Charles Townes (University of California at Berkeley) is a Nobel Laureate, Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley, and inventor of the laser. He earned a B.A. and a B.S. from Furman University, an M.A. from Duke University and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology. Professor Townes was chair of the Physics Department at Columbia and Institute Professor at M.I.T. before joining the faculty at UC-Berkeley as University Professor in 1967. Dr. Townes was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1964 for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics that led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle. His work in this area has been transformative: the Internet and all digital media would be unimaginable without the laser. In 1979, he received the Niels Bohr International Medal for his contributions to the peaceful use of atomic energy. Since his retirement in 1986, he has continued an active career, and in 2005 was named winner of the Templeton Prize for his work at the intersection of science and religion.