L. G Van Uitert worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories for the duration of his career. He, along with Joseph E. Geusic and H. W. Macros developed what would become the dominant solid state laser. In 1993, he received OSA’s R. W. Wood Prize “for the discovery of the Nd:YAG laser and the demonstration of its usefulness as a practical solid state laser source.

He passed away in 1999.