Dr. Gholam Peyman receives the National Medal of Innovation and Technology from President Barack Obama at the White House in February 2013. | White House photo
If you once had to wear glasses but are reading this without them, you owe it largely to an immigrant doctor from Iran — one of the seven countries targeted by President Donald Trump’s executive order.
Dr. Gholam Peyman’s 1989 patent for laser eye surgery stemmed from his work at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary on Taylor Street, when he was a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
In 2013, Peyman was invited to the White House to receive the National Medal of Innovation and Technology, the highest honor the government awards to scientists, engineers and innovators.
“When Gholam Peyman first accepted a position at the University of Illinois, his office was a converted restroom,” then-President Barack Obama said in presenting the award. “But he carved out enough space for himself, his secretary and his lab equipment. And today, he’s known as the father of LASIK eye surgery.”
Peyman’s immigrant success story is another reminder that many foreigners who come here end up contributing much more than they receive.
See full article here: Mihalopoulos: Iranian scholars here balk at Trump travel ban
