Interview with Thomas A. Tombrello - Caltech Oral Histories

Tombrello–ix
178-183
Chairs investigative Livermore-based “red team” on counterterrorism; committee report’s
utilization by Department of Homeland Security and President Obama. Approach to running
Livermore committees. Current involvement in Livermore work on alternative energy, climate
change, and future of lab’s weapons program. Need for lab’s directorates to think more
strategically. Despite START treaty, “still too many nuclear weapons out there.”
183-188
Comments on issues related to aging nuclear stockpiles, including viability, reliability, and
challenges posed to national and international security. Counterproductive competition among
America’s national labs. Praises 1992 Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Act, which
helped peacefully divest former USSR of nuclear and chemical weapons. Appraises
performance of U.S. secretaries of energy. Comments on “Climategate.” Perspective on future
directions for JPL in climate science. Confidence in peak-oil predictions and their application to
worldwide coal production. Relative safety of nuclear fission reactors; current state of fusion
research and hybrid reactor design; private industry versus public in innovative technology
design, e.g., E. Musk and Tesla Motors. Sees “many niches in the energy market.”
188-192
Comments on international collaborations on nuclear reactor safety. Security issues as they
relate to Israel, Pakistan, and other nations. Threats posed by rogue nuclear/chemical weapons
and unchecked proliferation. Livermore’s move into intelligence gathering and weapons
surveillance.
Session 8
193-195
Inadvertent Development designation as chair of “Physics, Mathematics, and Astrology” sets
stage for a decade of fund-raising. Appointed PMA chair (1999) and sets out to craft strategic
vision for division and fulfill key division priorities. Early budget challenges.
195-201
Negotiations with Caltech trustee W. Burke and Fairchild Foundation yield major commitment
for postdoctoral fellowships; additional fund-raising overtures with Burke in subsequent decade.
Grows strong new “string [theory] quintet,” but concerted effort to recruit string theorist E.
Witten ultimately founders. “Two-body problem” in faculty recruitment. Current status of
string-theory field. Obtains funding commitment from C. Cahill for new astrophysics building.
Additional fund-raising successes, and a few failures.
201-206
Genesis of Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT, previously CELT): Tombrello and S. Koonin initiate
project, with seed funding from Moore Foundation. Reflections on devising successful fundraising
frameworks for TMT and CCAT (Cerro Chajnantor Atacama Telescope). Brings on
University of California and Canadian government as CELT/TMT partners, undertakes concept
study, and secures additional Moore Foundation support. Recruitment of British astronomer R.
Ellis onto TMT project. Comments on Caltech astronomers.
http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Tombrello_T