2024-03-28T15:27:27Z
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/cgi/oai2
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:1
2021-04-20T18:10:47Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:2
2011-10-20T19:45:25Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:5
2011-10-20T19:45:25Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:6
2011-10-20T19:45:25Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:15
2019-10-04T15:23:30Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
7375626A656374733D737562:62696F
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/15/
Interview with James F. Bonner
Bonner, James
All Records
Biology
Interview in 1980 with professor of biology James Bonner begins with his recollections of growing up in an academic family. In 1929, his father, a physical chemist at the University of Utah, was a visitor at Caltech, where Bonner enrolled as a junior. Recalls course work with X-ray crystallographer Roscoe G. Dickinson and activities of Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering under Arthur Amos Noyes; humanities courses with William B. Munro; physics with Earnest Watson, William V. Houston, and Carl Anderson; geology with John P. Buwalda; and biology with Thomas Hunt Morgan, Henry Borsook, and Theodosius Dobzhansky. Became Dobzhansky's summer researcher and editor; switched from chemistry to biology. Graduate work with Dobzhansky on Drosophila genetics and Kenneth Thimann on plant hormone auxin. Friendship with Noyes. NRC postdoctoral fellowship to Utrecht, Leiden, and ETH, 1934-35. Joined Caltech's Biology Division in 1936 as an instructor: recalls colleagues Frits Went, Arie J. Haagen-Smit, Johannes van Overbeek; plant labs at Caltech; coining of term phytotron. Recollections of Robert A. Millikan. War work for U.S. Emergency Rubber Project on guayule and Cryptostegia. Work on cell biology with Sam Wildman; discovery of Fraction 1, central enzyme of photosynthesis. Founding of Caltech's Industrial Associates program in 1950. Recalls graduate student Paul Tso, discovery of plant actomycin, isolation of ribosomes. Work of Robert Holley on transfer RNAs. Consultant to Malaysian rubber industry. "Next 100 Years" project, with Harrison Brown. Studies RNA in 1960s with R. C. Huang and histone chemistry with Douglas Fambrough. Visitor at Oxford, 1963. Remarks on underdeveloped countries. Study of population growth with H. Brown. Comments on his recent work on cloning genes, and visits to Singapore and China. His hopes for genetic engineering. Stint as acting chairman of the Biology Division; comments on Robert L. Sinsheimer. [See also 1978 joint interview with Bonner, N. H. Horowitz, D. F. Poulson, and S. H. Emerson.]
1982-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/15/1/OH_Bonner_J.pdf
Bonner, James (1982) Interview with James F. Bonner. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Bonner_J <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Bonner_J>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Bonner_J
CaltechOH:OH_Bonner_J
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:17
2019-10-04T15:23:31Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:67656F
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/17/
Interview with Charles Richter
Richter, Charles
Geology
All Records
Interview in 1978 with Charles F. Richter, professor of seismology emeritus, in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences. A pioneer in seismology and active in the seismology and earthquake engineering fields for over fifty years, Richter's name is known for the earthquake magnitude scale he developed in the 1930s for local earthquakes. Richter received his PhD from Caltech in 1928. In 1937 he joined the Caltech faculty and worked alongside Harry Wood in the Seismological Laboratory, which that year was transferred to Caltech from the Carnegie Institution of Washington and was situated in the San Rafael area of Pasadena. The interview covers a wide range of topics, including his graduate student years at Caltech, then headed by Robert A. Millikan; recollections of Harry Wood, Beno Gutenberg, and Hugo Benioff and their work in the early years of the Seismological Laboratory; the prospects for earthquake prediction; the role of the Bikini atomic tests in studies of the propagation of seismic waves; the tectonics of Japan; the importance of earthquake engineering; his consulting work with the L.A. Dept. of Water and Power; and his views on latter-day developments in the geology division and at Caltech.
1979-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/17/1/OH_Richter_C.pdf
Richter, Charles (1979) Interview with Charles Richter. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Richter_C <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Richter_C>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Richter_C
CaltechOH:OH_Richter_C
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:18
2019-10-04T15:23:31Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:6368656D
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/18/
Interview with Linus Pauling
Pauling, Linus
Chemistry
All Records
Interview in 1984 with Linus Pauling, professor of chemistry emeritus. He recalls his instructorship in quantitative analysis at Oregon Agricultural College at age 18. To Caltech for graduate study, 1922. As preparation, Arthur Amos Noyes sent him proof sheets of Noyes's new book, Chemical Principles. Studied X-ray crystallography with Roscoe G. Dickinson. Gave seminar on Debye-Huckel theory of electrolytic solutions for visiting P. J. W. Debye. Recollections of Noyes (then chairman of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering), Dickinson, and Ralph W. G. Wyckoff. Discusses X-ray crystallography and its history. Recollections of Gilbert N. Lewis, Caltech's rivalry with Berkeley. Paper with Richard C. Tolman on residual entropy of crystals; recalls courses with Tolman. Offer of professorship at Harvard in 1929 and MIT c. 1930. Death of Noyes (1936) and Pauling's appointment as chairman of chemistry division (1937). Remarks on Biology Division and advent of Thomas Hunt Morgan (1928). Work on hemoglobin in mid-1930s. Remarks on Karl Landsteiner and immunology. Lectures on "complementariness" as basis of biological specificity; paper with Max Delbruck. Projected book on the molecular basis of biological specificity, to be called The Nature of Life. Recollections of Albert Tyler and George W. Beadle. Comments on relations with Warren Weaver and Rockefeller Foundation. Discusses work on protein structure and discovery of alpha helix. Discusses his reasons for leaving Caltech in 1963 and the attitude of Caltech president Lee DuBridge and John Roberts, then chair of the chemistry division. Recalls his resignation of division chairmanship in 1957; attitude of trustees toward his politics; his efforts to raise money to defend colleague Sidney Weinbaum. Recalls being badgered by Lawrence Spivak on Meet the Press in 1950s. Comments on quantum mechanical theory of resonance and the chemical bond. Comments on Center for Study of Democratic Institutions.
