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Interview with Donald V. Helmberger
Get PDFInterview in two sessions, May and June 1999, with Donald V. Helmberger, Smits Family Professor of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences.
He begins by recalling his family background and childhood on a farm in Northern Minnesota, one of thirteen children. Matriculates at the University of Minnesota in 1956 (B.S. 1961). Summer work at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1961; sails to Alaska on a research vessel studying the structure of the oceanic crust. Transfers to UCSD for graduate work in geophysics; works at Scripps with Russell Raitt (PhD 1967). Recollections of Walter Munk and Freeman Gilbert. Two-year postdoctoral position at MIT, with Frank Press and Nafi Toksoz; introduced to seismology. Works on upper-mantle modeling, supported by U.S. Air Force in connection with underground testing of nuclear weapons. Becomes an assistant professor at Princeton in 1969; following year, joins Caltech Seismology Laboratory as assistant professor of geophysics. After 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, works on high-frequency modeling of earthquakes.
Recollections of Seismo Lab when it was on N. San Rafael Ave., in Pasadena, and of the move in 1974 to South Mudd, on Caltech campus. Memories of Charles Richter. Recalls students: Charles Langston, Thomas Heaton, Thorne Lay, Terry Wallace, Stephen Grand. Comments on Hiroo Kanamori, director of Seismo Lab 1990-1998. Discusses National Science Foundation's establishment of earthquake centers and hopes for Caltech to get the first one; Caltech loses out to SUNY Buffalo.
Succeeds Kanamori as director of the Seismo Lab in 1998. Discusses evolution of directorship since Don Anderson's tenure (1969-1989) and effects of the move to Caltech campus. Discusses Kanamori's directorship and work on TriNet. Discusses Seismo Lab's relations with U.S. Geological Survey and the CUBE program [Caltech-USGS Broadcast of Earthquakes]. Concludes by discussing his own efforts as director of the Seismo Lab and his hopes for its future
Interview with W. A. J. Luxemburg
Get PDFAn interview in three sessions, in June 2001, with Wilhelmus Anthonius Josephus (Wim) Luxemburg, professor of mathematics, emeritus, in the Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy. Dr. Luxemburg received his BA. from the University of Leiden (1950) and his doctorate from the Delft Institute of Technoloy (1955). He and his wife emigrated to Canada, first to Kingston and then to the University of Toronto as a postdoc with Israel Halperin. In 1958, he came to Caltech as an assistant professor in the mathematics department, at the invitation of H. Frederic Bohnenblust. He became a full professor in 1962, served as executive officer for mathematics from 1970 to 1985, and became professor emeritus in 2000.
He recalls his childhood during the First and Second World Wars in Delft, and the deprivations of the postwar period. Discusses his doctorate with Adriaan C. Zaanen at Delft Institute of Technology, on Banach function spaces. Attends 1954 International Congress of Mathematicians in Amsterdam. Invitation from Halperin to come to Canada. His postdoc at the University of Toronto. Travels in Canada. Invited to join Caltech faculty by Bohnenblust.
He comments on the development of mathematics at Caltech, including expansion of applied mathematics and joint appointments with engineering division. Discusses Olga Taussky-Todd as Caltech’s first woman full professor; Caltech’s abortive attempt to merge with Immaculate Heart College; his membership on Aims and Goals Committee. Recollections of presidencies of Harold Brown, Marvin L. Goldberger, Thomas E. Everhart; support of mathematics by then-current President David Baltimore; travels and life as emeritus professor
Interview with Robert Lee Walker
Get PDFAn 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
Interview with Herschel K. Mitchell
Get PDFInterview 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
Interview with Hiroo Kanamori
Get PDFInterview in two sessions in April 1999 with Hiroo Kanamori, John E. and Hazel S. Smits Professor of Geophysics and director of the Seismological Laboratory 1990-1998.
Begins by talking about what it was like to grow up in Japan during WW II; his early education and interest in engineering. University of Tokyo, BS in physics, 1959. As an undergraduate and graduate student, worked with Chuji Tsuboi on building a sea-borne gravity meter (MS 1961). Further graduate work with Hitoshi Takeuchi on geodynamics and seismological projects (PhD 1964). Charles Richter and Charles Hewitt Dix to University of Tokyo as visitors; works closely with Dix on gravity meter and geophysical problems.
At Dix's invitation, comes to Caltech in summer 1965, one-year research fellowship. Spends part of it at the Seismological Laboratory, then on N. San Rafael. Back to Earthquake Research Institute (ERI) in Tokyo in 1966; 1969, goes to MIT as visiting associate professor at invitation of Frank Press; studies very large earthquakes (Chile, 1960; Alaska, 1964). Comments on differences between Caltech and MIT. Back to Tokyo; student unrest disrupts ERI.
