Charles Townes was born on July 28, 1915 to Henry Townes, an attorney, and Ellen (Hard) Townes.  He attended the public schools of his hometown, Greenville, and later graduated with honors from Furman University.  There he was very active with activities like the college newspaper, the swim team, and the football band.  After achieving his Master of Arts degree in Physics at Duke University, he received his Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology for a thesis about nuclear spins and isotope separation.  At Columbia University, Charles continued his research in microwave physics.
Then, in 1951, he conceived the idea for the Maser, or Molecular Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.  A maser is a machine that does just what the GOOOOOOOOOOOOOBEEEEEEEEEGOOO BEE GOOO GAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWWOWOWOWWOWOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA OH MY GOD ITS BATMAN!