Charles Townes (’35) Remembered

Charles Townes, a Nobel Prize winning scientist, Greenville native and a 1935 graduate of Furman University, died Tuesday morning. He was 99.  In spite of his international acclaim and celebrity, Dr. Townes remained true to his Greenville roots and enduring faith. Though Dr. Townes and his longtime wife, Frances, lived in California, they visited the Upstate regularly where he once served as a member of the Furman Board of Trustees. Tributes to Dr. Townes grace Furman’s campus. The most visible is the  Charles H. Townes Science Center, a $62.5 million facility that houses all of the University’s science departments, that was named in his honor in 2008. The Charles H. Townes Lecture Series in Faith in Reason was launched in 2006 with endowed gifts from the John Templeton Foundation and Dr. Townes. The series, held annually, highlights the common ground between science and religion. The Charles H. Townes Scholarship, which provides $25,000 per year in scholarship aid with a $1,000 stipend to study abroad and a $1,500 summer internship or research stipend, is also awarded to a handful of students each year.

Read the full profile of Charles Townes here

Items in the Furman Libraries’ Digital Collections Center related to Townes’ life and work include:

Senior Class Photo1935 Senior Class Photo

Paladin Article1964 Paladin with Article about his Nobel Prize

Furman Magazine

Spring 2005 Furman Magazine (featuring Charles Townes on the cover)

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