1984-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/18/1/OH_Pauling_L.pdf
Pauling, Linus (1984) Interview with Linus Pauling. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Pauling_L <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Pauling_L>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Pauling_L
CaltechOH:OH_Pauling_L
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:23
2019-10-04T15:23:32Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:656E67
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/23/
Interview with George W. Housner
Housner, George
Engineering
All Records
Interview in 1984 with George W. Housner, Carl F. Braun Professor of Engineering emeritus. BS, University of Michigan in civil engineering, 1933. MS Caltech, 1934. Interest in earthquake engineering after 1933 Long Beach earthquake; 1934-39, designed schools, bridges, and dams in Los Angeles; returned to Caltech for PhD (1941) with R. R. Martel. Worked for Corps of Engineers in Los Angeles, protecting aircraft industry from possible wartime attack. Adviser to the air force in North Africa and Italy during the war. Joined Caltech faculty 1945 as asst. prof. of applied mechanics; buildup of Engineering and Applied Science Division under chairman Fred Lindvall. Comments on differences between seismologists and earthquake engineers. Recalls origins of earthquake engineering at Caltech under Martel. Chairs engineering committee on 1964 Alaska quake. With Paul Jennings, consults on earthquake design for buildings in downtown Los Angeles. Founding of Earthquake Engineering Research Institute [EERI]. Comments on liquefaction in 1964 Niigata earthquake. Recalls Theodor von Kármán's part in designing pumps for Colorado River Aqueduct. Recalls his own involvement in Feather River Project in 1950s as president of EERI, and Ralph Nader's misrepresentation of its earthquake safety. Comments on engineering improvements in aftermath of 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Visits China in 1978 as member of delegation on earthquake engineering. Comments on superiority of Japanese earthquake preparedness. Founding of International Association for Earthquake Engineering and Caltech Earthquake Research Affiliates. Establishment with NSF funding of a Committee on Natural Hazards, including wind damage. Sen. Alan Cranston's part in getting NSF money in 1974 for earthquake research. Comments on his work at Palomar Observatory and Union Bank Building. Comments on demolition of Caltech's Throop Hall following San Fernando quake, on future of engineering education, and on his stint as chairman of the faculty. Comments on Ed Simmons, inventor of a strain gauge, Simmons's legal battle with Caltech, and Caltech's patent policy.
1989-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/23/1/OH_Housner_G.pdf
Housner, George (1989) Interview with George W. Housner. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Housner_G <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Housner_G>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Housner_G
CaltechOH:OH_Housner_G
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:24
2019-10-04T15:23:32Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
7375626A656374733D737562:6368656D
7375626A656374733D737562:62696F
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/24/
Interview with Henry Borsook
Borsook, Henry
All Records
Chemistry
Biology
Interview in 1978 with biochemist Henry Borsook, who joined Caltech's newly created Biology Division in 1929 and retired from Caltech in 1968, moving his laboratory to U.C. Berkeley. Professor Borsook's major contributions were made in the areas of protein synthesis and nutrition. He recalls Robert A. Millikan's interest in establishing biology at Caltech and the early days of the Biology Division under Thomas Hunt Morgan; Caltech's intellectual life in the 1930s; the establishment of a Health Center at the Institute; his relations with Linus Pauling. In the 1930s, Borsook began applying thermodynamics to the study of biological phenomena, working with bacteria and studying the production of urine and creatine. He discusses his later work on vitamins and his wartime service on the Food and Nutrition Board, including the formation of the Recommended Daily Allowances and the Dept. of Agriculture's opposition to the RDAs in favor of Minimum Daily Requirements. In the 1940s he developed a soybean-based Multipurpose Food (MPF) and in 1946, with restaurateur Clifford Clinton, founded Meals for Millions, a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating world hunger with MPF. Recalls advent of George Beadle as division chairman in 1946 and subsequent changes in the Biology Division. Recalls his postwar work on protein synthesis with isotopes from the Atomic Energy Commission, and his work on hemoglobin and erythropoietin. Discusses his difficulties during the McCarthy era and his work on heart disease.
