National Inventors Hall of Fame

“What is claimed is:
Apparatus for light amplification comprising a bounded volume containing an excitable medium, the atoms, ions or molecules of said medium having well defined energy states including a lowest state, a lower state above said lowest state, and a higher state above said lower state, and a bright pumping light source ….“

U.S. Patent 4,053,845 to Gordon Gould, 1991 inductee, for laser.