Interview with Thomas A. Tombrello - Caltech Oral Histories

Tombrello–iii
PREFACE
These interviews were conducted in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
2010. Heidi and I sat in my office during this quiet period and talked and drank tea with little
prior planning of the direction these interviews might take. By way of explanation of their
eclectic contents, it is like history itself in that a chance comment would lead us down
unexpected paths. I’m sure if we were to do it again, the trajectory of the interviews might be
different, and other topics that are not addressed here would have appeared. Even with thirteen
hours of interviews, one does not expect to cover an entire life and career.
In correcting the written text of these interviews, I have resisted the temptation to
complete stories using details about what has happened in the year since they took place. For
example, Nathan Myhrvold did indeed make a lot of money from the Caltech patent I sold him
(Session 9). What you have here is, therefore, a snapshot of my life and career taken at the end
of 2010.
Throughout this oral history, I have tried to be candid and to present my point of view
completely without varnish. From the perspective of those I mention, things may well have
looked different. Virtually all of the people I have known have been decent and honorable
people. Where I have been negative, I definitely meant to be—take that as you will. My ideal is
Horton, my favorite character in all of fiction. “I meant what I said and I said what I meant.” 1
Finally, I have to acknowledge that none of this would have occurred without the
encouragement of my colleague of many years, Jenijoy La Belle. She is a lady of charm, wit,
and style. Obviously, my interviewer, Heidi Aspaturian, is quite extraordinary—not only as an
interviewer but also as an editor. Pulling together thirteen hours of conversation and putting
them in coherent form are things that only a talented and dedicated individual could accomplish.
Thomas A. Tombrello
June 6, 2012
1 Dr. Seuss, Horton Hatches the Egg (New York: Random House, 1968).
http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Tombrello_T