What is Arthur Leonard Schawlow birthday?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow was born at 1921-05-05

When was Arthur Leonard Schawlow died?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow was died at 1999-04-28

Where was Arthur Leonard Schawlow died?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow was died in Palo Alto, California, U.S.

Which age was Arthur Leonard Schawlow died?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow was died at age 77

Where is Arthur Leonard Schawlow's birth place?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow was born in Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.

What is Arthur Leonard Schawlow nationalities?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow's nationalities is American

Who is Arthur Leonard Schawlow spouses?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow's spouses is Aurelia Townes

What was Arthur Leonard Schawlow universities?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow studied at University Of Toronto

What was Arthur Leonard Schawlow notable alumnis?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow's notable alumnis is University Of Toronto

Who is Arthur Leonard Schawlow's father?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow's father is Arthur

Who is Arthur Leonard Schawlow's mother?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow's mother is Helen

What is Arthur Leonard Schawlow's sun sign?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow is Taurus

How famous is Arthur Leonard Schawlow?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow is famouse as Physicist

Arthur Leonard Schawlow - University Of Toronto, Facts and Childhood

Home › American › Arthur Leonard SchawlowMay 5, 1921389 views

Arthur Leonard Schawlow Biography Stories Embed this Biography stories

Table of contents

Personal Details
Photo
Overview
Awards
Timeline
FAQ

American University Of Toronto Scientists Physicists Taurus Celebrities

Arthur Leonard Schawlow's Personal Details

Arthur Leonard Schawlow was an American physicist who shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics

Information	Detail
Birthday	May 5, 1921
Died on	April 28, 1999
Nationality	American
Famous	University Of Toronto, Scientists, Physicists
Spouses	Aurelia Townes
Universities	University Of Toronto
Notable Alumnis	University Of Toronto
Birth Place	Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Gender	Male
Father	Arthur
Mother	Helen
Sun Sign	Taurus
Born in	Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Famous as	Physicist
Died at Age	77

// Famous Scientists

Juliane Koepcke

Juliane Koepcke is a German-Peruvian biologist, who was the lone survivor among the 92 passengers and crew of the ill-fated LANSA Flight 508 that crashed in the Peruvian rainforest on 24 December 1971. Know more about her life in this biography.

Henry Cavendish

Henry Cavendish was a theoretical chemist and physicist, renowned for discovery of hydrogen and calculation of the mass of earth. To know more about his childhood, profile, timeline and career read on

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was a Russian rocket scientist and a pioneer of astronautics. This biography provides detailed information about his childhood, family, personal life, career, achievements, etc.

Who is Arthur Leonard Schawlow?

Arthur Leonard Schawlow was an American physicist who shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics. Recognized for his work in developing the laser and laser spectroscopy, he also performed significant investigations in the areas of superconductivity and nuclear resonance. A very humble person despite his ground breaking research and achievements, he described himself as "the most uncompetitive person you ever saw" and felt that he was best suited to work as a team with other scientists. Born in the United States and raised in Canada, he developed a scientific approach to life quite early on. He tinkered with radio sets and other mechanical items he could find and read voraciously on various subjects. A brilliant student, he aspired to go to the University of Toronto to study radio engineering but the nation was still reeling under the Great Depression and his family was unable to afford the fees for his university education. However he was able to win a scholarship to study mathematics and physics at the faculty of Arts at the University of Toronto. Canada was at war when he graduated and he had to postpone his higher studies for a while. Eventually he was able to complete his research and embark on an academic career where his research focused on optics, in particular, lasers and their use in spectroscopy.

// Famous University Of Toronto

Walter Kohn

Nobel Laureate Walter Kohn was an Austrian-born American theoretical chemist and physicist. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Stephen Lewis

Stephen Lewis is a Canadian politician, broadcaster, diplomat and professor. This biography profiles his childhood, career, works, life, achievements and timeline.

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian writer, best known for her novels, short stories and poems. This biography of Margaret Atwood provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Childhood & Early Life

Arthur Leonard Schawlow was born on 5 May 1921, in Mount Vernon, New York, U.S. to Arthur and Helen, who hailed from Latvia and western Canada, respectively. His father worked for a life insurance company. He had one elder sister.

The family moved to Canada at his mother’s urging when Arthur was a young boy. He was scientifically inclined from an early age and grew up tinkering with radio receivers and playing with his Meccano model set. A voracious reader, he read everything he could find on electrical, mechanical or astronomical subjects in the library.

He received his primary education from Winchester elementary school, the Normal Model School attached to the teacher's college, and Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute (high school). As a teenager he wanted to go to the University of Toronto to study radio engineering. His family, like many others in the 1930s, was struggling financially due to the Great Depression and could not afford his fees.

However he was able to win a scholarship in the faculty of Arts of the University of Toronto to study mathematics and physics. He enjoyed his university years and was thoroughly fascinated by physics. He also developed a love for jazz music during these years.

He graduated in 1941, when Canada was at World War II. He was required to serve the war efforts in some way and he taught the armed service personnel at the University of Toronto until 1944. During the war years he also worked at Research Enterprises Ltd., a Canadian factory that built radar equipment.

He continued his education after the war years and did his thesis research with Malcolm Crawford, a noted spectroscopist, and completed his PhD in 1949. He used high-resolution spectroscopy to study nuclear characteristics. By this time he had published seven papers, most notably on electric field distribution within nuclei.

Career

He received a Carbide and Carbon Chemicals postdoctoral fellowship and moved to Columbia University to work with Charles H. Townes. The two men formed a highly productive partnership and collaborated on the development of the first working maser (a device that produces and amplifies electromagnetic radiation mainly in the microwave region of the spectrum), the laser, and laser spectroscopy.

He accepted a position as a physicist at Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1951. He would spend a decade there, performing research that predominantly focused on superconductivity and nuclear quadrupole resonance.

He continued his collaboration with Charles Townes—now his brother-in-law—and worked with him on the book ‘Microwave Spectroscopy’ which was published in 1955. Over the years his stature as a physicist grew and he was offered faculty positions by several universities.

Schawlow accepted a full physics professorship at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, in 1961; he would work there for the rest of his career. He served as chairman of the department of physics from 1966 to 1970, and was appointed J.G. Jackson and C.J. Wood Professor of Physics in 1978. He retired to emeritus status in 1996.

Major Works

A world authority on laser spectroscopy, he gained much acclaim for using lasers to study the interactions of electromagnetic radiation with matter. He had also contributed to the development of the first maser (a device using the stimulated emission of radiation by excited atoms to amplify or generate coherent monochromatic electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range) which was built by Charles Townes.

Awards & Achievements

Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Nicolaas Bloembergen were jointly awarded one half of the Nobel Prize in Physics 1981 "for their contribution to the development of laser spectroscopy." The other half went to Kai M. Siegbahn "for his contribution to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopy."

He was also the recipient of Stuart Ballantine Medal (1962), Marconi Prize (1977), and National Medal of Science (1991).

Personal Life & Legacy

In 1951, Arthur Leonard Schawlow married Aurelia Townes, younger sister of his long-term collaborator, Charles Townes. The couple had one son and two daughters; their son was autistic. His wife died in a tragic accident in 1991.

In 1991 the NEC Corporation and the American Physical Society established the Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science in his honor.

He suffered from several health problems including rheumatoid arthritis, leukemia and congestive heart failure in his later years. He died on April 28, 1999, shortly before his 78th birthday.

// Famous Physicists