Arthur Leonard Schawlow (May 5, 1921–April 28, 1999) was an American physicist. Although his research focused on optics, in particular, lasers and their use in spectroscopy, he also pursued investigations in the areas of superconductivity and nuclear resonance. Schawlow shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Kai Siegbahn for their contributions to the development of laser spectroscopy. Schawlow coauthored Microwave Spectroscopy (1955) with Charles Townes.
Schawlow was born in Mount Vernon, New York and died in Palo Alto, California.
