Arthur Leonard Schawlow Biography, Age, Weight, Height, Friend, Like, Affairs, Favourite, Birthdate & Other

1977- Marconi Prize

1981- Nobel Prize for Physics

1991- National Medal of Science

Arthur Leonard Schawlow was an American physicist who shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics. Recognized for his work in developing the laser and laser spectroscopy, he also performed significant investigations in the areas of superconductivity and nuclear resonance. A very humble person despite his ground breaking research and achievements, he described himself as “the most uncompetitive person you ever saw” and felt that he was best suited to work as a team with other scientists.

Born in the United States and raised in Canada, he developed a scientific approach to life quite early on. He tinkered with radio sets and other mechanical items he could find and read voraciously on various subjects. A brilliant student, he aspired to go to the University of Toronto to study radio engineering but the nation was still reeling under the Great Depression and his family was unable to afford the fees for his university education.

However he was able to win a scholarship to study mathematics and physics at the faculty of Arts at the University of Toronto. Canada was at war when he graduated and he had to postpone his higher studies for a while. Eventually he was able to complete his research and embark on an academic career where his research focused on optics, in particular, lasers and their use in spectroscopy.