Jim Drain.
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CARPINTERIA, Calif.—James Drain, a former president of DAC International, died here on Sept. 28 at age 77. Drain retired from DAC International in 2010 after working for the Carpinteria-based company for 19 years, the last 11 of which he served as president.

Under his leadership, DAC International developed equipment and software for manufacturing contact, intraocular and spectacle lenses. In particular, he helped pioneer single-point diamond turning and the movement to free-form and digital surfacing for progressive lens manufacturing. His work led to the creation of software for specialty lens designs such as slab-offs, blended lenticulars and round segs.

Drain received the EFCLIN (European Federation of Contact Lens and IOL Industries Award) in 2010 and the CLMA (Contact Lens Manufacturers Association) Trailblazers Award in 2007 for outstanding achievement in product development to the enhancement of the contact lens industry. In 2009, he was inducted into the OLA Optical Pioneers Hall of Fame for contributions made to the manufacture of spectacle lenses.

According to the website Noozhawk.com, Drain was a longtime Carpinteria entrepreneur and civic leader. He and his eldest son, Matt, owned 4J Drain Construction in Carpinteria. He was a past chairman of the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce, a former board member of the Carpinteria Valley Water District, and was active at All Saints By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Montecito, Calif.