INVENTORS HALL OF FAME

 

Maiman   Patent No. 3,353,115 Ruby Laser Systems

American physicist Theodore Harold Maiman was born July 11, 1927 in Los Angeles, California. In his teens, Maiman earned college money by repairing electrical appliances and radios. 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.

While employed at Hughes Research Laboratories as a section head in 1960, he developed, demonstrated, and patented the first operable laser, using a pink ruby medium, for which he gained world-wide recognition.

In 1962, he founded his own company, Korad Corporation, devoted to research, development and manufacture of lasers. He formed Maiman Associates in 1968 after selling Korad to Union Carbide Corporation. He joined TRW in 1976 and is responsible for directing the management of technology and the establishment of new high-technology ventures. He is a director of Control Laser Corporation and a member of the Advisory Board of Industrial Research Magazine.

Maiman is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineers. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, and Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. He is the author of more than 20 papers in scientific and professional journals.

During his life, Maiman has also been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards, including the Fannie & John Hertz Foundation Award for "Distinguished Contribution in the Field of Science," presented by President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House.

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