1981-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/24/10/OH_Borsook_H.pdf
Borsook, Henry (1981) Interview with Henry Borsook. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Borsook_H <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Borsook_H>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Borsook_H
CaltechOH:OH_Borsook_H
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:25
2019-10-04T15:23:33Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:62696F
7375626A656374733D737562:6368656D
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/25/
Interview with Herschel K. Mitchell
Mitchell, Herschel
Biology
Chemistry
All Records
Interview in 1997 with Herschel K. Mitchell, professor of biology, emeritus. George W. Beadle brought Mitchell to Caltech with him in 1946 from Stanford as a senior research fellow, along with Norman Horowitz, Mary Houlahan, Adrian Srb, and August Doermann. The group worked on Neurospora. Mitchell recalls teaching the biochemistry course with Henry Borsook; recalls Beadle's style as chairman of the Division of Biology. Recalls his earlier work on pantothenic acid and folic acid as a graduate student with Roger Williams. Comments extensively (in mid-interview and again toward the end) on the dubious work done by Lawrence Burton and Frank Friedman as research fellows in the mid-1950s, their consequent dismissal from Caltech, and their later careers in highly controversial immuno-augmentative cancer therapy. Recalls instituting athletic activities at Caltech for graduate students and refers to many of his successful PhD students--among them Bruce Ames, who invented the Ames test for detecting mutagens and potential carcinogens; Mogens Westergaard, with whom he devised a medium favoring sexual reproduction in Neurospora; and Ernst Hadorn, with whom he worked on Drosophila mutants.
2000-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/25/1/OH_Mitchell_H.pdf
Mitchell, Herschel (2000) Interview with Herschel K. Mitchell. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Mitchell_H <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Mitchell_H>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Mitchell_H
CaltechOH:OH_Mitchell_H
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:26
2019-10-04T15:23:33Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:62696F
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/26/
Interview with Renato Dulbecco
Dulbecco, Renato
Biology
All Records
Interview in 1998 with Italian-American virologist Renato Dulbecco, who came to Caltech in 1949 as a senior research fellow at the invitation of Max Delbrück, joined the faculty of the Biology Division, and remained at Caltech until 1962. In this interview, he recalls his education at the University of Turin (MD 1936) in his native Italy, working with Giuseppe Levi and Rita Levi-Montalcini; his experiences during the war years in Italy; his arrival in the United States in 1947 to work with Salvador Luria on phage at Indiana University, where James Watson was a colleague; his meeting with Delbrück at Cold Spring Harbor; and his arrival at Caltech and eventual switch to the study of animal viruses. Discusses his work with western equine encephalitis virus, polio virus, Rous sarcoma virus, and his collaborations with postdoc Harry Rubin and student Howard Temin. Leaves Caltech in 1962 to join Michael Stoker at Glasgow University for a year, thence to Salk Institute for Biological Research, in La Jolla. Moves in 1972 to Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories in London and works with Yoshi Ito. Focuses on breast cancer. Receives Nobel Prize in 1975 (with Howard Temin and David Baltimore). Returns to Salk in 1977. Recollections of Jonas Salk, David Baltimore, and Jacob Bronowski. In 1988, he succeeds Fred De Hoffmann as president of Salk. Resigns in 1992 and divides his time between La Jolla and the Milan laboratory of Italy's National Research Council, working on breast cancer.
2001-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/26/1/OH_Dulbecco_R.pdf
Dulbecco, Renato (2001) Interview with Renato Dulbecco. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Dulbecco_R <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Dulbecco_R>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Dulbecco_R
CaltechOH:OH_Dulbecco_R
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:28
2011-10-20T19:45:26Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:29
2019-10-04T15:23:33Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:656E67
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/29/
Interview with Donald E. Hudson
Hudson, Donald
Engineering
All Records
Interview in 1997 with Donald Ellis Hudson, professor of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, emeritus, and a pioneer in the field of earthquake engineering. Hudson received his BS (1938), master's (1939), and PhD (1942, mechanical engineering) from Caltech and then joined the faculty of its Division of Engineering and Applied Science. After retiring from Caltech in 1981 with emeritus status, he moved to the USC School of Engineering, where he chaired the Department of Civil Engineering from 1981 to 1985. He was also president of the International Association for Earthquake Engineering (IAEE) from 1980 to 1984. In this interview, Hudson comments on the development of earthquake engineering at Caltech; his collaboration with Caltech colleagues Frederick Lindvall, Romeo Martel, and George Housner; and his consulting work with General Petroleum Corporation in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He recalls his close association with the University of Roorkee, in India; the founding of the IAEE and the establishment of its periodic international conferences on earthquake engineering; his travels to Japan and to technical schools in South America; his consultation on the Bhakra Dam in India; and the development of civil engineering at USC. He also discusses the eccentric Caltech alumnus Edward Simmons, inventor of the strain gauge, and Simmons's legal battle with Caltech over the patent.
