Theodore Maiman introduced the first working laser to the world in 1960, initiating one of the most intense periods of scientific activity in modern history. Every major think tank in the United States turned its attention toward perfecting and modifying Maiman's machine. Immersed within this flood of optical research was Mary Spaeth who, just six years after Maiman's invention, developed the tunable dye laser.

Spaeth graduated from Valparaiso University and received her master's degree in physics from Wayne State University. During her studies, Spaeth (along with most other scientists at that time) had become frustrated with the monochromatic nature of lasers: lasers could be built to emit different colors, but, once chosen, that color was fixed. It became clear that a tunable laser was needed--a laser whose color could be changed in mid-stream. Peter Sorokin and J. R. Lankard had, in 1966, shown how certain dyes affected the coloration of...