Barry Van Gemert grew up in New England and received a B.S. in Botany at the University of Massachusetts and an M.S. at the University of Rhode Island.  He went on to study organic chemistry at Purdue University, receiving a Ph.D. in 1976.  His entire professional career of 36 years  was spent with PPG Industries.  For the 24 years prior to his retirement in early 2012, he led the development of photochromic dyes that are used in Transitions lenses.  As a scientist, he is an inventor or co-inventor of 54 U.S.  patents and was named Inventor of the Year in 2011 by The Pittsburgh Intellectual Property Association.  He is a member of PPG’s prestigious Collegium and was awarded PPG’s President’s Award for his contribution to the commercial success of Transitions lenses.

Below are Barry's 54 United States Patents.  He says, "The one that is worth more from a commercial point of view than probably all the rest is US5645767 -- PHOTOCHROMIC INDENO-FUSED NAPHTHOPYRANS. Probably without it, Transitions never would have become the company that it did."