1999-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/29/1/OH_Hudson_D.pdf
Hudson, Donald (1999) Interview with Donald E. Hudson. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Hudson_D <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Hudson_D>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Hudson_D
CaltechOH:OH_Hudson_D
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:30
2020-10-21T18:53:48Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:656E67
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/30/
Interview with James J. Morgan
Morgan, James
Engineering
All Records
Interview in 1999 with James J. Morgan, Marvin L. Goldberger Professor of Environmental Engineering Science, emeritus. Born in New York City to Irish immigrant parents, Morgan was raised in County Monaghan, Ireland, during the Depression. He studied civil engineering at Manhattan College, received a master's degree from the University of Michigan in environmental health engineering with C. J. Velz (1956), and after three years as an instructor at the University of Illinois took his PhD at Harvard in 1964 with the water chemist Werner Stumm. Morgan came to Caltech in 1965 to join the environmental engineering science program in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science, where he worked on manganese chemistry in water and the use of polyelectrolytes in water treatment. Recollections of colleagues Jack McKee, Sheldon Friedlander, Norman Brooks, and the early years of the environmental engineering science program. In 1966 he became first editor of the American Chemical Society's journal Environmental Science and Technology. Recalls stint on Caltech's Freshman Admissions Committee and as dean of students in the early 1970s. Coauthored Aquatic Chemistry with Werner Stumm. Comments on his consulting for industry and government in the 1970s. Becomes vice president for student affairs (1980-1989). Recalls postdocs and students, including François Morel, James Pankow, Alan Stone, Howard Liljestrand, Yigal Erel, Windsor Sung. Awarded 1999 Stockholm Water Prize jointly with Werner Stumm (d. April 1999). In an epilogue to this interview, Morgan describes his trip to Stockholm to accept the award on behalf of Stumm and himself and his receipt that year of the Clarke Prize of the National Water Research Institute.
2001-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/30/1/OH_Morgan_J.pdf
Morgan, James (2001) Interview with James J. Morgan. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Morgan_J <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Morgan_J>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Morgan_J
CaltechOH:OH_Morgan_J
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:31
2011-10-20T19:45:26Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:32
2019-10-04T15:23:34Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:6368656D
7375626A656374733D737562:67656F
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/32/
Interview with Clair C. Patterson
Patterson, Clair
Chemistry
Geology
All Records
In this interview in March 1995, nine months before his death, Clair C. (Pat) Patterson, professor of geochemistry, emeritus, talks about his early interest in physical chemistry; his education at Grinnell College, in Iowa; his stint on the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge; and his subsequent graduate work at the University of Chicago with Harrison Brown, where he measured the isotopic composition and concentration of minute quantities of lead with a mass spectrometer. He received his PhD at Chicago in 1951. After a year there as a postdoc, he came to Caltech with Brown, who established a geochemistry program in the Division of Geology. By 1953, having measured the isotopic composition of primordial lead in iron meteorites, Patterson was able to determine the age of the earth at 4.5 billion years. He then turned to a study of the natural levels of terrestrial lead and discovered that in the modern industrial environment, lead concentrations had greatly increased, from such sources as leaded gasoline and the solder used in food cans--with a corresponding increase in lead levels in human beings. He discusses his investigation of lead levels in seawater, oceanic sediments, and polar ice cores and his calculation of the rise in environmental lead levels beginning with the mining of lead in Greek and Roman times. At the end of the interview, he discusses his current interest in the evolution of different neuronal networks for two kinds of thinking, utilitarian and nonutilitarian--and his belief that this is illustrated by similarities in utilitarian thinking in the Old and New Worlds, while their cultural (nonutilitarian) development was dissimilar.
1997-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/32/1/OH_Patterson.pdf
Patterson, Clair (1997) Interview with Clair C. Patterson. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Patterson_C <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Patterson_C>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Patterson_C
CaltechOH:OH_Patterson_C
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:33
2019-10-04T15:23:34Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:62696F
7375626A656374733D737562:6368656D
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/33/
Interview with Robert L. Sinsheimer
Sinsheimer, Robert
Biology
Chemistry
All Records
Interview in 1990 and 1991 with Dr. Robert L. Sinsheimer, who served as chairman of Caltech's Division of Biology for nine years (1968-1977) and later became chancellor of the University of California at Santa Cruz. He recalls his undergraduate education in the new biophysics program at MIT, his war work at MIT's Radiation Laboratory, and his graduate study at MIT in biophysics (PhD 1948). After a postdoc year there, he goes to Iowa State College as associate professor of biophysics; takes six-month leave in 1953 to Caltech, works on phage genetics with Max Delbrück. Joins Caltech faculty as professor of biophysics in 1957 and continues his work on isolating the virus Phi X 174; work with Arthur Kornberg of Stanford on in vitro synthesis of DNA. Receives California Scientist of the Year Award in 1968 and is elected that year to the National Academy of Sciences. He recalls his tenure as chair of the Biology Division, the growth of molecular biology, and his awareness of potential risks involved in the new technology of recombinant DNA. He discusses his concern over low level of public understanding of science; his involvement in the Asilomar Conference of February 1975 and creation of NIH guidelines for recombinant DNA research; and his part in initiating the Human Genome Project. In 1977, Sinsheimer left Caltech to become chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, a post he held until 1987, when he moved to UC Santa Barbara, where he became professor emeritus in 1990 and where this interview takes place.