Comes to Caltech as full professor in 1972, appointed to Seismo Lab, headed by Don Anderson. Comments on life at the Seismo Lab and interaction with Richter. Recalls Lab's 1974 move to Caltech campus. Discusses work on quantifying very large earthquakes using long-period waves; work on tsunami (slow) earthquakes. Mount Saint Helens eruption in May 1980 spurs his interest in volcanology. Seismograms after eruption show it was not main event but triggered by a landslide caused by shear waves.
Discusses decision to accept directorship of Seismo Lab; interest in seismic hazard reduction in Southern California; means of reducing seismic risks; 1987 TERRAscope network, joint project with the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) to collect earthquake data. Discusses Caltech's establishment in 1950s of Earthquake Research Affiliates to fund earthquake study and its reactivation in late 1980s as CUBE [Caltech-USGS Broadcast of Earthquakes], a real-time seismic information system. Comments on interaction with USGS.
Improved earthquake network (TriNet) set up in 1997, with help from Everhart administration and FEMA funds; new participant is state of California, through UC Berkeley's seismic network and California Department of Mines and Geology. He becomes PI of TriNet. Succeeded in 1998 as Seismo Lab director by Donald Helmberger. Discusses outreach efforts to inform public about seismic risks. Collaboration with people in engineering division. Comments on 1995 Kobe earthquake. Discusses his reasons for not having become U. S. citizen. Concludes with his hopes for seismology's future, including ideas of Takuji Kobori, of the Kajima Technical Research Institute, on developing an active control system to protect large urban structures against earthquake damage
Interview with Carver A. Mead
Get PDFAn interview in July 1996 with Carver Andress Mead, Gordon and Betty Moore Professor of Engineering and Applied Science (as of 1999, Moore Professor emeritus). Dr. Mead received his undergraduate and graduate education at Caltech (BS, 1956; MS, 1957; PhD, 1960). He joined the Caltech faculty in 1958, becoming a full professor in 1967.
In this interview, he recalls growing up in the mountains east of Fresno, father's work for the Southern California Edison Company; early education in a one-room schoolhouse, then high school in Fresno. Early interest in electronics. Enters Caltech in 1952. Freshman courses with Linus Pauling, Richard Feynman, Frederic Bohnenblust; junior year focuses on electrical engineering. Stays on for a master's degree with the encouragement of Hardy C. Martel. PhD student with R. David Middlebrook and Robert V. Langmuir. Work on electron tunneling; grants from the Office of Naval Research and General Electric.
Helps establish applied physics in the 1960s with Amnon Yariv and Charles Wilts. Discusses his friendship with Gordon Moore and work on design of semiconductors. Discusses the establishment of a computer science department at Caltech in the mid-1970s and the arrival of Ivan Sutherland: the Silicon Structures Project. Departure of Sutherland in 1978 and decline of computer science under Pres. Marvin L. (Murph) Goldberger.
MOSIS [Metal Oxide Semiconductor Implementation Service] program. Teaching at Bell Labs, 1980; startup of fabless semiconductor companies. Discussion of Caltech's attitudes toward investment in small technology companies and licensing arrangements. His own consulting for Silicon Valley companies. MESFET [Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor]. Formation of CNS [Computation and Neural Systems] program at Caltech with John Hopfield, early 1980s. Caltech's Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering; help from National Science Foundation; involvement of Christof Koch, Demetri Psaltis, Rodney M. Goodman, Pietro Perona, and Yaser Abu-Mostafa.
The interview concludes with a discussion of his interest in the freshman and sophomore physics courses and his advocacy of greater flexibility in the curriculum
Interview with Roy W. Gould
Get PDFOral history interview in six sessions in 1996 with Roy W. Gould, Caltech Professor of Electrical Engineering, Physics and Applied Physics, 1955-1996 (emeritus 1996); Chairman, Division of Engineering and Applied Science, 1979-1985; and Caltech alumnus (BS, 1949; PhD, 1956). Gould describes his youth and student years at Caltech, beginning in 1944; Caltech during World War II and interruption of studies, resumption in 1946; courses in engineering and physics; BS in engineering. Graduate work begins at Stanford on microwaves with Lester Field; he returns to Caltech for a PhD in physics on microwaves and solar radio noise. Discusses microwave electronics community in the 1950s; J. Pierce, A. Haeff; recalls the "Tube Conferences." Job offers in industry but chooses Caltech, where he receives joint appointment in electrical engineering and physics. Recalls electrical engineering program at Caltech in the 1950s with C. Papas, G. McCann (analog computer), C. Wilts. Describes beginnings of his interest in plasma physics and thermonuclear fusion (late 1950s); connections with European plasma physics groups. Assumes directorship of Atomic Energy Commission [AEC] fusion program and moves to Washington; offered position of Deputy Science Advisor to President Nixon; returns instead to Caltech (1972). Builds tokamak at Caltech; fusion later becomes "Big Science." Birth of applied physics program at Caltech; its history. He discusses engineering division at Caltech; its diversity; his tenure as chairman. Recalls the rise of computer science and roles of C. Mead, I. Sutherland and C. Seitz. Comments on Caltech presidents, especially Goldberger and Everhart; changes in Caltech over the years. Epilogue 1998: on Gould's return to earliest interest, amateur radio
Interview with Donald E. Hudson
Get PDFInterview 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
Interview with Jerry Nelson
Get PDFAn interview in June 1992 with Jerry Nelson, project scientist for the W. M. Keck Observatory from 1985 through 2012 and principal designer of Keck I, the revolutionary 10-meter segmented-mirror telescope on Mauna Kea.
