Interview with Thomas A. Tombrello - Caltech Oral Histories

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Mathematics and Astronomy (PMA) over fifty years. There is extensive discussion of his mentoring work with Caltech undergraduate and graduate students, including his innovative undergraduate course Physics 11 and his perspectives on student life at Caltech. Of particular note is the discussion of his relationship with S. E. Koonin, who went from being Tombrello’s undergraduate advisee to his provost. Tombrello provides a wide-ranging, in-depth look at his ten years as division chair of PMA, covering research, recruitment, fundraising, collegial relationships within and beyond the division and with JPL, and the evolution of PMA under his oversight. He talks about his involvement in the design and construction of the Cahill Center for Astrophysics (dedicated in 2009) and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project. He describes his interactions with five decades of Caltech presidents and provosts, institute trustees, and various donors. Tombrello recaps his two years as research director at Schlumberger research and his several decades of consulting work on weapons, national security, energy, and climate change issues at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. He talks about his foray into earthquake prediction research, his research collaborations in China, his years as Caltech’s technology assessment officer, and the emergence of entrepreneurism at Caltech in the 1990s. Anecdotes and recollections of such notable Caltech figures as R. Bacher, J. Benton, H. Brown, L. DuBridge, R. Feynman, W. A. Fowler, M. Gell-Mann, B. Kamb, A. Lange, C. Lauritsen, T. Lauritsen, R. Leighton, C. Patterson, R. Sharp, and F. Zwicky are also part of this oral history. Administrative information Access The interview is partially restricted. Per agreement between Professor Tombrello and the Caltech Archives dated July 31, 2012, portions of this interview are closed for ten years. Closed portions are clearly marked in the transcript. Copyright Copyright has been assigned to the California Institute of Technology © 2012. All requests for permission to publish or quote from the transcript must be submitted in writing to the Head, Archives and Special Collections. Preferred citation Tombrello, Thomas A. Interview by Heidi Aspaturian. Pasadena, California, December 26-31, 2010. Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology Archives. Retrieved [supply date of retrieval] from the World Wide Web: http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Tombrello_T http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Tombrello_T
Contact information Archives, California Institute of Technology Mail Code 015A-74 Pasadena, CA 91125 Phone: (626)395-2704 Fax: (626)395-4073 Email: archives@caltech.edu Graphics and content © 2012 California Institute of Technology http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Tombrello_T
Page 1: THOMAS A. TOMBRELLO (b. 1936) INTER
Page 5 and 6: NOTE TO READERS Per agreement betwe
Page 7 and 8: Tombrello-iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTE
Page 9 and 10: Tombrello-vi Session 4 68-72 Colleg
Page 11 and 12: Tombrello-viii his presidency. Tomb
Page 13 and 14: Tombrello-x 206-213 Establishes (wi
Page 15 and 16: CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Page 17 and 18: Tombrello-3 TOMBRELLO: Bisacquino.
Page 19 and 20: Tombrello-5 TOMBRELLO: This proceed
Page 21 and 22: Tombrello-7 Memphis, and I believe
Page 23 and 24: Tombrello-9 otherwise, we mostly we
Page 25 and 26: Tombrello-11 of the ability of the
Page 27 and 28: Tombrello-13 truly bigger than life
Page 29 and 30: Tombrello-15 I associated with the
Page 31 and 32: Tombrello-17 they’re probably rig
Page 33 and 34: Tombrello-19 ASPATURIAN: Your thesi
Page 35 and 36: Tombrello-21 wonderful time. And yo
Page 37 and 38: Tombrello-23 TOMBRELLO: Let me go o
Page 39 and 40: Tombrello-25 ASPATURIAN: When you s
Page 41 and 42: Tombrello-27 We did that again in t
Page 43 and 44: Tombrello-29 funding our research t
Page 45 and 46: Tombrello-31 from the NSF grant, bu
Page 47 and 48: Tombrello-33 doing great stuff, bec
Page 49 and 50: Tombrello-35 TOMBRELLO: I wasn’t
Page 51 and 52: Tombrello-37 [Morrisroe Professor o
Page 53 and 54:
Tombrello-39 clearly willing to pay
Page 55 and 56:
Tombrello-41 my teaching assignment
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Tombrello-43 ASPATURIAN: No. TOMBRE
Page 59 and 60:
Tombrello-45 Charlie, that’s numb
Page 61 and 62:
Tombrello-47 heavy ions. Jancaitis
Page 63 and 64:
Tombrello-49 because, no surprise,
Page 65 and 66:
Tombrello-51 of a wreck somewhere.