1992-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/33/1/OH_Sinsheimer.pdf
Sinsheimer, Robert (1992) Interview with Robert L. Sinsheimer. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Sinsheimer_R <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Sinsheimer_R>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Sinsheimer_R
CaltechOH:OH_Sinsheimer_R
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:34
2019-10-04T15:23:34Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:62696F
7375626A656374733D737562:656E67
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/34/
Interview with Wheeler J. North
North, Wheeler
Biology
Engineering
All Records
Interview in 1998 with Wheeler North, professor of environmental science, emeritus, in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science. North received a BS in electrical engineering (1944) and biology (1950) from Caltech, and PhD (1953) from the University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His principal research interest is marine ecology, specifically the kelp beds off Southern California and the sea urchin population. He discusses effects of sewage outfalls and El Niño on kelp beds, the predations of sea urchins, and consulting for California's kelp-harvesting industry. Recalls diving and experiments with early scuba equipment as student at Caltech. At Scripps, he worked with group studying the physiology of diving. Postgraduate work with NSF fellowship at Cambridge. Returned to Scripps with fellowship from Rockefeller Foundation, worked on photoreception in Metridium, taught diving course. In 1963, he joined Jack McKee's environmental engineering science program at Caltech. Comments on early days of the program; his work at Caltech's Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory at Corona del Mar; growing interest in the environment in 1970s and popularity of his ecology course among undergraduates and graduate students in various disciplines. Discusses 1969 oil-well blowout off Santa Barbara; contrast with Tampico oil spill off Baja in 1957. Discusses funding from National Science Foundation, after 1973 oil crisis, for kelp farms to produce biomass as an alternative fuel; later funding by General Electric, Department of Energy, and Gas Research Institute. Discusses kelp farming in China. Discusses work as consultant for Southern Cal Edison at San Onofre and Pacific Gas & Electric at Humboldt Bay and Diablo Canyon, on ecological effects of warm-water discharges from nuclear power plants. Discusses project funded by Electric Power Research Institute in early 1990s to reduce atmospheric CO2 using marine biomass and hydrates.
2001-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/34/1/OH_North_W.pdf
North, Wheeler (2001) Interview with Wheeler J. North. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_North_W <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_North_W>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_North_W
CaltechOH:OH_North_W
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:36
2011-10-20T19:45:26Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:37
2022-10-04T04:00:21Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:38
2022-10-04T04:00:21Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:41
2022-10-04T04:00:21Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:42
2019-10-04T15:23:35Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
7375626A656374733D737562:6368656D
7375626A656374733D737562:62696F
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/42/
Interview with Zus Haagen-Smit
Haagen-Smit, Zus (Maria)
All Records
Chemistry
Biology
This interview in 2000 with Zus (Maria) Haagen-Smit, widow of Caltech biologist Arie Jan Haagen-Smit (1900-1977), describes their early education at the University of Utrecht, his work on terpenes with Leopold Ruzicka, and the cooperation between Caltech and Utrecht in studies of plant hormones. In 1936, as war loomed in Europe, Arie Haagen-Smit was invited for a year to Harvard by Kenneth Thimann; in 1937, he was invited by T. H. Morgan to join the faculty of Caltech's Biology Division, where he continued his work on terpenes and plant hormones. Recollections of Dutch group at Caltech: Frits Went, Herman Dolk, Johannes van Overbeek, and Anthonie van Harreveld. Advent of World War II; opening of butadiene plant in Los Angeles, 1943, and consequent smog problems in Los Angeles. She recalls her husband's pioneering work in analysis of smog and measures to reduce it; and his consultancies with L.A. County Air Pollution Control District, Southern California Edison Co., auto industry, and California Air Resources Board. She reads extensively from Arnold Beckman's tribute to him and the history of Los Angeles County's battle to reduce air pollution. Summarizes the awards and honors he received toward the end of his life.
2003-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/42/1/OH_Haagen-Smit_Z.pdf
Haagen-Smit, Zus (Maria) (2003) Interview with Zus Haagen-Smit. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Haagen-Smit_Z <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Haagen-Smit_Z>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Haagen-Smit_Z
CaltechOH:OH_Haagen-Smit_Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:43
2019-10-04T15:23:35Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:6D617468
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/43/
Autobiography of Olga Taussky-Todd
Taussky-Todd, Olga
Mathematics
All Records
This autobiographical essay was written for the Archives in 1979-80 by Olga Taussky-Todd, emeritus professor of mathematics. In it she recalls her childhood and early education in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Vienna and Linz; her early interest in mathematics; her studies at the University of Vienna; and her interest in algebraic number theory (PhD 1930). Recollections of her thesis advisor Philip Furtwängler, Hans Hahn, Kurt Gödel, Karl Menger; her appointment in Göttingen as one of the editors of Hilbert's collected works; colleagues at Göttingen; friendship with Emmy Noether. She spends the 1934-35 academic year at Bryn Mawr, with Emmy Noether, then moves to Girton College, Cambridge. The next year she moves to London University; meets and marries fellow mathematician John (Jack) Todd. After World War II breaks out, they move to Queens University in Belfast, then back to London; their war work; their move to U.S.A. in 1947. Her interest in matrix theory; their stay at the Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton. Their appointment at the Institute for Numerical Analysis, UCLA. Return to London. Their work at the National Bureau of Standards, in Washington, in early 1950s. 1957 appointments at Caltech: John Todd as professor of mathematics, Olga Taussky-Todd as research associate. Recollections of her mathematical research, her colleagues, and her work with students at Caltech.
