvania faculty Kodak people Harvard College alumni APA Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology recipients