Interview with Thomas A. Tombrello - Caltech Oral Histories

Tombrello–218
it. Koonin was skeptical. So Koonin and Alexei and I met for a drink at the Athenaeum. At the
end of it, Koonin just looked at me and nodded. Go for it, kid.
ASPATURIAN: That reminds me. Chris [Christopher M.] Hirata—is he still here?
TOMBRELLO: Oh, yes! He’s back. Yes, he came as a fifteen-year-old undergrad.
ASPATURIAN: Do you want to say a few words about him?
TOMBRELLO: I think he’s wonderful! Well, I hired him, of course, as an assistant professor [of
astrophysics]. He’s just been reappointed. I think he’s very interesting.
ASPATURIAN: He’s in theory, I believe.
TOMBRELLO: He’s in theory. But he’s capable of doing experiment. I think he can operate on
the boundary line. He did a number of interesting things in both areas as an undergrad here. We
hired him from Princeton three years ago. What has he done? Well, there are some people I
tried to hire whom I was willing to put up huge amounts of money to get but didn’t get, and now
Chris has proved that some of their work is wrong. Somebody said, “What’s he done?” Well,
he’s destroying the careers of several people who are much farther up the food chain than he
appears to be. I think he’s a winner. He doesn’t have the flamboyant style or the charisma that a
lot of people want, but he’s awfully good. I would predict great things for Chris Hirata. I like
him very, very much.
ASPATURIAN: How old is he now? All of twenty-three, maybe twenty-four?
TOMBRELLO: A little older than that, but not much older. He’s still in his twenties, I’m sure.
ASPATURIAN: I remember when he was first admitted to Caltech. His mom used to walk the
family dogs across the campus. A lovely woman.
TOMBRELLO: Yeah, he was so young he had to bring a parent with him and live off campus.
http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Tombrello_T