1980-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/43/1/OH_Todd.pdf
Taussky-Todd, Olga (1980) Autobiography of Olga Taussky-Todd. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Todd_O <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Todd_O>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Todd_O
CaltechOH:OH_Todd_O
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:44
2011-10-20T19:45:26Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:45
2011-10-20T19:45:26Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:46
2022-10-04T04:00:21Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:47
2022-10-04T04:00:21Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:49
2019-10-04T15:23:36Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:68756D
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/49/
Interview with Rodman Paul
Paul, Rodman
Humanities
All Records
Interview in 1982 with Rodman W. Paul, Edward S. Harkness Professor of History, emeritus. A historian specializing in the American West, particularly western mining, Paul joined Caltech's Humanities Division in 1947 and was instrumental in building up its history department. He comments in this interview on the state of the Humanities Division under its longtime chairman Hallett Smith in the 1950s and 1960s; on his efforts to build the history department; on the division's evolution in the 1970s under Robert Huttenback (see addendum) into the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences; on the eclipse of the behavioral sciences and the weakness of the division's literature department; on his relationship with the Huntington Library and the unsuccessful attempt by the Bancroft Library to recruit him; on the upheavals of the 1960s in the academic world; and on his service on various faculty committees, particularly the institute's Aims and Goals Committee. The interview includes recollections of Robert A. and Greta Millikan, Lee DuBridge, Alan Sweezy, Earnest Watson, Richard Chace Tolman, and the political controversies of the 1950s (Linus Pauling, H. S. Tsien, J. Robert Oppenheimer), as well as his analysis of later campus and divisional trends.
1982-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/49/1/OH_Paul_R.pdf
Paul, Rodman (1982) Interview with Rodman Paul. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Paul_R <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Paul_R>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Paul_R
CaltechOH:OH_Paul_R
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:50
2019-10-04T15:23:36Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
7375626A656374733D737562:6A706C
7375626A656374733D737562:6368656D
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/50/
Interview with Terry Cole
Cole, Terry
All Records
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Chemistry
Interview in three sessions, October 1996, with Terry Cole, senior faculty associate in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and senior member of the technical staff of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Cole earned his BS in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1954 and his PhD from Caltech in 1958 under Don Yost, on magnetic resonance. The following year he moved to the Ford Scientific Research Laboratory, in Dearborn, Michigan, where he rose to head the departments of chemistry and chemical engineering. In 1980 he joined JPL's Energy & Technology Applications branch; in 1982 he became JPL's chief technologist, and he was instrumental in establishing JPL's Microdevices Laboratory and its Center for Space Microelectronic Technology. Interview includes recollections of Lew Allen's directorship of JPL and a discussion of the origins of the SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship) program.
2001-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/50/1/OH_Cole_T.pdf
Cole, Terry (2001) Interview with Terry Cole. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Cole_T <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Cole_T>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Cole_T
CaltechOH:OH_Cole_T
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:51
2019-10-04T15:23:36Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:617374
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/51/
Interview with Jesse L. Greenstein
Greenstein, Jesse L.
Astronomy
All Records
Interview in three sessions in 1982 with Jesse L. Greenstein, DuBridge Professor of Astrophysics, emeritus. Greenstein discusses his early career at the Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago, under Otto Struve (1937-1948), and his arrival at Caltech in 1948 to build an astronomy department in the Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy. He discusses the early partnership between Caltech and the Carnegie Institution of Washington in running Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories, the interactions between observational astronomy and theoretical astrophysics, and the rise of radio astronomy. Besides his discussion of his work on stellar composition, the interview contains his recollections of such twentieth-century pioneers of astronomy and astrophysics as Struve, Grote Reber, Gerard Kuiper, Edwin Hubble, Fritz Zwicky, Walter Baade, Rudolph Minkowski, H. P. Robertson, Richard Tolman, and Fred Hoyle--and of various Caltech principals including Lee DuBridge, Earnest Watson, Arnold Beckman, and Robert Christy. He also discusses his service in the 1960s as chairman of Caltech's Faculty Board and member of its Aims and Goals Committee. He speculates about the scarcity of women astronomers and the difficulties they face. In an addendum to his interview, he discusses in more technical detail latter-day changes in instrumentation, the impact of new and improved detectors, and their contributions to his work on white dwarfs.
1983-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/51/1/OH_Greenstein_J.pdf
Greenstein, Jesse L. (1983) Interview with Jesse L. Greenstein. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Greenstein_J <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Greenstein_J>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Greenstein_J
CaltechOH:OH_Greenstein_J
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:52
2011-10-20T19:45:26Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:54
2019-10-04T15:23:37Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:736F63
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/54/
Interview with Robert W. Oliver
Oliver, Robert
Social Sciences
All Records
Interview in five sessions, 1988-1990, with Robert W. Oliver, professor of economics emeritus, who arrived at Caltech in 1959 as an assistant professor. His principal interest was in economic development, and during his years at Caltech he also worked as a consultant to the World Bank. He was also active in the city government of Pasadena. This wide-ranging interview begins with his recollections of his education at USC and war service in the South Pacific. He describes the makeup and character of the Humanities Division (then under the chairmanship of Hallett Smith) at the time of his arrival and its evolution into the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences. His interest in Africa, and the establishment of his Technical Cooperation Seminar in the early 1960s. Recollections of Smith's retirement as chairman in "palace revolution;" roles of Lance Davis, Roger Noll, and Rodman Paul; eventual succession of Robert Huttenback. His opposition to Huttenback's appointment and criticism of Huttenback's division chairmanship. The battle over granting tenure to literature professor Jenijoy La Belle. Discusses his work on various faculty committees and his tenure as master of student houses, and comments on presidential styles of Lee DuBridge, Harold Brown, Marvin [Murph] Goldberger, and Thomas Everhart. Discusses the work of the World Bank, especially in the 1970s. Recalls his years on Pasadena's city board in the latter half of the 1960s, the struggles over variances and development projects, and his unsuccessful campaign for reelection to the board in 1973.
