Endowed Fellowship Named For Inventor of Zoom Lens

The Jacobs School has established a $200,000 Endowed Fellowship named in honor of Frank G. Back. Founder of Zoomar Inc., Dr. Back created the first zoom lens that revolutionized photography, and helped develop the original gastroscope that led to modern endoscopy. He also worked on the first camera that went to the moon.

After Dr. Back died in 1983, his sister, Elizabeth Lowen, wanted to find a way to honor her brother’s legacy. She funded a charitable gift annuity with UCSD in 1987 from which she received a fixed annuity income until her death. The proceeds from the gift annuity will be combined with a bequest from her estate for $100,000 to create a graduate fellowship at the Jacobs School.

Beginning in Fall 2003, the Dr. Frank G. Back Engineering Fellowship will be awarded each year to a promising graduate student at the Jacobs School.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of charitable gift annuities or charitable bequests in your estate plans, please contact MaryAnn F. Stewart, Jacobs School Executive Director of External Relations (mfstewart@ucsd.edu, 858-534-4575), or Martin Hayter, UCSD Director of Planned Giving (mhayter@ucsd.edu, 858-534-7749)