Furman University

Greenville Boy Made Lasers Possible

Who is Greenville's most distinguished native son? A strong case could be made for Dr. Charles H. Townes. In fact, a new book entitled 1,000 Years, 1,000 People: The Men and Women Who Charted the Course of History for the Last Millennium, lists Townes as one of the thousand most important people in the world over the past thousand years. Others listed include Martin Luther, Christopher Columbus, and William Shakespeare. Among those deemed not quite important enough to be among the top thousand were John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Gates.

To be sure, such rosters are highly subjective, but the inclusion of Townes seems warranted. He is a Nobel-prize-winning physicist who invented the maser and laser. Last week, while in northern California, I had the good fortune to have dinner with him and learn more about his fascinating career.

Born in 1915, Charles Hard Townes grew up on the outskirts of Greenville on a twenty-acre farm near what is now St. Francis Hospital. His father, Henry Keith Townes, was an attorney and gentleman farmer whose homestead included a large garden, fruit trees, and several cows, chickens, and ducks. Such an environment, Charles remembers, encouraged him "to pay attention to the natural world, work with machinery, and know how to solve practical problems and fix things innovatively." Townes attributes much of his success to his beginnings in Greenville, "a place of well-established sensibilities and rhythms" that offered a "reassuring stability."

"Charlie" Townes knew from an early age that he wanted to become a scientist. A precociously bright and inventive boy, he enrolled at Furman University as a 16-year-old freshman. Both his parents had graduated from Furman, as did his two brothers. While excelling in his studies, Townes also competed for the swim team and played trumpet in the marching band. In 1935 he graduated summa cum laude with majors in physics and foreign languages. He recalled that Furman "gave me an excellent and broad experience." Professor Hiden Cox "made physics both fascinating exploration and rigorous logic. He also knew when to allow students to explore, and when to nudge them along the right path."

After graduating from Furman, Townes earned a master's degree at Duke University. He then enrolled in the doctoral program at the California Institute of Technology. "Cal Tech," he remembered, "was then at the top of the physics world." Three years later, a newly doctored Townes headed across country to New York, where he began work for Bell Labs, the research division of AT & T. In early 1941, with the prospect of war looming on the horizon, Townes began designing radar systems for American bombers.

After the war, Townes joined the physics department at Columbia University. In 1951, while sitting on a park bench, he conceived the idea for what would become the laser (Light Amplified by Stimulated Emission of Radiation). He realized that an amplified emission of optical light could produce an intense beam of energy powerful enough to cut steel and precise enough to measure exact distances or perform surgery. Seven years later, Townes published a paper detailing the theory behind the laser and how it could be produced. Initially, many physicists dismissed his ideas as impractical. But he would prove them wrong. Like Jacob with the Angel, he wrestled tirelessly with the problem until it blessed him with a solution.

After winning Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships, Townes became provost of MIT in 1961. While continuing his research on lasers, he also served as the senior advisor to President Kennedy's Apollo space program that eventually landed men on the moon. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contributions to the invention of lasers. Joining him in Sweden to receive the award was Martin Luther King, Jr., who received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Three years later Townes moved to the University of California at Berkeley and shifted his research from lasers to astrophysics. Although now officially retired, he remains at the top of his field. He continues to supervise graduate students and is playing a major role in the development of a super telescope. And he has just published a captivating book entitled How the Laser Happened: Adventures of a Scientist (Oxford University Press). In its conclusion, he testifies that his life has been immeasurably enriched by science: "its awesomeness, connectedness, and the beauty of all its dimensions."

Townes is a gracious man who at age 84 is remarkably robust and alert. As an interpreter of celestial miracles and molecular mysteries, he has explored the unknown with tenacity and humility. All of humanity has benefited from his efforts. Next time you are having laser surgery, using a laser printer, watching kids play laser tag, or listening to reports of laser beams in space, you can take pride in the fact that a Greenville boy made it all possible.