Arthur Leonard Schawlow

Arthur Leonard Schawlow was born on May 5, 1921, in Mount Vernon, New York, to a Jewish father from Riga and a Canadian mother. Schawlow was raised in his mother's Protestant religion.^[3] When Arthur was three years old, they moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

At the age of 16, Schawlow completed high school at Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute, and received a scholarship in science at the University of Toronto (Victoria College). He obtained his B.A. in 1941 and his M.A. the following year. He received his Ph.D. in 1949 under Professor Malcolm F. Crawford.^[4] Schawlow then took a postdoctoral position with Charles Townes in the Physics Department of Columbia University in the fall of 1949.

Schawlow went on to accept a position at Bell Telephone Laboratories in late 1951. He left in 1961 to become Professor of Physics at Stanford University, where he remained until his retirement in 1991.

Although his research focused on optics, in particular lasers and their use in spectroscopy, Schawlow 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.^[5]

Schawlow co-authored the widely used text Microwave Spectroscopy (1955) with Charles Townes. Schawlow and Townes were the first to publish the theory of laser design and operation in their seminal 1958 paper on "optical masers",^[6] although Gordon Gould is often credited with the "invention" of the laser, due to his unpublished work that predated Schawlow and Townes by a few months.^[7] The first working laser was made in 1960 by Theodore Maiman.

Schawlow participated in science and religion discussions. Regarding God, he stated, "I find a need for God in the universe and in my own life."^[8]

In 1951, Schawlow married Aurelia Townes, the younger sister of Charles Townes. They had three children: Arthur Jr., Helen, and Edith. Arthur Jr. is autistic, with very little speech ability. Aurelia died in 1991 following a vehicle accident.

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.^[9][10]

Schawlow considered himself to be an orthodox Protestant Christian, and attended a Methodist church.^[3] 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.

Schawlow died of leukemia on April 28, 1999, in Palo Alto, California, at the age of 77.

Awards

More information Year, Organization ...

Year	Organization	Award	Citation	Ref.
1962	Franklin Institute	Stuart Ballantine Medal[a]	"For theoretical work on MASER operation."	[11]
1963	Institute of Physics	Thomas Young Medal and Prize[a]	—	[12]
1964	IEEE	IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award	"For his pioneering and continuing contributions in the field of optical masers."	[13]
1970	AAPT	Richtmyer Memorial Award	—	[14]
1976	Optical Society of America	Frederic Ives Medal	"In recognition of his pioneering role in the invention of the laser, his continuing originality in the refinement of coherent optical sources, his productive vision in the application of optics to science and technology, his distinguished service to optics education and to the optics community, and his innovative contributions to the public understanding of optical science."	[15]
1977	Marconi Society	Marconi Prize	"For his research in the fields of optical and microwave spectroscopy, nuclear quadruple resonance superconductivity and lasers."	[16]
1981	Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences	Nobel Prize in Physics[b]	"For their contribution to the development of laser spectroscopy."	[5]

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Honorary degrees

More information Year, University ...

Year	University	Degree	Ref.
1968	Ghent University	Doctor of Science	[17]
1970	University of Toronto	Doctor of Laws	[18]
1986	Trinity College Dublin	Doctor of Science	[19]

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Memberships

More information Year, Organization ...

Year	Organization	Type	Ref.
1970	American Academy of Arts and Sciences	Member	[20]
1970	National Academy of Sciences	Member	[21]
1983	Optical Society of America	Honorary Member	[22]
1984	American Philosophical Society	Member	[23]

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National awards

More information Year, Head of state ...

Year	Head of state	Award	Citation	Ref.
1991	George H. W. Bush	National Medal of Science	"For his role in the conception of the laser and in advancing its applications, especially in laser spectroscopy."	[24]

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In 1991, the American Physical Society established 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, A L (1995), "Principles of lasers", Journal of Clinical Laser Medicine & Surgery, vol. 13, no. 3 (published June 1995), pp. 127–30, doi:10.1089/clm.1995.13.127, PMID 10150635
• Schawlow, AL (1982), "Spectroscopy in a New Light", Science, vol. 217, no. 4554 (published July 2, 1982), pp. 9–16, 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) (published October 13, 1978): 141–147, 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., vol. 168, no. 3 (published February 10, 1969), pp. 697–702, Bibcode:1969NYASA.168..697M, doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1969.tb43154.x, PMID 5273948, S2CID 31588499
• Schawlow, A L (1966), "Lasers", International Ophthalmology Clinics, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 241–51, doi:10.1097/00004397-196600620-00002, PMID 5958291

• Optical Society of America#Past Presidents of the OSA
• List of Jewish Nobel laureates