[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1310 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1310

             Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the laser.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 29, 2010

Mr. Ehlers (for himself, Mr. Inglis, Mr. Wu, Mr. Hall of Texas, and Ms. 
Giffords) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on Science and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
             Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the laser.

Whereas the invention of the laser was one of the groundbreaking scientific 
        achievements of the 20th century;
Whereas in 1953, Charles H. Townes, along with graduate students James Gordon 
        and Herbert Zeiger produced the first master device, which was a 
        precursor to the laser that relied on microwave radiation instead of 
        visible or infrared radiation;
Whereas concurrent to Charles H. Townes' activities, Nikolay Basov and Aleksandr 
        Prokhorov of the Soviet Union independently produced a maser with 
        significant technical advances which allowed continuous output;
Whereas Charles H. Townes, Nikolay Basov, and Aleksandr Prokhorov shared the 
        1964 Nobel Prize in Physics for their ``fundamental work in the field of 
        quantum electronics'', which led to the construction of masers, and 
        subsequently lasers;
Whereas in 1960, Theodore H. Maiman constructed the first functioning laser at 
        Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, and the laser was 
        first operated on May 16, 1960;
Whereas Theodore H. Maiman was the recipient of the 1983/1984 Wolf Prize in 
        Physics for his realization of the first operating laser;
Whereas since being created in 1960, lasers have become an integral and 
        essential part of our daily lives. Lasers can be found in a wide range 
        of applications including in compact disc players, laser printers, 
        barcode scanners, digital video devices (DVDs), industrial welders, and 
        surgical apparatus, amongst others;
Whereas total global sales of lasers in 2010 is expected to top 5.9 billion 
        dollars;
Whereas innovations flowing from basic research such as the laser have made 
        America into the world leader in technology development;
Whereas continued support of scientific research programs is indispensible to 
        maintaining America's position as the global leader in technology and 
        innovation; and
Whereas LaserFest is a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary intended to 
        bring public awareness to the story of the laser and scientific 
        achievement generally, and was founded by the following partners: the 
        Optical Society of America, the American Physical Society, the 
        International Society for Optical Engineering, and IEEE: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the 50th anniversary of the laser; and
            (2) recognizes the need for continued support of scientific 
        research to maintain America's future competitiveness.
                                 <all>