Career
He is the Borish Chair in Optometry at the University of Houston. Applegate earned an undergraduate degree, a Doctor of Optometry (Doctor of Optometry), and a master"s degree in physiological optics from Indiana University. After entering private practice as an optometrist, Applegate returned to school for a Doctor of Philosophy in physiological optics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Early in his career, he served as an assistant professor at the University of Missouri–Saint Louis.
In 1988 he became a faculty member at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and by 1993 became a tenured professor there. In 2002, he became the Borish Chair in Optometry at the University of Houston.
He was an editor of the Journal of the Optical Society of America and currently serves on an editorial boards for such journals as the Journal of Optometry and Visual Science, the Journal of Refractive Surgery, and the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.
