Laser

Arthur Schawlow shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1981 as the co-inventor of the laser. Although dubbed a technology in search of an application when it was invented, lasers have played an essential role in scientific studies from physics to geology to microbiology. At the same time, lasers have found a host of commercial applications, ranging from surveying to CD music players, from welding detached retinas back into the eye to moving tremendous amounts of data across country via optical fiber.

Related Information:

Arthur Schawlow, Nobel laureate and co-inventor of the laser, dies
(Stanford Report, 5/5/99)

'Laser Man': Teacher, Mentor, Nobelist
(Stanford magazine, September/October 1999)

More on Nobelist Schawlow and Stanford's other Nobel Prize winners (Stanford Report, 10/3/01)

Schawlow, Djerassi honored with national medals of science, technology
(press release, 9/24/91)