Nobel Prize in Physics 1964 (with Charles Hard Townes and Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov) "for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle" Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov was born in 1916 in the Atherton Tablelands, Queensland. His parents were from Siberia. The family had migrated to Australia because of the 1905 revolution. However, in 1923 the family again moved back to Russia. In 1934 Prokhorov entered into Leningrad State University and graduated with an honours degree in Physics. This opened a path for him to attend the P.N. Lebdev Physical Institute, Russian Academy as a postgraduate. There he studied issues related to the propagation of radio waves over the earth’s surface. In 1941 Prokhorov was mobilized in the Red army, and fought in World War II where he was wounded twice. For his participation in the war he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic war, first class and the Medal for Valour for his bravery. After his army service Prokhorov resumed his studies on nonlinear oscillations. In 1951 he wrote his PhD thesis titled Coherent Radiation of Electron in the Synchrotron Accelerator. He was appointed as the assistant director of the Oscillation laboratory in the previous year itself and later in 1954 he became the head of the institute. After completing his doctorate Prokhorov turned his attention to radio spectroscopy and later on with N. G. Basov he created an oscillator based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic waves by the excited molecules of a molecular beam. In the process of developing an ammonia-beam molecular oscillator, Prokhorov formulated the main principles of, and laid the physical foundation for, quantum electronics. His main focus of research was on molecular structures using microwave spectroscopy. In 1955 Prokhorov studied the electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of Ruby. This study suggested Ruby as a material for lasers in 1957. He also used the EPR to study free radicals. They designed and constructed masers using various materials and studied characteristics of the masers as well. In 1964 he won the Nobel Prize for the discoveries leading to the development of the laser. Even after his Nobel Prize Prokhorov created various types of lasers. In later years he focused on fibre and integrated optics and the creation of optical communication thermonuclear fusion and laser medicine. During 1973 to 1981 he was the chief of Department of General Physics and Astronomy of the institute of General Physics. After that he became the director of Natural Science Center of the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute. He also served as the director of Russian Academy of Sciences. Among Prokhorov’s numerous awards include the Lenin Prize in 1959, and the Lomosonov Gold Medal for outstanding achievements in Physics in 1988. He died in 2002 of pneumonia. | 
