MIT World Speakers

Charles H. Townes HM

Charles H. Townes was awarded the Nobel Prize for his role in the invention of the maser and laser. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society of London. He has received numerous honors, including NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal; the Medal of Honor of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; and the Founders' Award of the National Academy of Engineering. Townes also holds the 2005 Templeton Prize and the 2006 Vannevar Bush Medal.

Townes earned his B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in Modern Languages from Furman University. He received an M.S. in Physics at Duke University and a Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology. He worked at Bell Labs, Columbia University, and MIT, among other places, before starting at Berkeley.