Holography Pioneer Benton Dies at 61

Stephen A. Benton, a pioneer of holography whose discoveries are now commonly used to protect against credit card fraud, died of brain cancer Nov. 9 at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was 61.

Benton, a professor of media arts and sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Laboratory, was described by his colleague Wendy Plesniak as “a warm, friendly bear of a man with an absolutely towering intellect.”

Benton, who earned his master’s and Ph.D. from Harvard and later taught at the University, invented the rainbow hologram, which is now widely used to prevent counterfeiting because of how simple it is to discern a fake hologram. In 1983, MasterCard International became the first company to use these holograms on their cards; today, they are used by every major credit card company.

Benton’s research has also been helpful in medical diagnosis. Holograms have been used to create three-dimensional composites of CT and MRI scans.

Holography works like photography in that it records light wave patterns on chemically sensitive film or glass. The convergence of direct and indirect laser beams creates the 3-D effect.

What makes Benton’s rainbow holograms so special is that they are clearly visible to the naked eye. Particular lighting or lasers were needed to view previous holograms. Benton made holograms visible by using common white light.

“Holography has had one father, Denis Gabor, and three extremely gifted sons,” one of whom was Benton, said Ravikanth Pappu, another of Benton’s Media Lab colleagues.

One of the founding members of the lab, Benton was also the head of its Spatial Imaging Group and the director of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS). Benton died two days before the Media Laboratory was to hold a symposium in his honor.

“Steve brought a joy and spirit of inventiveness to all that he did. He was a gifted teacher, scientist, engineer and artist who personified the best of MIT,” MIT President Charles M. Vest told the Associated Press.

After receiving his undergraduate degree from MIT in electrical engineering in 1963, Benton received his Masters in 1964 and his Ph.D. in 1968, both from Harvard.

During this time, he was working for the Polaroid Corporation, and he later went on to become the company’s senior scientist. It was also at Polaroid where Benton invented the rainbow hologram in 1968.

From 1968-1973, Benton was an assistant professor of applied optics at Harvard, but later returned to MIT to continue his research and found the Media Laboratory.

He was a mentor to many at MIT.

“He inspired passion for the work in all of us, and in sharing the work and the passion, we formed the bonds that frame our deeper lives,” said Plesniak. “He was larger than life in many respects—professionally and personally.”

Michael Klug, who worked with Benton for 12 years as his student and research scientist, notes Benton’s amazing intellect, but also his passions outside of holography.

“Steve possessed a very rare combination of artistic appreciation, creativity and science and engineering acumen that found fertile ground to germinate in the field of holography,” said Klug. “But he also had a clear passion for many things Japanese, including Zen gardens.”

Plesniak said Benton also cared deeply about his family.

“He loved his family—he was enormously proud of them,” she said.

Benton was known to have a wry sense of humor, said Klug, who recalled many times when Benton’s students would play pranks on him for a little entertainment.

“We liked to hack Steve,” said Klug, who admitted to pranks such as switching Benton’s new Macintosh computer with an old PC and stitching fake fur to the underarms of his coat.

Benton held 14 patents in holography, photography and optical physics and also published 46 articles on his work over the years. He has a collection of holograms at the MIT Museum, and many of his works have also been displayed at the Museum of Holography in New York.

Benton grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif., and later lived in Lincoln, Mass. He is survived by his wife, Jeanne L. Benton, his son and daughter, and two brothers.