Memorial Tributes Volume 24 (2022) / Chapter Skim
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ROBERT W. HELLWARTH
ROBERT W. HELLWARTH
Pages 170-177
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From page 171... ...
He was a University Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California, where he had also been the George Pfleger Professor of Electrical Engineering and professor of physics and astronomy until his retirement in 2018. Born December 10, 1930, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Bob was the son of Arlen Roosevelt Hellwarth, an electrical engineer who worked for the Detroit Edison Company,1 and Sarah Townsend Hellwarth, a college-educated homemaking mother.
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From page 172... ...
Both men were "spirits" who relished a free flow of ideas and shared the outlook that exploring the laws governing the physical world was fun. Shortly after the demonstration of an operating maser, Hellwarth collaborated with Feynman and Frank Vernon on work that was to become his most highly cited paper,2 an 2 Feynman RP, Vernon FL Jr, Hellwarth RW.
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From page 173... ...
Q-switching, as he called it, was a technique for storing the energy in the laser in the atomic system until it was controllably released in short, intense pulses of light -- increasing the peak power emitted by the laser a millionfold. These short intense pulses of light now form the basis for many current and emerging industrial and scientific applications of lasers, including cutting, sculpting, and material welding; medical processes; study of nonlinear optical phenomena; and, if Bob's dreams were to be realized, enabling laser fusion for clean energy creation.
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From page 174... ...
He received the OSA's Charles Hard Townes Award in 1983 "For his invention of the Q-switched laser, codiscovery of the Raman laser and explanation of stimulated scattering phenomena, and the theory of optical phase conjugation." He was also the recipient of the IEEE Quantum Electronics Award in 1985 "For fundamental contributions to lasers, Raman scattering, and non linear optical processes." In 1976 USC recognized him with its highest honor, the Associates Award for Creativity in Research (electrical engineering-electrophysics)
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From page 175... ...
In an obituary posted on the Rhodes Trust website, Bob was lovingly described by his eldest son, Ben, as "an archetypical absent-minded professor, mustachioed for most of his life, and with requisite sartorial quirks. But unlike the chalk-dusted bumblers often sent from central casting, this professor was 6-foot-2 and athletic -- a fun-loving mashup of Indiana Jones and ‘Doc' Emmett Brown, with an optimistic, self-effacing mien, and an easygoing kindness that Mr.
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From page 176... ...
He was a gentle person with a myriad of talents: not only a world-class scientist and engineer but also a talented musician with perfect pitch who could perform classical pieces by ear on a grand piano, popular music on an accordion, and country favorites on his trusty harmonica. He was a swimmer in high school, played football at Princeton, became a lifelong skier, and frequently rode his bike and roller skated with his kids at the beach.
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