Charles Hard Townes - Awards

Awards

Townes has been widely recognized for his scientific work and leadership.

• 1956 – elected Full Member of the National Academy of Sciences.
• 1957 – elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• 1958 – awarded the Comstock Prize in Physics from the National Academy of Science.
• 1961 – awarded the David Sarnoff Electronics Award given by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Rumford Prize awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• 1962 – The John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science given by the National Academy of Science.
• 1962 – The Stuart Ballantine Medal given by The Franklin Institute.
• 1963 – Young Medal and Prize, for distinguished research in the field of optics presented by the Institute of physics.
• 1964 – Nobel Prize in Physics with N. G. Basov and Aleksandr Prokhorov for contributions to fundamental work in quantum electronics leading to the development of the maser and laser.
• 1979 – He was awarded the Niels Bohr international medal awarded for contributions to the peaceful use of atomic energy.
• 1980 – Townes was inducted by his home state into the South Carolina Hall of Science and Technology, and has also been awarded a South Carolina Hall of Science and Technology Citation.
• 1982 – He received the National Medal of Science, presented by President Ronald Reagan.
• 1994 – elected Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
• 1996 – awarded the Frederic Ives Medal by the OSA
• 1998 – awarded the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship by the American Astronomical Society.
• 2000 – awarded the Lomonosov Medal by the Russian Academy of Sciences.
• 2003 – awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology in Telluride, Colorado.
• 2005 – awarded the Templeton Prize for "Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities."
  • He has also been awarded the LeConte Medallion.
• 2006 – Along with associate Raj Reddy, Townes was awarded the Vannevar Bush Award for Lifetime Contributions and Statesmanship to Science
• 2008 – On May 24 Townes received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Redlands.
• 2010 – SPIE Gold Medal
• 2012 - awarded the Golden Goose Award for government-funded research with unexpected applications.
• 2012 - awarded the Nancy DeLoye Fitzroy and Roland V. Fitzroy Medal