Charles H. Townes

@Inventors & Discoverers, Timeline and Family ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Charles Hard Townes was an American physicist and inventor American Duke University Inventors & Discoverers Physicists Leo Celebrities Charles Hard Townes was an American physicist and inventor. He was jointly awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the theory and application of the maser and other research in quantum electronics linked with maser devices. This is one of the most crucial discoveries in modern experimental research and was later instrumental in the development of laser. During the World War II he worked extensively on radar bombing and systems design, and also carried out some initial research in radio astronomy. It was after the war that Townes made his most important contributions in the improvement of high-resolution spectroscopy of gasses in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. He was part of a team that first discovered complex molecules in space and ascertained the mass of the black hole at the Milky Way galaxy. Apart from science, he was also interested in natural history. He as recipient of a number of awards such as the Richtmyer Memorial Award, Stuart Ballantine Medal, Wilhelm Exner Medal, SPIE Gold Medal and the Golden Goose Award. Charles Hard Townes was a deeply religious man and a member of the United Church of Christ. His curiosity and strong optimism based on Christian spiritual doctrines provided him the strength to carry out some of the significant experimental work in Physics.

Personal Details

Birthday: July 28, 1915 Died on: January 27, 2015 Nationality: American Famous: Duke University, Inventors & Discoverers, Physicists Spouses: Frances H. Brown Known as: Charles Hard Townes Childrens: Carla Townes, Ellen Townes, Holly Townes, Linda Townes Information Detail Birthday July 28, 1915 Died on January 27, 2015 Nationality American Famous Duke University, Inventors & Discoverers, Physicists Spouses Frances H. Brown Known as Charles Hard Townes Childrens Carla Townes, Ellen Townes, Holly Townes, Linda Townes Universities Duke University 1939 - California Institute of Technology Furman University Duke University Notable Alumnis Duke University Discoveries / Inventions Laser Maser Birth Place Greenville, South Carolina, U.S. Religion United Church of Christ Gender Male Father Henry Keith Townes Mother Ellen Hard Sun Sign Leo Born in Greenville, South Carolina, U.S. Famous as Physicist Died at Age 99

Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.

Charles H. Townes born at Unsplash Birth Place

Townes married a homeless activist, Frances H. Brown in 1941. The couple lived in Berkeley, California and had four daughters, Linda Rosenwein, Ellen Anderson, Carla Kessler, and Holly Townes. Unsplash Personal Life

On January 27, 2015, he died at the age of 99 in Oakland, California. Unsplash Personal Life

Charles Hard Townes was born on July 28 1915 , in Greenville, South Carolina. He was the son of Ellen Sumter Townes and Henry Keith Townes, an attorney. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He attended the Greenville Public Schools and graduated from the Furman University in 1935 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Languages. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1937, Townes received his Master of Arts degree in Physics at Duke University. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1939, he earned his doctorate from the California Institute of Technology where he worked on isotope separation and nuclear spins. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1939 Townes started his career as a technical staff in Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. Unsplash Career

In 1950, Townes was appointed a professor at Columbia University. Unsplash Career

From 1950 to 1952, he served as executive director of the Columbia Radiation Laboratory and from 1952 to 1955, as the chairman of the physics department. Unsplash Career

In 1951 Charles Hard Townes developed a new way to create beams of coherent radiation or the Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (Maser). Unsplash Career

In December 1953, Townes, James P. Gordon, and H. J. Zeiger built the first ammonia maser at Columbia University to produce amplification of microwaves at a frequency of 24.0 gigahertz. Unsplash Career

Townes discovered a way to produce a self-excited oscillator that would amplify signals through the use of stimulated emission. This device is known as Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation or ‘Maser’ in short. It is operated on ammonia gas and is useful in the experiments carried on a quantum level. This device is also used in long-distance radar, microwave communications and radio astronomy. Unsplash Major Works

During his term as professor at the University of California, he initiated a program of radio and infrared astronomy that lead to the discovery of complex molecules in the interstellar medium. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	July 28, 1915
Died on	January 27, 2015
Nationality	American
Famous	Duke University, Inventors & Discoverers, Physicists
Spouses	Frances H. Brown
Known as	Charles Hard Townes
Childrens	Carla Townes, Ellen Townes, Holly Townes, Linda Townes
Universities	Duke University 1939 - California Institute of Technology Furman University Duke University
Notable Alumnis	Duke University
Discoveries / Inventions	Laser Maser
Birth Place	Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Religion	United Church of Christ
Gender	Male
Father	Henry Keith Townes
Mother	Ellen Hard
Sun Sign	Leo
Born in	Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Famous as	Physicist
Died at Age	99

Charles H. Townes

American

Jul 28, 1915

Biography

Personal Details

Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.