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Theodore Maiman |
| Theodore Harold Maiman | |
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| Born | July 11, 1927 Los Angeles, California |
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| Died | May 5, 2007 (aged 79) Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Hughes Research Laboratories Quantatron |
| Alma mater | University of Colorado |
| Known for | Laser |
| Notable awards | Wolf Prize in Physics (1983) Japan Prize (1987) |
Theodore Harold "Ted" Maiman (July 11, 1927 - May 5, 2007) was an American physicist who made the first working laser.1 Maiman received the Japan Prize in 1987. He was the author of a book titled The Laser Odyssey"
Theodore Harold Maiman developed, demonstrated and patented the world's first laser in 1960. Maiman was born in Los Angeles, California, where in his teens, he earned college money by repairing electrical appliances and radios.2 He attended the University of Colorado and received a B.S. in engineering physics in 1949 then went on to do graduate work at Stanford University, where he received an M.S. in electrical engineering in 1951 and a Ph.D. in physics in 1955. His doctoral thesis in experimental physics, taken under the direction of Willis Lamb, involved detailed microwave-optical measurements of fine structure splittings in excited helium atoms.
Maiman's laser, based on a synthetic ruby crystal grown by Dr. Ralph L. Hutcheson, was first operated on 16 May 1960 at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
After a decades of many entities fighting over laser patents, some key laser patents were awarded to Gordon Gould who designed the first laser but was not the first to build it. Dr. Maiman's patent that demonstrates the first laser has never been in question.
After leaving Hughes, Maiman joined Quantatron where he was in charge of the laser activities. In 1962, Maiman became president of the newly formed Korad Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Union Carbide. Union Carbide bought the laser assets owned by Quantatron. Korad was devoted to the research, development, and manufacture of lasers. All minority owned stock of Korad Corporation was exchanged for Union Carbide stock during the first five years. Not wishing to continue working for Union Carbide, he formed Maiman Associates in 1968.
Due to his work on the laser, he was twice nominated for a Nobel Prize and was given membership in both the National Academies of Science and Engineering.3 He received the Oliver E. Buckley Prize in 1966. He was the recipient of the 1983/84 Wolf Prize in Physics, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame that same year. Besides, he received F&J. Hertz and Japan Prizes. Japan Prize is considered equivalent to Nobel Prize. Many world universities awarded him Honorary Degrees. The last Honorary Degree he received in 2002 from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.
Maiman died from systemic mastocytosis on May 5, 2007 in Vancouver, Canada, where he lived with his wife.4
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