Charles Townes: Laser Pioneer and Nobel Physicist Dies at 99

Charles Townes was an American physicist. Born on July 28, 1915, in Greenville, South Carolina, he worked at Bell Labs and taught at Columbia and Berkeley.

He invented the maser, the microwave precursor of the laser, in 1954 and shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nikolay Basov and Aleksandr Prokhorov. His work led to lasers used in surgery, communication and manufacturing.

He received the Templeton Prize in 2005. Townes died in Oakland, California, on January 27, 2015, at age 99.

Achievements: Nobel Prize in Physics (1964), Templeton Prize (2005).

Birth: July 28, 1915 - Greenville, South Carolina.

Profession: Physicist.

Interesting Facts: He invented the maser.