He recalls his undergraduate years as a physics major (BS 1965) at Caltech, especially freshman and sophomore physics with Richard Feynman, and his work on 60-inch telescope at Mt. Wilson with Robert Leighton. Graduate work in physics at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory; membership on UC’s Future of Astronomy Committee. UC’s various plans for a big telescope; his segmented design vs. Joseph Wampler’s thin-meniscus design. Collaboration with Terry Mast and George Gabor; visits to Kitt Peak. Comments on support (or lack of it) for their design from UC astronomers and administration. Offer of funding from Hoffman Foundation and its collapse. UC/Caltech partnership.
Recollections of his interactions with other colleagues: Harland Epps, George Abell, Rochus E. (Robbie) Vogt, Gerald M. Smith, Harold Ticho, William Frazer, Edward C. Stone. Formation of California Association for Research in Astronomy (CARA). Discusses Itek’s problem in manufacturing mirrors; success of the active-control system; his contributions with Steve Medwadoski to the telescope’s space frame. Comments on enthusiasm of Caltech astronomers for Keck compared with that of UC astronomers
Interview with Maarten Schmidt
Get PDFAn interview in three sessions in April and May of 1996 with Maarten Schmidt, Francis L. Moseley Professor of Astronomy, emeritus, in the Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy. He recalls growing up in Groningen, Holland, during German occupation in World War II; his early education and friendship with Jan Borgman, with whom he built a telescope; photographing the solar eclipse of July 9, 1945. Matriculation at Groningen University in 1946. At an astronomy conference in 1949, Jan Oort asks him to become an assistant at Leiden Observatory. Graduate study at Leiden, where he works with Oort on the brightness of comets. Recalls his time in Kenya, August 1950 to December 1951, making measurements of declination on the equator with G. van Herk. Comments on 1951 discovery of 21-centimeter line and his radio observations of galactic structure with Oort and Henk van de Hulst. PhD from Leiden in 1956; thesis on the distribution of mass in Milky Way galaxy. Comes to Mount Wilson Observatory on a two-year Carnegie Fellowship. Returns to Leiden in 1958; back to Pasadena a year later, as an associate professor at Caltech, where he works in early 1960s on exchange between stars and galactic gas, and on size, mass distribution and rotation of Milky Way galaxy. At Palomar in early 1960s--working with radio astronomer Tom Matthews, who was at Owens Valley--he takes spectra of optical objects identified with radio sources, which leads to the discovery of quasars. Recalls quasar work and contributions of Jesse Greenstein, John Bolton, J. Beverly Oke, Allan Sandage, Cyril Hazard, and later Richard Green, James Gunn, and Donald Schneider. Recalls early arguments by Halton Arp, Fred Hoyle, Geoffrey Burbidge that quasars were not cosmological objects. Recalls use of CCDs in 1980s-1990s and the discovery in 1993 of a quasar with a redshift of 4.9, largest redshift on record. Comments on his work in X-ray astronomy and gamma-ray astronomy, with ROSAT [Röntgen X-ray Satellite] and the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory [GRO]. Recalls his graduate students, among them Nobel laureate Robert W. Wilson (co-discoverer of cosmic microwave background). Discusses his administrative career at Caltech, 1972-1980: three years as executive officer for astronomy, three years as PMA division chairman, two years as director of the Hale Observatories. Comments on the concurrent deterioration of relations between Caltech and the Carnegie Institution. Recalls his presidency of the American Astronomical Society, 1984-1986, and his work on behalf of VLBA [Very Large Baseline Array] of radio telescopes and National Science Foundation's astronomy budget. Concludes with a discussion of his chairmanship of AURA [Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy] board, 1992-1995