Charles H. Townes, whose pioneering work led to the development of the laser, died on January 27, 2015 at the age of 99. Townes shared the
1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Russian scientists Nicolay G. Basov and Aleksandr M. Prokhorov for "fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle." Townes was also an OSA Fellow and recipient of the Fredric Ives Medal (1996). Excellent articles about the life and passing of Charles Townes were published by the
New York Times and the
The Optical Society (OSA).