A UA professor emeritus noted for his work in optical coatings and infrared spectrometers died April 10 at the age of 89.

Arthur Francis Turner taught and researched at the University of Arizona's Optical Sciences Center during the late 1960s and '70s, after his tenure as a Bausch and Lomb researcher, said Angus McCloud, professor emeritus in optical sciences and former colleague of Turner.

Turner's work took off in the late 1940s when he and another researcher won a technical Academy Award for developing a mirror coating that reflected luminous light but not heat. When installed in film projectors, these mirrors prevented film damage by absorbing the heat from the projector bulb.

Turner also worked extensively with infrared filters during the 1950s and '60s. He co-developed the Czerny-Turner grating mounting, a major component of infrared spectrometers still in use today.

"He had a very good sense of humor and was very keen on little gadgets," McCloud said. "He was a very meticulous person in terms of the way he read and the way he made notes.

"He obviously made a great effort in staying abreast about what was going on."

Services for Turner will be held at 3 this afternoon in the Memorial Chapel at East Lawn Palms Cemetery, 5801 E. Grant Road.

Turner, a widower, is survived by his daughter and his son.