Charles Hard Townes, an early pioneer in laser technology, has passed away at the age of 99.
Townes was born on July 28, 1915, in the town of Greenville, South Carolina. A lover of science as a child, he studied ornithology and entomology, as well as other subjects. The budding scientist graduated from high school in 1931, at the age of 15. He earned his undergraduate degree from Furman University and his masters from Duke University in 1936. Three years later, he graduated with a doctorate from the California Institute of Technology.
The physicist is best known for his work on microwave lasers known as masers, which he helped to develop over 50 years ago. In 1964, Townes shared the Nobel Prize in physics with two Russian scientists for their combined advances in development of the devices.
Today, lasers are utilized for a wide range of uses, from manufacturing, to price scanners, to playing compact disks. They are one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century, and can be used to transmit as much information every second as is present in 1,000 full-length books.
During the Second World War, Townes worked on developing improved navigation and bombing equipment. He later advised presidents on the best methods to send astronauts to the Moon. In the field of theoretical physics, Townes was able to independently confirm several predictions in cosmology made by the theories of Albert Einstein. He also developed an atomic clock accurate to one second over 300 years, and found ammonia hiding in the depths of our Milky Way Galaxy.
In the early days of the Cold War, the military leaders desired radar and communications systems utilizing shorter wavelengths than what was available at the time, allowing signals to travel for greater distances. They enlisted the help of Townes, and Columbia University's Radiation Laboratory.
Townes found inspiration which led to the development of the world's first maser as he sat in a park in 1951. Construction of this device, which was the first to ever prove the underlying design principles of lasers, was completed two years later. Since his invention, over a dozen Noble Prizes have been awarded for work done using the unique properties of lasers.
Linda Rosenwein, daughter to the famed physicist and researcher, confirmed news of his death.
"Charlie was a cornerstone of the Space Sciences Laboratory for almost 50 years. He trained a great number of excellent students in experimental astrophysics and pioneered a program to develop interferometry at short wavelengths. He was a truly inspiring man and a nice guy. We'll miss him," Stuart Bale, professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, said.
