Lee Alvin DuBridge

Lee Alvin DuBridge (September 21, 1901 – January 23, 1994) was an American educator and physicist, best known as president of the California Institute of Technology ("Caltech") (1946–1969.[1]

Lee Alvin DuBridge
Lee A. DuBridge in 1950
2nd President of California Institute of Technology
In office
1946–1969
Preceded byRobert Millikan
Succeeded byHarold Brown
Personal details
Born(1901-09-21)September 21, 1901
Terre Haute, Indiana
DiedJanuary 23, 1994(1994-01-23) (aged 92)
Duarte, California
AwardsVannevar Bush Award (1982)
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
Institutions
ThesisVariations in the photo-electric sensitivity of platinum (1926)
Doctoral advisorCharles Elwood Mendenhall
Doctoral students

Background

Lee Alvin DuBridge was born on September 21, 1901, in Terre Haute, Indiana. His father was Fred DuBridge, a football coach at Indiana State Normal School.[2] He graduated from Cornell College in 1922, and then began a teaching assignment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, from which he received an M.A. degree in 1924[3] and a Ph.D. in 1926.[4] DuBridge continued his academic work at the California Institute of Technology, as assistant then associate professor in the Washington University in St. Louis Department of Physics (1928-1934), and the University of Rochester.[5][6]

Career

Academia

At Rochester, DuBridge began a long career as an academic administrator, serving as dean of the faculty of arts and sciences. On leave from Rochester between 1940 and 1946, he became the founding director of the Radiation Laboratory at MIT. In 1946, DuBridge began serving as president of the California Institute of Technology through 1969.[1]

Civil service

DuBridge servered as presidential Science Advisor under President Harry S. Truman from 1952-53 and under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953-55, and (after retiring from Caltech) under President Richard Nixon from 1969-70.[1]

Associations

DuBridge served on boards for: RAND Corporation (1948–1961), National Science Board (1950-1954), Western College Association (president, 1950-1951), Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (1951-1957), Air Pollution Foundation (1953–1961), Institute for Defense Analysis (1956-1960), Rockefeller Foundation (1956-1976), National Science Board (vice chair, 1958-1964), Board of Governors for the Los Angeles Town Hall (1959-1963), Edison Foundation (1960-1968), KCET (1962-1968), Huntington Library (1962-1968), and National Educational Television (1964-1968).[1]

Personal and death

DuBridge died of pneumonia at a retirement home in Duarte, California, on January 23, 1994.

Awards
  • 1943: National Academy of Sciences
  • 1947: Research Corporation Award[1]
  • 1948: United States Medal for Merit[1]
  • 1967: Governor's Award, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences[1]
  • 1968: Sesquicentennial Award, University of Michigain[1]
  • 1969: Lehman Award, New York Academy of Sciences[1]
  • 1973: Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Sciences[1]
  • 1982: Vannevar Bush Award, National Science Foundation
  • Minor planet 5678 DuBridge discovered by Eleanor Helin is named in his honor.[7]

References
  1. Biographical Memoirs, Volume 72. National Academy of Sciences, Office of the Home Secretary. August 23, 1997. pp. 108–110. ISBN 9780309057882. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  2. "Historical Perspective: Lee A. DuBridge: America's Senior". Tribune Star. September 27, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  3. Dubridge, Lee Alvin (1924). Positive rays produced by ultra violet light (Ph.D.). University of Wisconsin–Madison. OCLC 608883548.
  4. Dubridge, Lee Alvin (1926). Variations in the photo-electric sensitivity of platinum (Ph.D.). University of Wisconsin–Madison. OCLC 50284382 – via ProQuest.
  5. Read "Biographical Memoirs: V.72" at NAP.edu.
  6. "DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994". history.aip.org. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  7. (5678) DuBridge In: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer. 2003. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_5374. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7.
Academic offices
Preceded by
Robert Millikan		 President of the California Institute of Technology
1946 – 1969		 Succeeded by
Harold Brown
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