1990-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/54/1/OH_Oliver.pdf
Oliver, Robert (1990) Interview with Robert W. Oliver. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Oliver_R <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Oliver_R>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Oliver_R
CaltechOH:OH_Oliver_R
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:64
2011-10-20T19:45:27Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:66
2019-10-04T15:23:37Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:62696F
7375626A656374733D737562:67656F
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/66/
Interview with Heinz A. Lowenstam
Lowenstam, Heinz A.
Biology
Geology
All Records
Interview conducted in eight sessions in the summer of 1988 with Heinz A. Lowenstam, professor of paleoecology. Dr. Lowenstam was born in Germany and educated at the universities of Frankfurt and Munich. He emigrated to the United States in 1937 to continue his graduate studies in geology and paleontology at the University of Chicago, receiving the PhD there in 1939. After a stint at the Illinois State Museum, he joined the Chicago faculty in 1948, working with Harold C. Urey on paleotemperatures. He joined Caltech's Geology Division in 1952 as a professor of paleoecology, pursuing research in a variety of fields. In 1962, he identified iron in chiton teeth, the first known instance of biomineralization, later found in such diverse creatures as bacteria, honeybees, and birds. In this interview, he recalls the difficulties he faced as a Jew in Nazi Germany, his graduate work in Palestine in the mid-1930s, his life as an émigré, his investigation of Silurian fossils in the Chicago area, and his interaction with such mentors and colleagues at Chicago as Urey, N. L. Bowen, Bailey Willis, Bryan Patterson, and Karl Schmidt. He discusses the evolution of the Geology Division at Caltech; its important move, under division chairman Robert P. Sharp, into geochemistry in the early 1950s; his work on the paleoecology of marine organisms; his recollections of Caltech colleagues, including Sam Epstein, Beno Gutenberg, Hugo Benioff, James Westphal, Max Delbruck, and George Rossman; and the changes that took place in the division over the decades since his arrival.
1991-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/66/1/OH_Lowenstam.pdf
Lowenstam, Heinz A. (1991) Interview with Heinz A. Lowenstam. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Lowenstam_H <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Lowenstam_H>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Lowenstam_H
CaltechOH:OH_Lowenstam_H
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:69
2019-10-04T15:23:37Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:706879
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/69/
Interview with Frank Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer, Frank
Physics
All Records
The younger brother of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Frank Friedman Oppenheimer was born in 1912 in New York City. After graduating as a bachelor of science in physics from Johns Hopkins in 1933, Oppenheimer traveled to Europe where he studied at Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory and Florence's Istitudo di Arceti from 1933-35. He then entered the California Institute of Technology from where he received his doctoral degree in physics in 1939. Before joining his brother in Los Alamos in 1943, Oppenheimer held positions at Stanford, Berkeley's Radiation Laboratory and the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Following the War, Oppenheimer returned to Berkeley but then moved to the University of Minnesota where he embarked on studies of cosmic radiation. His research ended abruptly in 1949 after he was required to give testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities regarding his communist activities as a graduate student at Caltech. Not until 1961 did he return to university life at the University of Colorado. There he developed a variety of innovative teaching techniques, many of which were later incorporated in his design of the Exploratorium in San Francisco where Oppenheimer served as director. He died in Sausalito, California, in 1985.
Conducted at the Exploratorium, this interview focuses on Oppenheimer's years at the California Institute of Technology. Oppenheimer describes his work on beta- and gamma-ray spectroscopy and reminisces about C. C. Lauritsen, his supervisor. He recollects the relationships he formed while working at Caltech's Kellogg Laboratory, including his memories of Willy Fowler, Richard and Ruth Tolman, Hsue-Shen Tsien, Robert Millikan, Henry Borsook, Thomas Hunt Morgan, Fritz Zwicky and Frank Malina. He also discusses his time at Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory and his recollections of Peter L. Kapitsa, John D. Cockcroft, Ernest T. S. Walton, George Gamow and Ernest Rutherford. In addition to a discussion of Oppenheimer's communist activities in pre-war Pasadena, he recounts his memories of fascism while he was studying in Florence in 1935.
1985-01-01
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/69/1/OH_Oppenheimer.pdf
Oppenheimer, Frank (1985) Interview with Frank Oppenheimer. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Oppenheimer_F <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Oppenheimer_F>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Oppenheimer_F
CaltechOH:OH_Oppenheimer_F
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:71
2022-10-04T04:00:21Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:72
2022-10-04T04:00:21Z
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:255
2019-10-04T15:24:09Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
7375626A656374733D737562:736F63
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/255/
Interview with Philip S. Fogg
Fogg, Philip
All Records
Social Sciences
An interview February 19, 1980, with Philip S. Fogg, who was an assistant professor of business economics at Caltech from 1930 to 1938 and associate professor from 1938 to 1941. He also served as resident associate in Fleming House from 1931 to 1935 and as Caltech’s registrar from 1935 to 1941.
