The late Professor Arthur Schawlow performing his famous Mickey Mouse balloon demonstration with a laser gun.

His many contributions have not only had a profound impact in physics, but also in chemistry, biology, and medicine, and continue to be a major driving force in many aspects of modern technology. The careers of only a handful of scientists have had such wide ranging impact. He is one of two people who have served as both the president of the American Physical Society and president of the Optical Society of America.

In addition to being a great scientist, he was an entertaining lecturer and a beloved mentor. He brought the joy and wonder of science, not only to his scientific colleagues, but to the general public. In a demanding lecture schedule that spanned several decades, he managed to communicate his playful approach to science. For Art, physics was fun and he made it more fun for the rest of us.

Even Schawlow's amusing jokes turned into profound contributions. He and Ted Hänsch made the world's first "edible laser" out of gelatin and food coloring. This work stimulated the invention of a type of laser now widely used in long distance optical fiber communications.

He was well known for his demonstration with a blue "Mickey Mouse" balloon inside a clear outer balloon; he would break the blue balloon with a hand-held laser (in the shape of a ray gun, of course!) without damaging the outer balloon. This idea re-surfaced when lasers began to be used to repair detached retinas. In a more recent embodiment, the concept was used as an application of "optical tweezers," an optical trap fashioned out of a single focused laser beam that can hold atoms and sub-micron sized particles. The optical tweezers were used to reach inside a living cell in an aqueous solution and manipulate organelle and even chromosomes without damaging the cell or nucleus membrane.

While at Stanford, Art's wit and humor became renown. Once he gave a physics colloquium at Stanford entitled "Is Spectroscopy Dead?" He began the talk by defining, at great length, what he meant by "spectroscopy." After this long introduction, Felix Bloch said, "now define 'Dead'." After a thoughtful pause, Art replied, "Dead is when the chemists take over the subject." Art could say this and make the chemists laugh.

In addition to his dedication to physics, Art Schawlow was a devoted husband and father of three children; Artie, Helen and Edie. Art and his late wife Aurelia devoted considerable time and energy caring for their son Artie, who has autism. Their efforts included organizing a nonprofit corporation to provide a group home for autistic people and the championing of "facilitated communication," a means of enhancing communication with autistic individuals.

Arthur Schawlow was not just admired, he was cherished by those who knew him. He was a great scientist of remarkable modesty, a supportive teacher, a gentle leader, and above all, a caring and wonderful human being.

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