Interview with Thomas A. Tombrello - Caltech Oral Histories

Tombrello–208
to be as good as this joint appointment.’” First person was Jonas Zmuidzinas; then it was
Andrew Lange, Tony [Anthony C. S.] Readhead [Rawn Professor of Astronomy], and Tom
[Thomas Allen] Prince [professor of physics]—four distinguished Caltech scientists who not
only performed well at JPL but really showed what a great scientist is. I’m a great believer in
comparisons. I do not believe that institutions automatically know whom to hire, and this was a
way of establishing a basis for that.
The reason I introduce it at this time is that they needed somebody to head the
Microdevices Laboratory at JPL. You might say it’s like the Kavli Center on campus, but at
JPL. I talked to Jonas Zmuidzinas about it. He was willing to accept this job, particularly if his
duties were mainly technical—in other words, choosing the right equipment, choosing the right
people to use the equipment, deciding how to keep the various projects going. Jonas and I
decided that if the Microdevices Lab wanted something, it shouldn’t overlap with what the Kavli
Center would have. We wanted the two labs to find a working relationship so that we could
share the future development. So that anytime you got a new e-beam writer, you got only one,
and you decided whether it was going to be based on campus or JPL, and the other lab got to use
it. You work out a barter system, so that money isn’t constantly being moved back and forth,
and that allowed people to use the best equipment everywhere. There was yet another piece of
strategy, which was, Don’t have two subcritical things. Have two things that fit together, that
complement one another. I think that has worked well. I think it has worked well because of
Jonas, who is really extraordinarily good. And a Caltech undergrad [BS 1981]. Caltech is
unusual in that it has hired back a number of its former undergrads. Sterl Phinney [professor of
theoretical astrophysics], Ken Libbrecht, Jonas Zmuidzinas.
ASPATURIAN: Steve Koonin—
TOMBRELLO: Oh, my! I’ve forgotten about Steve Koonin.
ASPATURIAN: —Nate [Nathan S.] Lewis [Argyros Professor and professor of chemistry], Joe
[Joseph Lynn] Kirschvink [Van Wingen Professor of Geobiology], Julia Kornfield [professor of
chemical engineering]. The list goes on.
http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Tombrello_T