Arthur Leonard Schawlow
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Arthur Leonard Schawlow
American physicist (1921–
Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Schawlow was educated at the University of Toronto and worked at Columbia (1949–51) and at the Bell Telephone Laboratories (1951–61). He became professor of physics at Stanford University in 1961, retiring in 1991.
Schawlow is noted for his work on the development and use of lasers. He collaborated with Charles Townes in early work on maser principles and is generally credited as a coinventor of the laser. Although he did not share in Townes's Nobel award (1964), Schawlow did share the 1981 Nobel Prize for physics with Nicholaas Bloembergen for their (independent) research in laser spectroscopy. In particular, Schawlow, with Theodor Hänsch, has used tunable dye lasers for high-resolution spectroscopy.
Schawlow, Arthur Leonard (shô'lō), 1921-99, American physicist, b. Mount Vernon, N.Y., grad. Univ. of Toronto (Ph.D. 1949). Although his research focused on optics, in particular, lasers and their use in spectroscopy, he also pursued investigations in the areas of superconductivity and nuclear resonance. Upon graduating from college he worked with Charles Townes at Columbia Univ. in developing the maser. Schawlow joined the staff at Bell Telephone Laboratories, where he studied superconductivity while continuing to collaborate with Townes on research that led to the development of the laser, and in 1961 joined the faculty of Stanford Univ., where he spent the remainder of his career. Schawlow shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in physics with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Kai Siegbahn for their their contributions to the development of laser spectroscopy. Schawlow coauthored Microwave Spectroscopy (1955) with Townes.
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Arthur Leonard Schawlow
| Arthur Leonard Schawlow | |
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 Arthur Leonard Schawlow |
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| Born | May 5, 1921 Mount Vernon, New York |
| Died | April 28, 1999 (aged 77) Palo Alto, California |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Bell Labs Columbia University Stanford University |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto |
| Doctoral advisor | Malcolm Crawford |
| Known for | laser spectroscopy |
| Notable awards | Nobel Prize for Physics (1981) |
Arthur Leonard Schawlow (May 5, 1921 – April 28, 1999) was an American physicist. He is best remembered for his work on lasers, for which he shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Kai Siegbahn.[1]
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Biography
His mother, Helen Mason, was from Canada and his father, Arthur Schawlow, was a Jewish immigrant from Latvia (Schawlow was raised in his mother's Protestant religion).[2] When Arthur was three years old, they moved to Toronto, Canada.
At the age of 16 he completed high school at Vaughan Road Academy (then Vaughan Collegiate Institute) and received a scholarship in science at the University of Toronto (Victoria College). After earning his undergraduate degree Schawlow continued in graduate school at the University of Toronto which was interrupted due to World War II. At the end of the war he began work on his Ph.D at U of T with Professor Malcolm Crawford. He then took a postdoctoral position with Charles Townes at the physics department of Columbia University in the fall of 1949.
In 1951 he married Aurelia Townes, younger sister to Charles Townes, and together they had three children; Arthur Jr., Helen, and Edith. Arthur Jr. was autistic, with very little speech ability.
He considered himself to be an orthodox Protestant Christian and attended a Methodist church.[3]
He went on to accept a position at Bell Labs in late 1951. He left in 1961 to join the faculty at Stanford University as a professor. He remained until he retired to emeritus status in 1996.
Schawlow and Professor Robert Hofstadter at Stanford, who also had an autistic child, teamed up to help each other find solutions to the condition. Arthur Jr. was put in a special center for autistic individuals, and later Schawlow put together an institution to care for people with autism in Paradise, California. It was later named the Arthur Schawlow Center in 1999, shortly before his death.
Schawlow was a promoter of the controversial method of facilitated communication with patients of autism.[4]
Although his research focused on optics, in particular, lasers and their use in spectroscopy, he also pursued investigations in the areas of superconductivity and nuclear resonance. Schawlow shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Kai Siegbahn for their contributions to the development of laser spectroscopy.
Schawlow coauthored Microwave Spectroscopy (1955) with Charles Townes. Also with Townes, they prepared a much disputed, by Gordon Gould, laser patent filed by Bell Labs in 1958.
In 1991 the NEC Corporation and the American Physical Society established a prize: the Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science. The prize is awarded annually to "candidates who have made outstanding contributions to basic research using lasers."
Schawlow was born in Mount Vernon, New York and died of leukemia in Palo Alto, California.
Awards
- 1962 - Stuart Ballantine Medal
- 1963 - Young Medal and Prize, for distinguished research in the field of optics presented by the Institute of physics
- 1976 - awarded the Frederic Ives Medal by OSA
- 1981 - Nobel Prize for Physics
Science and Religion
He has participated in science and religion discussions. Regarding God, he stated "I find a need for God in the universe and in my own life."[5]
Arthur Schawlow was an intense fan and collector of traditional American jazz recordings, as well as a supporter of instrumental groups performing this type of music.
Bibliography
- Schawlow, A L (1995), "Principles of lasers", Journal of clinical laser medicine & surgery 13 (3): 127–30, 1995 Jun, PMID 10150635
- Schawlow, AL (1982), "Spectroscopy in a New Light", Science 217 (4554): 9–16, 1982 Jul 2, Bibcode 1982Sci...217....9S, doi:10.1126/science.217.4554.9, PMID 17739964
- Schawlow, AL (1978), "Laser Spectroscopy of Atoms and Molecules", Science 202 (4364): 141–147, 1978 Oct 13, Bibcode 1978Sci...202..141S, doi:10.1126/science.202.4364.141, PMID 17801904
- McCaul, B W; Schawlow, A L (1969), "Plasma refractive effects in HCN lasers", Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 168 (3): 697–702, 1969 Feb 10, Bibcode 1969NYASA.168..697M, doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1969.tb43154.x, PMID 5273948
- Schawlow, A L (1966), "Lasers", International ophthalmology clinics 6 (2): 241–51, doi:10.1097/00004397-196600620-00002, PMID 5958291
See also
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References
- ^ "Arthur L. Schawlow". IEEE Global History Network. IEEE. http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Arthur_L._Schawlow. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ http://www.adherents.com/people/ps/Arthur_Schawlow.html
- ^ http://www.adherents.com/people/ps/Arthur_Schawlow.html
- ^ http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/1999/may5/schawlowobit-55.html][http://suedweb.syr.edu/thefci/2-1sch.htm
- ^ Margenau, H. (1992), Cosmos, Bios, Theos: Scientists Reflect on Science, God, and the Origins of the Universe, Life, and Homo sapiens, Open Court Publishing Company, p. 105 co-edited with Roy Abraham Varghese. This book is mentioned in a December 28, 1992 Time magazine article: Galileo And Other Faithful Scientists
External links
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