1961 Peter A. Franken*, who taught at Stanford in the Long Live LASERS! ’50s, discovers nonlinear 1986 A Stanford-centric look at 50 years of innovation. optics when he focuses a Robert S. Reis, MS ruby laser onto a quartz ’83, MS ’84, Engr ’87, crystal and generates and Robert E. In 1960, a young Stanford graduate named Theodore Maiman ultraviolet light. Stoddard, MS ’84, designed and built the world’s first working laser. The real- debut the first laser ization of a concept introduced four years earlier by Arthur turntable (based Schawlow and Charles Townes of Bell Labs, it used pulses on Reis’s Stanford master’s thesis) from a photographer’s flash lamp to excite atoms in a finger- at the Consumer tip-sized ruby crystal, producing a deep red beam. Some might Electronics Show. even call it Cardinal. University faculty, students and alumni 1962 have made significant contributions to the field ever since, Doctors at Columbia- advancing the fundamental science (and earning three Nobel Presbyterian Medical Center use a ruby laser to destroy 1982 Prizes—booyah!), as well as developing applications in indus- 1969 a retinal tumor—the first The first public laser show, created by Lowell The first audio 2009 tries as diverse as medicine, electronics, telecommunications, medical use of a laser. 1964 Cross and Carson D. Je ries*, PhD ’51, is CD to be released Richard H. Johnson*, MS ’53, is SLAC’s linear accelerator entertainment and the military. Hail, Stanford, hail. performed at Mills College in Oakland. They are commercially is instrumental in developing the drives a new kind of commissioned to design a laser and sound show Billy Joel’s 1978 aeronautical solutions for the first laser to create the first for the Expo ’70 World’s Fair in Japan. album BY GRETA LORGE laser-guided bomb, the BOLT 117. coherent X-ray beam,

INFOGRAPHIC BY MCKIBILLO 1960 1963 1981 2005 2006 powerful enough to At Bell Labs, Ali Javan C. Kumar N. Patel, MS Arthur Schawlow* Theodor Hänsch shares John Bowers, MS ’78, make movies of single invents the helium ’59, PhD ’61, develops 1965 1969 shares the Nobel 1988 the Nobel Prize in PhD ’81, at UC-Santa Stanford engineering Donald J. Spencer*, ’56, atoms in motion. neon laser, the first the carbon dioxide laser, Prize in Physics for The first transatlantic fiber optic cable, Physics for the Barbara invents the professor Anthony E. leads the team that 1974 continuous-beam gas widely employed in his contributions to capable of handling 40,000 international development of first silicon laser, a Siegman, PhD ’57, develops the The first UPC barcode laser, used in industrial applications, the development of telephone calls simultaneously, is laid. laser-based precision key step toward introduces the concept of continuous-wave scanner, developed by holography and at Bell Labs. laser spectroscopy. spectroscopy, including optical computing. 1971 Alfred P. Hildebrand*, ’63, 1977 barcode scanners unstable optical chemical laser at the the optical frequency Gary Starkweather MBA ’66, at Spectra-Physics, The first live telephone among other things. resonators for laser Aerospace Corporation comb technique. applications, an important in El Segundo, Calif. develops the first rings up a 10-pack of traªc through fiber contribution to the field of functional laser Wrigley’s gum at a optics sent from Long quantum electronics. printer at Xerox PARC. supermarket in Troy, Ohio. Beach to Artesia, Calif.

1980 2010 The U.S. Army begins using a “Multiple Integrated 1997 The National Ignition Stanford professor 1976 Laser Engagement System”—a precursor to laser Facility in Livermore, 1970 Steven Chu shares 1967 A group at Stanford led by John tag—for training exercises. Calif., delivers a historic Theodor Hänsch, then a postdoc who the Nobel Prize in Stephen E. Harris, MS M. J. Madey, PhD ’71, demonstrates level of laser energy— had recently joined the Stanford physics Physics for his role ’61, PhD ’64, and the first free-electron laser—a more than 1 megajoule 1963 Robert L. Byer, MS ’67, department, and Arthur Schawlow*, in developing beam of electrons accelerated to 1992 (approximately 500 Stanford School of Medicine PhD ’69, demonstrate who was at the time its chair, make the methods to cool near light speed—that led to Olav Solgaard, MS ’87, PhD ’92, times the energy May 16, 1960 doctors Milton Flocks* and H. a tunable laser beam, first edible laser—out of Jell-O! and trap atoms precision instruments especially invents the grating light valve, consumed by the U.S. While working at Hughes Christian Zweng*, ’45, MD ’49, i.e. one whose with laser light, a 1998 useful in brain surgery. which uses an array of tiny, at any given time). Research Laboratories in in collaboration with Narinder wavelength can be method dubbed The first laser is approved for movable ribbons to di¨ract Malibu, Calif., Theodore Kapany, a visiting scholar in controlled, an “optical molasses.” LASIK surgery by the FDA. laser light, and is used in Maiman*, MS ’51, PhD ’55, physics, adapt a ruby laser to important advance in 2008 high-resolution displays. Blu-ray beats out competing creates the first working treat diabetic retinopathy. the development of laser, using a synthetic ruby spectroscopy. blue-laser-based technology crystal as the medium. 1972 HD DVD as the format of choice Hewlett-Packard introduces the world’s for high definition media. first scientific pocket calculator, the HP-35, with a 15-digit LED display. 1964 Richard G. Smith*, ’58, MS ’59, PhD ’63, is part of the Bell Labs Areas of Innovation 1961 team that creates the first ;

working Nd: YAG laser, whose m Fundamental advances Herbert M. Dwight Jr., ’53, MS ’59, o c . s Robert C. Rempel*, MS ’50, PhD uses include cosmetic surgery er ss e i r

and treatment of skin cancer. las ’56, and others found the first ro Applications by Industry b o; llc commercial laser company, t e o

Electronics y ro h w Spectra-Physics, in Mountain View. s e o l t r

Telecommunications y u s g/AP P o e n t c r Military 1965 e u o y Fo

1962 Matt Lehmann Jr.*, ’31, MS ’54, c Medicine : all ntabl Engr ’55, Joseph Goodman, MS w Nick Holonyak Jr. at GE invents r o : W tu Entertainment ’60, PhD ’63, and David Jackson, sh a visible semiconductor laser er diode, paving the way for LEDs MS ’65, demonstrate the first ht g

and laser pointers. holographic movie at Stanford. maiman li las * Deceased