Interview with Thomas A. Tombrello - Caltech Oral Histories

Tombrello–151
to predict something that may be outside the range of what you’ve tested, then science is the only
thing you’ve got. So it was this integration of science and engineering and modeling—a troika,
if you like—that was important. I think Koonin—I mean, I’m clearly taking credit for part of
it—but Koonin was the driving force. He got it here. He had the vision that we could put this
thing together. I think I was just a handmaiden to it.
Same way with the TMT [Thirty Meter Telescope] project. We were on the same page.
We trusted one another. We had enough history that we could forget about any disagreements
we had in the past and get on with it, and not get upset when the other person didn’t agree with
the next step. We could talk it out.
ASPATURIAN: I’m getting a very clear picture. Yes.
TOMBRELLO: I would like to think in a minor way, it was what Bacher and DuBridge had done.
And if you will notice, while I was division chair, I’ve always had this photograph where I could
see it. It was Robert Bacher, sitting in the chairman’s office in physics.
ASPATURIAN: [Examining picture] The bust of— Is that Newton back there?
TOMBRELLO: Let’s see. Probably Ben Franklin.
ASPATURIAN: Ben Franklin. Similar wig.
TOMBRELLO: So Koonin said, “Why do you have that up there?” I said, “Because any day I
figure I’m really doing it well, I look over and derive a certain amount of humility from the fact
that that guy [Bacher] did it a lot better. And I wonder if he would think I was doing well.” I
said, “It’s a great normalizer to be basically standing on the shoulders of a real giant.”
ASPATURIAN: So, we pass from Everhart to Baltimore, with Koonin still as provost. What is the
history, to the extent that you know, of Baltimore’s selection as president? This was just before
you became division chair, I believe.
[PORTION TEMPORARILY CLOSED, pages 152-173]
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