Charles Hard Townes

Elsa Garmire

OSA lost a stellar member when Charles Hard Townes passed away. His most notable achievements were inventing and demonstrating the maser and then outlining the principles for an optical maser—the laser, a technology that has revolutionized the world.

 

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OSA lost a stellar member on 27 January 2015, when Charles Hard Townes passed away, just six months shy of 100 years of age and after 75 years of research investigating interactions between radiation and matter. His most notable achievements were inventing and demonstrating the maser and then outlining the principles for an optical maser—the laser, a technology that has revolutionized the world.

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