Gordon Gould - Definition and Overview

Gordon Gould (born July 17, 1920) is an American physicist and one of the inventors of the laser. Born in New York City, he was educated at Union College and Yale University, majoring in physics with an emphasis on optics. Between 1943 and 1945 he worked on the Manhattan Project, and after the war moved to Columbia University, studying optical and microwave spectroscopy.

In 1957 Gould came up with the idea (as well as the name) for the laser, at around the same time as Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes's independent work on 'optical masers'. In 1977 he won a protracted legal battle over patent rights, winning lucrative patents for optically-pumped laser amplifiers and a range of laser applications.

In 1991 Gould was elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.