Basov, Nikolai Gennadiyevich (1922–2001)
Nikolai Basov was a Soviet physicist who played an important role in the development of the maser, which amplifies microwaves and the laser which amplifies light. For these contributions to science, Basov and his co-worker Alexander Prokhorov shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Charles Townes (who had made similar discoveries independently).