| more general categories |
information about this item |
|
| 10. Noble Prize |
 |
|
|
|
|
10. Noble Prize |
|
|
|
Physics (209) |
|
|
| 11. Award Year |
|
|
|
|
|
11. Award Year |
|
|
|
1964 (8) |
|
|
| 12. Winner Type |
|
|
|
|
|
12. Winner Type |
|
|
|
Person (904) |
|
|
| 13. Gender |
|
|
|
|
|
13. Gender |
|
|
|
Male (853) |
|
|
| 14. Birth Year |
|
|
|
|
|
14. Birth Year |
|
|
|
1915 (11) |
|
|
| 15. Place of Birth |
|
|
|
|
|
15. Place of Birth |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greenville (1) |
|
|
| 16. Death Year |
|
|
|
|
|
16. Death Year |
|
|
|
2015 (11) |
|
|
| 17. Place of Death |
|
|
|
|
|
17. Place of Death |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oakland (1) |
|
|
| 19. Given Name |
|
|
|
|
|
19. Given Name |
|
|
|
C (45) |
|
|
| 20. Family Name |
|
|
|
|
|
20. Family Name |
|
|
|
T (34) |
|
|
| 21. Shared Given Name |
|
|
|
|
|
21. Shared Given Name |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Charles (12) |
|
|
| 23. Religion |
|
|
|
|
|
23. Religion |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
United Church of Christ (1) |
|
|
| 24. Age at Award Time |
|
|
|
|
|
24. Age at Award Time |
|
|
|
50 - 59 (231) |
|
|
| 32. Occupations |
|
|
|
|
|
32. Occupations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Physicists (206) |
|
|
| 34. Citizens |
|
|
|
|
|
34. Citizens |
|
|
|
United States (307) |
|
|
| 37. Worked for College or University |
|
|
|
|
|
37. Worked for College or University |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (20) |
|
|
| 42. Affilliation with College or University |
|
|
|
|
|
42. Affilliation with College or University |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short-term academic staff (5) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short-term academic staff (7) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term academic staff (33) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term academic staff (33) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alumni (2) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alumni (22) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term academic staff (40) |
|
|
| 44. Memberships |
|
|
|
|
|
44. Memberships |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (531) |
|
|
|
American Astronomical Society (9) |
|
|
|
American Philosophical Society (126) |
|
|
|
American Physical Society (113) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indian National Science Academy (36) |
|
|
|
National Academy of Engineering (14) |
|
|
|
National Academy of Sciences (334) |
|
|
|
Pontifical Academy of Sciences (83) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Royal Society (294) |
|
|
|
Russian Academy of Sciences (144) |
|
|
| 45. Other Awards |
|
|
|
|
|
45. Other Awards |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comstock Prize in Physics (10) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy (4) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (5) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science (8) |
|
|
|
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (102) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Inventor Hall of Fame (33) |
|
|
|
National Medal of Science (101) |
|
|
|
Niels Bohr International Gold Medal (8) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Petrie Prize Lecture (1) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Richtmyer Memorial Award (23) |
|
|
|
Rumford Prize (16) |
|
|
|
SPIE Gold Medal (2) |
|
|
|
Stuart Ballantine Medal (10) |
|
|
|
Templeton Prize (4) |
|
|
|
Wilhelm Exner Medal (19) |
|
|
|
Young Medal and Prize (4) |
|
|
| complete name: |
Charles Hard Townes |
| nobel prize: |
physics |
| award year: |
1964 |
| together with: |
Alexander Prokhorov |
| together with: |
Nikolay Basov |
| prize share: |
Prize share: 1/4 |
| rational: |
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1964 was divided, one half awarded to Charles Hard Townes, the other half jointly to Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov and Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov "for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle." |
| biography: |
Biography |
| laureate facts: |
Facts |
| laureate lecture: |
Lecture |
| given name: |
Charles |
| family name: |
Townes |
| occupation: |
physicist |
| occupation: |
university teacher |
| occupation: |
nuclear scientist |
| field of work: |
physics |
| work location: |
University of California, Berkeley, 200 California Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720, United States of America |
| description: |
Charles Hard Townes was an American Nobel Prize-winning physicist and inventor of the maser and laser. Townes was known for his work on the theory and application of the maser, on which he got the fundamental patent, and other work in quantum electronics connected with both maser and laser devices. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1964 with Nikolay Basov and Alexander Prokhorov. Charles was also a key advisor to the United States Government, meeting every US President from Harry Truman (1945) to Bill Clinton (1999). One of the most notable committees he led for the government was the Science and Technology Advisory Committee for the Apollo flights, which were extremely effective at bringing the program to a successful fruition on time and under budget. After joining UC Berkeley in 1967, he began an astrophysical program that produced several important discoveries like the black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Townes was deeply religious and believed that science and religion are converging to provide a fuller understanding of the nature and purpose of this universe. |
| image copyright: |
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive. |
| image citation: |
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1964. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2018. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1964/summary/> |
| date birth: |
1915 |
| date death: |
2015 |
| usual name: |
Charles Townes |
