View source for C. Kumar N. Patel

{{Short description|Indian electrical engineer}}
{{Redirect|Kumar Patel|the fictional character Kumar Patel|Kumar Patel (character)}}
{{Other people5|Chandra Kumar De|Chandra Kumar Agarwala}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox scientist
|image            = C. Kumar N. Patel.jpg
|name             = C. Kumar N. Patel
|birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1938|7|2}}
|birth_place      = [[Baramati]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]]
|death_date       = 
|death_place      = 
|nationality      = [[India]]n/[[United States|American]]
|field            = [[Electrical engineering]]
|work_institution = [[University of California, Los Angeles]]
|alma_mater       = [[College of Engineering, Pune]] {{small|(B.E.)}}<br>[[Stanford University]] {{small|(M.S.)}}<br>[[Stanford University]] {{small|(PhD)}}
|awards           = [[Stuart Ballantine Medal]] {{small|(1968)}}<br>[[IEEE Medal of Honor]] {{small|(1989)}}
}}

'''Chandra Kumar Naranbhai Patel''' (born 2 July 1938) is an [[electrical engineer]]. He developed the [[carbon dioxide laser]] in 1963;<ref>{{cite journal|author=Patel, C. K. N.|year=1964|title=Continuous-Wave Laser Action on Vibrational-Rotational Transitions of CO<sub>2</sub>|journal=Physical Review|volume=136|issue=5A|pages=A1187–A1193|doi=10.1103/PhysRev.136.A1187|bibcode=1964PhRv..136.1187P|doi-access=free}}</ref> it is now widely used in industry for cutting and engraving a wide range of materials like plastic and wood. Because the [[Earth's atmosphere|atmosphere]] is quite transparent to infrared light, CO<sub>2</sub> [[laser]]s are also used for military [[Rangefinding telemeter|rangefinding]] using [[LIDAR]] techniques.

Patel was born in [[Baramati]], [[India]], and received a [[Bachelor of Engineering]] (B.E.) degree from the [[College of Engineering, Pune|Government College of Engineering]], the [[University of Pune]], [[India]] and the M.S. and PhD in electrical engineering from [[Stanford University]] in 1959 and 1961, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=C. Kumar N. Patel|url=https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/31404|publisher=The American Institute of Physics|access-date=7 September 2019|date=27 March 2015}}</ref> Patel joined [[Bell Laboratories]] 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 <!--Are the transitions rovibronic or rovibrational? I forget.-->[[Rotational–vibrational coupling|rotational–vibrational transitions]] of [[carbon dioxide]] and his discovery, in 1964, of efficient vibrational energy transfer between [[molecule]]s, led to a series of experiments which demonstrated that the carbon dioxide laser was capable of very high [[continuous-wave]] and pulsed [[Power (physics)|power]] output at very high conversion efficiencies.

From 1993–1999, Patel served as vice chancellor for research at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]], where he is also professor of physics and adjunct professor of electrical engineering.<ref name="NSF">{{cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/od/nms/recip_details.cfm?recip_id=270|title=The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details|access-date=7 September 2019|publisher=The National Science Foundation}}</ref>

[[File:C. Kumar Patel - National Medal of Science, 1996.webm|thumb|Patel discussing his career and his invention of the carbon dioxide laser.]]
In 1996, [[Bill Clinton|President Bill Clinton]] awarded Patel the [[National Medal of Science]], "[f]or 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalmedals.org/laureates/c-kumar-n-patel#|title=C. Kumar N. Patel|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref> In addition to the carbon dioxide laser, he also developed the "spin-flip" infrared [[Raman laser]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/kumar-patel|title=MIT Inventor of the Week: Kumar Patel|work=The Lemelson-MIT Program|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref>

Patel currently holds 36 U.S. [[patent]]s relating to lasers and [[laser applications]]. He is a member of the [[National Academy of Engineering]] and the [[National Academy of Sciences]], and a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucla.edu/about/awards-and-honors/faculty/american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences|title=UCLA Members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences|publisher=UCLA|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref> the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/AnnualReports/2008/aaas_ann_rpt_08k_fellows.pdf|title=AAAS Fellows|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref> the [[American Physical Society]], the [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers|IEEE]], the [[The Optical Society|Optical Society of America]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.osa.org/en-us/history/biographies/bios/c_kumar_n_patel/|title=C. Kumar N. Patel|publisher=The Optical Society|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref> the [[Laser Institute of America]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lia.org/about-lia/awards-nominations/fellow-award|title=Fellow Award|publisher=Laser Institute of America|access-date=7 September 2019|date=8 May 2017}}</ref> the [[American Society of Laser Medicine]] and a Senior Fellow of the [[California Council on Science and Technology]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ccst.us/people/senior-fellows/c-kumar-n-patel/|title=C. Kumar N. Patel|publisher=CCST|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref>

In 2018 C. Kumar N. Patel became an Honorary Member of the American Laser Study Club<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/american-laser-study-club-names-c-kumar-n-patel-as/article_0b47470e-6388-11e8-90f1-776bda0c6811.html|title=American Laser Study Club Names C. Kumar N. Patel as Honorary Member|work=India West|date=30 May 2018|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref> which a year later named an award in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanlaserstudyclub.org/annual-award/|title=Kumar Patel Prize|publisher=American Laser Study Club|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
*[[Adolph Lomb Medal]] (1966)
*[[Stuart Ballantine Medal]] (1968)<ref>{{cite journal|title=Laser Scientist, Patel, Gets Ballantine Medal|journal=Physics Today|volume=21|issue=111|year=1968|page=119|doi=10.1063/1.3034571}}</ref>
*Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1976)
*Member, National Academy of Engineering (1978)
*[[Charles Hard Townes Medal]] (1982)
*[[Frederic Ives Medal]] (1989)
*[[IEEE Medal of Honor]] (1989)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ieee.org/content/dam/ieee-org/ieee/web/org/about/moh_rl.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419053408/https://www.ieee.org/content/dam/ieee-org/ieee/web/org/about/moh_rl.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 April 2018|title=IEEE Medal of Honor Revcipients|website=[[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] (IEEE)|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref>
*National Medal of Science (1996) <ref>{{cite web |title=National Medal of Science |url=https://nationalmedals.org/laureate/c-kumar-n-patel/ |publisher=National Science and Technology Medals Foundation |access-date=12 March 2022}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/C._Kumar_Patel IEEE History Center biography]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200857/http://www.osa.org/aboutosa/awards/osaawards/awardsdesc/ivesquinn/ Frederic Ives Medal] by the [[The Optical Society|OSA]]

{{IEEE Medal of Honor 1976-2000}}
{{Winners of the National Medal of Science|engineering}}
{{Presidents of the American Physical Society}}

{{Authority control}}

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