He was cited for his discovery in the 1970s of the continuous wave dye laser and his contributions to the development of wavelength-tunable solid-state lasers.
The Optical Society of America was founded in 1916 to "increase and diffuse the knowledge of optics," and its 14,000 members are spread around the globe. Of those members, only seven percent are Fellows. The Society produces publications, events and services intended to advance the science of light by sharing knowledge and innovation.
In addition to his work with lasers, Peterson is a polymathic physicist whose current research interests run the gamut from the development of novel nuclear reactors to X-ray crystallography. He has been with Los Alamos since 1979.
He and fellow researcher Sam Tuccio developed the continue wave dye laser while they were researchers with Eastman Kodak.
The laser became a workhorse instrument for precision spectroscopy, dominating that field for 20 years. It also served as the foundation for much of the research into the laser production of very short optical pulses, where the pulses became so short in time that electronics could not measure the pulse widths. The laser's big advantage was that it could be tuned to any visible wavelength (color) by turning knobs and by changing dyes.
Peterson made his contributions to the development of the wavelength-tunable solid-state laser when he worked at Allied Chemical.
This laser is based on a solid laser rod that exhibits the same wavelength tunability that previously had been the almost exclusive characteristic of the organic dye lasers. The laser eventually saw wide use, including serving as the basis for a large isotope separation program at Los Alamos.
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