Chandra Kumar Naranbhai Patel (born 2 July 1938) is an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. He developed the carbon dioxide laser in 1963; it is now widely used in industry for cutting and engraving a wide range of materials like plastic and wood. Because the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

is quite transparent to infrared light, CO₂

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

s are also used for military

rangefinding A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, such as photography an ...

using

LIDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

techniques. Patel was born in Baramati,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and received a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...

(B.E.) degree from the Government College of Engineering, the

University of Pune Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshk ...

and the M.S. and PhD in electrical engineering from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1959 and 1961, respectively. Patel joined

Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

in 1961, and subsequently became Executive Director of the Research, Materials Science, Engineering and Academic Affairs Division at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, where he developed the carbon dioxide laser. Patel's discovery, in 1963, of the laser action on the vibrational-rotational transitions of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

and his discovery, in 1964, of efficient vibrational energy transfer between

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

s, led to a series of experiments which demonstrated that the carbon dioxide laser was capable of very high

continuous-wave A continuous wave or continuous waveform (CW) is an electromagnetic wave of constant amplitude and frequency, typically a sine wave, that for mathematical analysis is considered to be of infinite duration. It may refer to e.g. a laser or particl ...

and pulsed power output at very high conversion efficiencies. From 1993–1999, Patel served as vice chancellor for research at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where he is also professor of physics and adjunct professor of electrical engineering. In 1996, President Bill Clinton awarded Patel the National Medal of Science, " r his fundamental contributions to quantum electronics and invention of the carbon dioxide laser, which have had significant impact on industrial, scientific, medical, and defense applications." In addition to the carbon dioxide laser, he also developed the "spin-flip" infrared

Raman laser A Raman laser is a specific type of laser in which the fundamental light-amplification mechanism is Raman effect#Stimulated Raman scattering and Raman amplification, stimulated Raman scattering. In contrast, most "conventional" lasers (such as the r ...

. Patel currently holds 36 U.S.

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

s relating to lasers and laser applications. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

, and a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

, the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

, the

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

, the Optical Society of America, the

Laser Institute of America LIA - The Laser Institute (formerly Laser Industry Association, later Laser Institute of America, commonly referred to as LIA) is an international professional society with a focus on laser applications and laser safety. LIA was founded on Febr ...

, the

American Society of Laser Medicine American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and a Senior Fellow of the

California Council on Science and Technology The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization designed to offer expert advice to the California state government and to recommend solutions to science and technology-related polic ...

. In 2018 C. Kumar N. Patel became an Honorary Member of the American Laser Study Club which a year later named an award in his honor.

Awards and honors

* Stuart Ballantine Medal (1968) *Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1976) *Member, National Academy of Engineering (1978) *

IEEE Medal of Honor The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It has been awarded since 1917, when its first recipient was Major Edwin H. Armstrong. It is given for an exceptional contribution ...

(1989) *National Medal of Science (1996)

References

External links

IEEE History Center biographyFrederic Ives Medal
by the OSA {{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, C. Kumar N. 1938 births Living people American electrical engineers Indian electrical engineers Indian emigrants to the United States Stanford University School of Engineering alumni Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty Laser researchers Gujarati people American Hindus People from Pune district National Medal of Science laureates IEEE Medal of Honor recipients Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Foreign Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Engineers from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian engineers Indian optical physicists Engineers from California IEEE Lamme Medal recipients Fellow Members of the IEEE Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of Optica (society) Presidents of the American Physical Society