The American Laser Study Club (ALSC) established the Kumar Patel Prize in Laser Surgery to be awarded annually, at the ALSC Annual Symposium, based on the merits of the recipient’s contribution to the science, education, and/or the practice of laser surgery.
2026 Kumar Patel Prize Recipients
The 2026 Kumar Patel Prize in Laser Surgery is awarded to two clinicians whose work has advanced laser surgery education, clinical adoption, and innovation across human and veterinary medicine.
- Ann Bynum, DDS, is recognized for her outstanding contributions to pediatric dental laser surgery education.
- Boaz Man, DVM, is recognized for his outstanding contributions to BOAS laser surgery education.
2025 Kumar Patel Prize Recipients
The 2025 Kumar Patel Prize in Laser Surgery is awarded to distinguished individuals recognized for their contributions to laser surgery and their roles as educators.
- Robert Levine, DDS, is recognized for his outstanding contributions to CO2 laser dentistry education.
- Ray Arza, DVM, is honored for his outstanding contributions to CO2 laser surgery education.
2024 Kumar Patel Prize Recipients
The 2024 Kumar Patel Prize in Laser Surgery is being awarded to a group of distinguished individuals who are recognized for their contributions to laser surgery and their roles as educators in the fields.
- Piya Gandhi, DDS, is recognized for her outstanding contributions to laser frenectomy education.
- Cara Riek, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, IBCLC, is celebrated for her outstanding contributions to laser frenectomy education.
- Jakub Kaczmarek, DVM, Dipl. ECVS, Dipl. EBVS, is honored for his outstanding contributions to laser surgery education.
2023 Kumar Patel Prize Recipients
The 2023 Kumar Patel Prize in Laser Surgery is being awarded to a group of distinguished individuals who are recognized for their contributions to laser surgery, laser technology, and their roles as educators and pioneers in the fields.
- Katherine Crothall, PhD, for pioneering contributions to CO2 laser surgical technology
- Scott A. Siegel, MD, DDS, for pioneering contributions to CO2 laser frenectomy surgery and education
- Noel Berger, DVM, MS, for outstanding contributions to CO2 laser surgery education
2022 Kumar Patel Prize Recipients
The American Laser Study Club (ALSC) awards the 2022 Kumar Patel Prize in Laser Surgery to the following highly accomplished and respected laser surgery providers, educators, pioneers, and researchers:
- Robert M. Pick, DDS, MS, for pioneering contributions to CO2 laser dental applications and education
- L. Miguel Carreira, PhD, DTO, DMD, DVM, and Pedro Azevedo, DVM, MSc, for outstanding contributions to CO2 laser surgery post-operative healing research
2021 Kumar Patel Prize Recipients
The ALSC awards the 2021 Kumar Patel Prize in Laser Surgery to the following highly accomplished and respected laser surgery educators:
- Richard Baxter, DMD, MS, for his outstanding contribution to pediatric dental laser surgery education, including his book “Tongue-Tied: How a Tiny String Under the Tongue Impacts Nursing, Speech, Feeding, and More”
- Christopher Winkler, DVM, for his outstanding contributions to veterinary laser surgery education, including his book “Laser Surgery in Veterinary Medicine”.
2020 Kumar Patel Prize Recipients
The ALSC awards the 2020 Kumar Patel Prize in Laser Surgery to the following highly accomplished and respected laser surgery educators:
- Martin Kaplan, DMD, for his outstanding contribution to pediatric dental laser surgery education;
- David Duclos, DVM, DACVD, for his outstanding contributions to veterinary dermatological laser surgery education, and for the development of the CO2 laser surgical treatment of canine pododermatitis.
2019 Kumar Patel Prize Recipients
The 2019 Kumar Patel Prize in Laser Surgery to the following highly accomplished and respected life-long laser surgery educators:
- Robert A. Strauss, DDS, MD, for his outstanding contribution to oral and maxillofacial laser surgery education
- John C. Godbold, DVM, for his outstanding contributions to veterinary laser surgery education
- Warren B. Seiler, MD, for his outstanding contributions to cosmetic laser surgery education
2018 Kumar Patel Prize Recipient
C. Kumar N. Patel, PhD, MSc
The co-chairs of the ALSC Inaugural Symposium have awarded the 2018 Kumar Patel Prize to Dr. Patel himself for his invention of the CO2 laser in 1964. The award ceremony took place on Sunday, April 8, 2018, at the American Laser Study Club Inaugural Symposium in Orlando, Florida, where on day one of the Symposium, Dr. Patel delivered a keynote address entitled “The Discovery and Science of the CO2 Laser.”
Watch Dr. Patel's Acceptance Speech
About Dr. Patel
C. Kumar N. Patel, PhD, MSc, is the inventor of the CO2 laser, which has become the most popular soft tissue surgical laser across all specialties of human and veterinary medicine. The CO2 laser’s ability to precisely vaporize one cell layer at a time, due to its excellent absorption by histological water, and its unique ability to delicately coagulate blood capillaries are just some of the features that make the CO2 laser the gold standard of surgical lasers. Thanks to over 50 years of technological advances in optics and electronics, the CO2 laser energy is now relatively easy to produce and ergonomically deliver to the surgical site in a variety of accurately controlled beam shapes and pulse formats. Among the many notable CO2 laser applications in the recent years is frenectomy that helps alleviate breastfeeding difficulties in newborns.
Kumar Patel Prize in Laser Surgery Selection Committee
C. Kumar N. Patel, PhD, MSc
Co-Chair
Peter Vitruk, PhD, MInstP
Co-Chair
Ray Arza, DVM
Member
Richard Baxter, DMD, MS
Member
Noel Berger, DVM, MS
Member
L. Miguel Carreira, PhD, DTO, DMD, DVM
Member
Piya Gandhi, DDS
Member
John C. Godbold, DVM
Member
Jakub Kaczmarek, DVM, Dipl. ECVS, Dipl. EBVS
Member
Martin Kaplan, DMD
Member
Robert Levine, DDS
Member
Cara Riek, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, IBCLC
Member
Scott A. Siegel, MD, DDS
Member
Christopher Winkler, DVM
Member