LONGBOAT KEY, Fla.—Robert J. Morrison, OD, a pioneer in the development of contact lenses and an inventor, innovator and teacher throughout a long career in optometry, passed away at his home here on Jan. 7, 2015. He was 90.

Dr. Morrison graduated Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1948 and established practice in his hometown of Harrisburg, Penn. He became involved in fitting contact lenses early in his career. In the 1950s, he published research showing that contact lenses (then available in rigid PMMA material) tended to slow down myopic creep in young wearers. His findings were noted in Time magazine, beginning a lifetime of high-profile media encounters.

In the early 1960s, Morrison became aware of the work of Czech chemists Otto Wichterle and Drahaslav Lim with the hydrophilic polymer HEMA. He traveled there to work with the Czech Academy of Sciences to apply this material in the development of a “soft” contact lens. Morrison became a co-patent holder in the Western Hemisphere for this technology. The patent was sold to Bausch + Lomb, which in 1971 launched the original Soflens and generated explosive growth in this burgeoning field.

Morrison was an adjunct professor at PCO, New York Medical College and Hershey Medical School, where he was one of the first ODs to become a professor of ophthalmology. In addition, he founded and directed the “How-To” International Contact Lens Conference, held in Atlantic City. The meeting brought together the three Os toward a greater understanding of clinical and practical issues in contact lenses.

In 1993, Morrison launched Morr-Sight, a mobile clinic for providing free eyewear to deserving people around the world. The clinic was mounted on a bus and included an exam area a fabrication area where pre-cut lenses were snapped into plastic frames, at a unit cost of about $1. In 1995, he founded eyeglass.com, an online retailer of eyewear.

Morrison’s expertise in contact lenses brought an international clientele to his practice in Harrisburg, Penn., and also caught the attention of royal families throughout Europe, the Shah of Iran and celebrities such as Barbara Walters and Regis Philbin.

Morrison is survived by a son, Jim Morrison, president of eyeglass.com, a daughter, Patty Morrison Schimberg, and by five grandchildren.