Dr. Robert Lawrence Thornton passed away Tuesday, October 25, 2011, in Santa Clara, California after a long, hard-fought battle with cancer.
Born June 29, 1955, he graduated with honors from the California Institute of Technology where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Applied Science in 1977. He went on to earn his Master’s and Ph.D in Applied Physics at Stanford University and was the first African American to earn the doctorate from the Applied Physics department at Stanford. During his tenure at Stanford, he was also a recipient of the Bell Telephone Laboratories Cooperative Research Fellowship.
A remarkable record of accomplishment has highlighted Dr. Thornton’s career in laser development. He holds over 46 patents in lasers and optoelectronics and has authored over 110 publications. During his 15 years with the former Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, now know as the Palo Alto Research Center, or PARC, Dr. Thornton pioneered the development and commercialization of new semiconductor lasers and photonic devices for high speed, high resolution laser printing. He was a recognized expert in VCSEL devices, high-density VCSEL arrays and the materials science of laser diodes.
Dr. Thornton launched his technical career at Xerox Corporate Research in Palo Alto, CA in 1983. During his 15 years at Xerox, he engaged in pioneering materials research aimed at developing red light emitting semiconductor lasers. Specifically he identified the vertical cavity laser as a key new technology area for Xerox, and successfully propagated this thinking widely throughout the company. Ultimately, he led the research and development program that establish red VCSEL technology within Xerox’s laser printers.
After leaving Xerox, Thornton served a brief stint as Director of Photonic Technology at Maxtek Components Corporation in Beaverton, Oregon before joining Siros Technologies in San Jose as Director of Laser Development. After being promoted to Chief Technical Officer- and Vice President of Technology, Thornton provided strategic technical leadership for the company’s new initiative in high bandwidth optical communications. At Siros, Thornton was responsible for development of a semiconductor laser technology aimed at exploiting the potential of near-field optical data storage. While there he built a team of laser scientists, engineers and technicians to execute on laser processing and characterization.
Later, Dr. Thornton, founded and became the Chief Strategist for R.L. Thornton and Associates. More recently, he had founded UbiquiLIGHT, for which he developed an Intellectual Property Portfolio for the realization of low cost, portable, fiber laser light sources with applications including high speed data communication, optical clock distribution, non- invasive quantitative blood spectroscopy, and other metrology applications. Above all, Thornton saw himself as an inventor, and was fortunate to have an opportunity to work on problems that led to patentable solutions. Throughout his career, he has produced nearly 50 patents in the areas of non-invasive blood spectroscopy, near field optical data recording, improved performance semiconductor lasers, laser sources for electro-optic line printing, processes for optoelectronic device fabrication based on impurity induced disordering, and laser, transistor and other device architectures for optoelectronic integration.
Thornton travelled extensively, enjoyed cooking, music and long bike rides through the Los Altos Hills. He is survived by his son, Robert Shingai Tichakunda Thornton, whom he raised single-handedly, and two sisters, Flossie Buggs and Nellie C. Stargell. Those who knew him personally will remember Thornton as one of the few authentic entrepreneurs who successfully combined scientific and technical talent with the courage to take on greater than normal financial risks while maintaining his integrity and caring for his son. He will also be remembered for his quick wit and dry sense of humor and an especially wicked and sly laugh to go along with it.
