Charles Hard Townes (1915-2015)

Awarded the Prize “for the fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle.”

American physicist. Townes was born in Greenville, South Carolina on July 28, 1915. He graduated from Furman University, receiving his B.Sc. degree in physics and his B.A. degree in Modern Languages. In 1939, he obtained his Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology. He was Professor of Columbia University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California. He was a member of the National Academy of Science and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Townes died in Oakland, California, on January 27, 2015.