Coral Gables, Fla. As a reservist, he completed postgraduate work at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, then completed ophthalmology residencies at Wesley Memorial Hospital and Passavant Memorial Hospital, both in Chicago. Next came private practice, with Culver and wife Jean settling in Watsonville, Calif. But seven years after hanging his shingle,
in Washington, D.C., as Chief of the Medical Research Group-Biotechnology Office and ophthalmology consultant to the U.S. Surgeon General. In 1973, he was assigned as a Commander of the Air Force Clinic at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, then became Command Surgeon for Headquarters Pacific Air Forces. His last post before retiring as a Brigadier General in 1981 was as Deputy Surgeon General for Operations and Commander of the Air Force Medical Service Center at Brooks Air Force Base. Culver amassed countless honors along the way, including the prestigious Arnold D. Tuttle Award from the Aerospace Medical Association in 1966. Throughout his career, Culver and his wife enjoyed seeing the world and envisioning their legacy. When he met Nussbaum, he quickly embraced the work being done DRS. JULIAN NUSSBAUM AND SYLVIA SMITH
GEORGIA REGENTS UNIVERSITY
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“He helped screen the first astronauts of Project Mercury.”
the U.S. Air Force came calling, seeking ophthalmological expertise for its fledgling aerospace program. Culver began conducting extensive research into areas that initially affected astronauts but now have widespread applications, such as the potential effects of cancer treatment on the eyes. With the United States in a breakneck race with the Soviet Union to be the first to put a human in orbit around the earth, the Rocket Boys era heralded one of the most revolutionary technological periods in history—and Culver played a defining role. “He helped screen the first astronauts of Project Mercury (the nation’s first human spaceflight program, with the inaugural mission launching May 5, 1961) and he flew lots of classified missions determining effects of radiation on vision,” Nussbaum said. “He has a wealth of information about aerospace ophthalmology; his stories are just fascinating.” In the mid-1960s, Culver joined the Aerospace Medical Division at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas as Assistant Director of Research and Development, then graduated with distinction from the Air War College. He was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Surgeon General’s Office
at GRU’s Vision Discovery Institute, which Nussbaum oversees with Dr. Sylvia Smith. “Our mission dovetailed nicely with his 50-plus-year career, which included authoring over 50 papers on experimental and clinical ophthalmology,” Nussbaum said. The two quickly became friends as well as colleagues. “We struck up a friendship and our families have visited once or twice a year ever since,” Nussbaum said. “He is very likable, ethical, engaging and disciplined, with a huge range of interests. For instance, he loves to travel and he collects antique cars. And even though he’s retired from ophthalmology, he still stays current, reading scientific articles every month.” Culver and his wife demonstrated their generosity almost immediately upon meeting Nussbaum, donating property and several rare first-edition ophthalmology textbooks to the department. Then came the donation that would seal his legacy for generations to come: a $2 million gift to the Vision Discovery Institute, now named the General James F. Culver, M.D.,
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