Page 67 and 68:
Tombrello-53 concurrent computers,
Page 69 and 70:
Tombrello-55 your green card.” He
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Tombrello-57 USC. She said, “My n
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Tombrello-59 video of it. Brian was
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Tombrello-61 ASPATURIAN: Without th
Page 77 and 78:
Tombrello-63 ASPATURIAN: Consciousn
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Tombrello-65 Stone reported this co
Page 81 and 82:
Tombrello-67 says, “That is so im
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Tombrello-69 basement was where I l
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Tombrello-71 Graaff generators] at
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Tombrello-73 groups at Chicago, and
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Tombrello-75 TOMBRELLO: I think it
Page 91 and 92:
Tombrello-77 TOMBRELLO: Yes. I reme
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Tombrello-79 TOMBRELLO: Well, it wa
Page 95 and 96:
Tombrello-81 were made up of these
Page 97 and 98:
Tombrello-83 TOMBRELLO: It had a re
Page 99 and 100:
Tombrello-85 ASPATURIAN: It wasn’
Page 101 and 102:
Tombrello-87 Remington bronzes but
Page 103 and 104:
Tombrello-89 He’d done all kinds
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Tombrello-91 side, with totally ira
Page 107 and 108:
Tombrello-93 TOMBRELLO: Yes. It too
Page 109 and 110:
Tombrello-95 wouldn’t have asked
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Tombrello-97 U.S. independent of fo
Page 113 and 114:
Tombrello-99 own operating people a
Page 115 and 116:
Tombrello-101 particularly in compa
Page 117 and 118:
Tombrello-103 Six months later, “
Page 119 and 120:
Tombrello-105 necessary—that was
Page 121 and 122:
Tombrello-107 make things harder. A
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Tombrello-109 TOMBRELLO: It really
Page 125 and 126:
Tombrello-111 it. It was clearly an
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Tombrello-113 little bit—he had h
Page 129 and 130:
Tombrello-115 protons, you didn’t
Page 131 and 132:
Tombrello-117 Did she have an affai
Page 133 and 134:
Tombrello-119 questions. But Murray
Page 135 and 136:
Tombrello-121 marvelous teacher—h
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Tombrello-123 ASPATURIAN: What I ha
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Tombrello-125 ASPATURIAN: That woul
Page 141 and 142:
Tombrello-127 and all sorts of thin
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Tombrello-129 ASPATURIAN: Someone e
Page 145 and 146:
Tombrello-131 DuBridge interpreted
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Tombrello-133 sciences. They were g
Page 149 and 150:
Tombrello-135 candidates came and g
Page 151 and 152:
Tombrello-137 TOMBRELLO: I don’t
Page 153 and 154:
Tombrello-139 TOMBRELLO: Yes. But I
Page 155 and 156:
Tombrello-141 opposite sides. But h
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Tombrello-143 ASPATURIAN: Now, was
Page 159 and 160:
Tombrello-145 ASPATURIAN: Really? T
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Tombrello-147 TOMBRELLO: Yes. I’d
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Tombrello-149 I believe he had a vi
Page 165 and 166:
Tombrello-151 to predict something
Page 167 and 168:
Tombrello-175 And then in the summe
Page 169 and 170:
Tombrello-177 think you need that c
Page 171 and 172:
Tombrello-179 nuclear counterterror
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Tombrello-181 spoiled by that. The
Page 175 and 176:
Tombrello-183 particularly the weap
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Tombrello-185 set up to prevent wea
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Tombrello-187 with those that alrea
Page 181 and 182:
Tombrello-189 powered by solar. The
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Tombrello-191 TOMBRELLO: I know. I
Page 185 and 186:
Tombrello-193 THOMAS A. TOMBRELLO S
Page 187 and 188:
Tombrello-195 discretionary $19,000
Page 189 and 190:
Tombrello-197 Lange is PMA chairman
Page 191 and 192:
Tombrello-199 Witten’s here, Zewa
Page 193 and 194:
Tombrello-201 There were many thing
Page 195 and 196:
Tombrello-203 the key—the hallmar
Page 197 and 198:
Tombrello-205 TOMBRELLO: Not exactl
Page 199 and 200:
Tombrello-207 pieces of hardware th
Page 201 and 202:
Tombrello-209 TOMBRELLO: It’s nic
Page 203 and 204:
Tombrello-211 Wendy, until well int
Page 205 and 206:
Tombrello-213 realized it was a wor
Page 207 and 208:
Tombrello-215 you try for. But you
Page 209 and 210:
Tombrello-217 TOMBRELLO: He did not
Page 211 and 212:
Tombrello-219 ASPATURIAN: Just a re
Page 213 and 214:
Tombrello-221 ASPATURIAN: How do yo
Page 215 and 216:
Tombrello-223 He’s not dumb. OK.
Page 217 and 218:
Tombrello-225 ASPATURIAN: And incre
Page 219 and 220:
Tombrello-227 could control him. We
Page 221 and 222:
Tombrello-233 down to the late stag
Page 223 and 224:
Tombrello-235 THOMAS A. TOMBRELLO S
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Tombrello-237 the tandem laboratory
Page 227 and 228:
Tombrello-239 picked Motorola’s 6
Page 229 and 230:
Tombrello-241 ASPATURIAN: How did y
Page 231 and 232:
Tombrello-243 town, staying in a ve
Page 233 and 234:
Tombrello-245 TOMBRELLO: Somebody v
Page 235 and 236:
Tombrello-247 years before, I’d s
Page 237 and 238:
Tombrello-249 as good as you can im
Page 239 and 240:
Tombrello-251 Los Alamos is a wonde
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Tombrello-253 TOMBRELLO: No. I thin
Page 243 and 244:
Tombrello-255 navy, done the submar
Page 245 and 246:
Tombrello-257 TOMBRELLO: —had don
Page 247 and 248:
Tombrello-259 interesting people wh
Page 249 and 250:
Tombrello-261 putting up a substant
Page 251 and 252:
Tombrello-263 TOMBRELLO: I think so
Page 253 and 254:
Tombrello-265 TOMBRELLO: There were
Page 255 and 256:
Tombrello-267 at that, just to see
Page 257:
Tombrello-269 ASPATURIAN: Is he ori
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Interview with Thomas A. Tombrello - Caltech Oral Histories

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