He recalls meeting W. B. Munro, professor of history and government and member of Caltech’s Executive Council, in 1930, who hired him to teach business skills to Caltech’s engineering students. Became first resident of the newly opened Athenaeum, where he encountered visitor Albert Einstein. Recollections of R. A. Millikan, Fritz Zwicky, A. A. Noyes. Reminisces about his years as resident associate of Fleming House, and about replacing Harry Van Buskirk as registrar. Initiated visits to prospective students as part of Caltech’s admissions process.
He took what turned out to be a permanent leave of absence in 1941—after helping former classmate Herbert Hoover, Jr., found Consolidated Engineering—when the company received a wartime Air Force contract. He later became its president, and name was changed to Consolidated Electrodynamics. His civic activism in Pasadena. Long friendship with Robert F. Bacher. Became advisor to the Atomic Energy Commission after WW II. Comments on his early days as a teacher at Caltech. Interest in astronomy. Recalls building, in summer 1930, a 6-inch mirror reflecting telescope whose mirror was aluminized by Caltech physicist John Strong; first reflecting mirror to have such a surface.
1982
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/255/1/Fogg%20OHO.pdf
Fogg, Philip (1982) Interview with Philip S. Fogg. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Fogg_P <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Fogg_P>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Fogg_P
CaltechOH:OH_Fogg_P
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:267
2019-10-04T15:24:11Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
7375626A656374733D737562:706879
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/267/
Interview with Robert Lee Walker
Walker, Robert Lee
All Records
Physics
An interview in two sessions, March 1997 and January 1998, with Robert Lee Walker, professor of physics, emeritus, in the Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy. Dr. Walker matriculated at Harvard in 1937, transferring a year later to the University of Chicago (BS 1941). After a short period there as a graduate student, he joined the Manhattan Project. After the war, he continued his graduate work at Cornell (PhD 1948). He joined the Caltech faculty in 1949 as assistant professor, becoming associate professor in 1953, full professor in 1959, and emeritus professor in 1981.
He recalls his upbringing in Winnetka, Illinois; his interest in science at New Trier High School; his college years; and his work on the Manhattan Project, first under Enrico Fermi on the atomic pile and later at Los Alamos, where he calibrated neutron sources. Discusses his Cornell graduate work and postdoctoral year helping to build the 300-MeV electron synchrotron with Robert Wilson, John DeWire, and Dale Corson; working with Boyce McDaniel on a gamma-ray spectrometer. Robert F. Bacher’s recruitment of him to Caltech; his work on Caltech’s electron synchrotron with Alvin Tollestrup, R. V. (Joe) Langmuir, and Matthew L. Sands; teaching duties. The postwar burgeoning of high-energy physics in U.S. and at CERN. Recalls his participation in the “Caltech Ten” advertisement in the Los Angeles Times, 1956, calling for a nuclear test ban, and the disapproval of Caltech’s trustees and President Lee A. Dubridge. He concludes with brief recollections of Caltech presidents he served under and discusses the reasons for his 1981 retirement and move to New Mexico.
2000
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/267/1/Walker%20OHO.pdf
Walker, Robert Lee (2000) Interview with Robert Lee Walker. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Walker_R <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Walker_R>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Walker_R
CaltechOH:OH_Walker_R
oai:oralhistories.library.caltech.edu:282
2019-10-04T15:24:15Z
7374617475733D756E707562
7375626A656374733D737562:617374
7375626A656374733D6E616D65
74797065733D6F72616C5F686973746F7279
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/282/
Interview with Marshall H. Cohen
Cohen, Marshall H.
Astronomy
All Records
Interview with Marshall H. Cohen, Caltech Professor of Astronomy, emeritus, by Shelley Erwin in six sessions and a supplement, 1996-1997, and 1999. He talks about his youth, family background, and education, and his early interest in electrical gadgets; wartime work for Westinghouse; higher education at Ohio State University: bachelor’s degree, electrical engineering, 1948; PhD in physics, 1952. Reminiscences of the Ohio State Antenna Lab and Vic Rumsey, 1952-1954. Following appointment at Cornell in electrical engineering, Cohen describes his transition to the new field of radio astronomy. Recalls early participants in the field: J. Greenstein, F. Whipple, M. Ryle, B. Lovell, R. Hanbury Brown, E. G. Bowen, J. Bolton, P. Wild, W. Christiansen; British and Australian competition in interferometry; Caltech’s early entry in the field.
Brief interlude recalls Richard Feynman both at Cornell and later at Caltech.
Recalls establishment of National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Green Bank, West Virginia; later sites in New Mexico. Cohen’s involvement with ionospheric physics and building of Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico. Recalls scientific work and political battles over Arecibo; colleagues E. Salpeter, T. Gold, B. Gordon. Cohen’s move to UC San Diego, 1966, and soon after, recruitment to Caltech, 1968. He recalls the developments of the 1960s: first US interferometer in Owens Valley; competition for buildings very large arrays; the Greenstein decadal committee (1970).
2018
Oral History
NonPeerReviewed
application/pdf
en
other
https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/282/1/Cohen%2C%20M_OHO%20%28final%29.pdf
Cohen, Marshall H. (2018) Interview with Marshall H. Cohen. [Oral History] (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Cohen_M <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Cohen_M>
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Cohen_M
CaltechOH:OH_Cohen_M