Robert Earl Hopkins (June 30, 1915 – July 4, 2009) was president of the Optical Society of America in 1973. Recognized as an expert in optical instrument design, aspheric optics, interferometry, lasers, and lens testing, Hopkins has been characterized as the "father of optical engineering." Hopkins was an avid skier for most of his life, a 195 bowler, a competitive horseshoe player in his 70s, and a sometime sailor and golfer. He also loved and respected the natural world in which we live and practiced his conservation ethic on the family property known as Wayland.