IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1310 
Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the laser. 
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 ground-
breaking 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 
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HRES 1310 IH 
their ‘‘fundamental work in the field of quantum elec-
tronics’’, 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 sur-
gical 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 tech-
nology 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 an-
niversary 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 Inter-
national Society for Optical Engineering, and IEEE: 
Now, therefore, be it 
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HRES 1310 IH 
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 com-
petitiveness. 
Æ 
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