Charles H. Townes(1915–2015)
PhysicsCharles Hard Townes was an American physicist. Townes worked on the theory and application of the maser, for which he obtained the fundamental patent, and other work in quantum electronics associated with both maser and laser devices. He shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nikolay Basov and Alexander Prokhorov.
United States
1
Major Awards
546
Publications
21,556
Citations
65
h-index
220
i10-index
39.5
Avg Citations/Paper
Awards & Recognition
Nobel Prize in Physics
1964for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle
MITMost Cited Works
Top publications by citation countExternal Profiles
Co-winners
Shared the same award in the same year
Education
California Institute of Technology
Duke University
Furman University
Greenville High School
Doctoral Advisors
Robert W. BoydAli JavanArno Allan PenziasJames Power GordonHelmut W. SchulzRaymond ChiaoElsa M. GarmireRobert G. ShulmanPatrick ThaddeusDan WatsonJohn D. MonnierEverett A LipmanRobert Lee WhiteKen Toshio TatebeJonathon Michael WeinerEugene SerabynWilliam Ralph Smythe
Career Timeline
University of California, Berkeley?–present
University of Michigan?–present
Massachusetts Institute of Technology?–present
Related Laureates
Other winners of the same award(s)
JB
John Bardeen
Japan Prize (1985)
JC
John Clarke
Nobel Prize in Physics (2025)
MH
Michel H. Devoret
Nobel Prize in Physics (2025)
JM
John M. Martinis
Nobel Prize in Physics (2025)
GE
Geoffrey E. Hinton
Nobel Prize in Physics (2024)
JJ
John J. Hopfield
Nobel Prize in Physics (2024)
FK
Ferenc Krausz
Nobel Prize in Physics (2023)
AL
Anne L'Huillier
Nobel Prize in Physics (2023)
Data Sources
Profile data aggregated from OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, Wikidata, and curated award records. Citation metrics may vary between sources.