The first session includes: his reasons for undertaking a Stanford degree in electrical engineering; decision to join Bell Laboratories in 1961; Gas lasers, CO2 and other molecular lasers; nonlinear optics in the infrared region; the discovery of the spin-flip Raman laser at the end of the 1960s; interactions with collaborators, colleagues, and management during the 1960s. The second session includes: his research in the decade 1963-1973; the carbon-dioxide laser; non linear optics at infra-red wavelengths; second harmonic generation; scattering from mobile carriers in semiconductors; spin-flip Raman scattering; the spin-flip Raman laser; techniques for the laser measurement of air pollutants; social aspects of collaborative research at Bell Laboratories; strategies for being a successful scientist.