engineering

LeGrand Van Uitert

LeGrand Van Uitert is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand LeGrand Van Uitert rather than just read about it. In short: LeGrand Van Uitert (May 8, 1922 in Salt Lake City – June 3, 1999 in Morristown, New Jersey) was an American scientist who co-invented the first continuous beam optical MASER, now known as a laser, using a synthetic rare-earth doped garnet crystal. U.S. patent applications for the invention of the continuous wave optical MASER were filed on August 7, 1961, and issued as U.S.

Key takeaways

LeGrand Van Uitert belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect LeGrand Van Uitert to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of LeGrand Van Uitert from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

LeGrand Van Uitert (May 8, 1922 in Salt Lake City – June 3, 1999 in Morristown, New Jersey) was an American scientist who co-invented the first continuous beam optical MASER, now known as a laser, using a synthetic rare-earth doped garnet crystal. U.S. patent applications for the invention of the continuous wave optical MASER were filed on August 7, 1961, and issued as U.S. Patent Nos. 3,174,938 (March 23, 1965) and 3,177,154 (April 6, 1965). In 1964, Van Uitert, Joseph E. Geusic, and H. W. Marcos demonstrated lasing in Nd-Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG), which would become the dominant solid state laser.

Academic career Van Uitert pursued undergraduate studies at George Washington University, earning a Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.) degree in chemistry in 1949, and graduate studies at Pennsylvania State University, where he earned a Master's of Science (M. Sc.) degree in chemistry in 1951, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in 1952. Van Uitert was employed as a Member of Technical Staff at Bell Telephone Laboratories (Bell Labs) as a chemist, materials scientist, and crystal grower in the Basic Research division. Van Uitert developed new materials and contributed to the development of new device technologies enabled by these materials in the areas of magnetic, optical, and electro-optical telecommunications, memory storage, and displays. Van Uitert remained at Bell Labs for his entire career, as an active research scientist as he was promoted to Supervisor, Solid-State Materials Synthesis Group. In 1966, Van Uitert and Geusic were awarded a patent for the Nd: YAG laser. Van Uitert was the inventor on 82 U.S. patents issued by the USPTO from 1961 to 1991. Van Uitert was supported in his research by Assistant Member of Technical Staff, George John Zydzik, listed as a co-inventor on 17 patents from 1976 to 1991. In 1975, Van Uitert was awarded the Howard N. Potts Medal by The Franklin Institute for the “discovery and development of ferrites for microwaves.” In 1977, Van Uitert was awarded the IRI Achievement Award by the Industrial Institute of America. In 1981, Van Uitert was elected a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, Also in 1981, Van Uitert was awarded the James N. McGroddy Award for New Materials by the American Physical Society “for the discovery and development of a series of materials of fundamental significance in magnetic and optical technologies, including Microwave Ferrites, Garnets for bubble domain memory devices, and lasers, Orthovanadate phosphors, Niobates and Molybdates for electroptical devices and Borosilicate glasses for optical wave guides." In 1993, Van Uitert and Geusic were awarded the R. W. Wood Prize by the Optical Society of America “for the discovery of the Nd:YAG laser and the demonstration of its usefulness as a practical solid state laser source.”

References

Further reading S. Millman, ed. (1983). A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System: Physical sciences (1925-1980). Bell Telephone Laboratories. ISBN 0-932764-03-7.

External links NAE Website - Dr. Le Grand Van Uitert

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with LeGrand Van Uitert

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what LeGrand Van Uitert claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to LeGrand Van Uitert before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about LeGrand Van Uitert ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of LeGrand Van Uitert

In research: LeGrand Van Uitert appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses LeGrand Van Uitert in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: LeGrand Van Uitert is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1922 births, 1999 deaths, 20th-century American engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for LeGrand Van Uitert outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study LeGrand Van Uitert in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what LeGrand Van Uitert means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain LeGrand Van Uitert out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is LeGrand Van Uitert in simple terms?

Why does LeGrand Van Uitert matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study LeGrand Van Uitert?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on LeGrand Van Uitert.