Caltech and a Family

At that time, Caltech was an unusual place.  It was a college organized around a technological vision, that science and rationality would provide good things for all people.  This strong vision attracted strong scholars, and Caltech quickly won a reputation for a distinguished faculty and progressive thinking.  Beckman studied in Noyes’s program at the Gates Laboratory, which was very forward-thinking in its emphasis on the interaction between chemistry and physics.  By the time of Beckman’s return, the lab was already a center for X-ray crystallography in the United States. 

Beckman quickly settled in at Caltech, and the combination of classes, teaching, and choosing a subject for his doctoral dissertation kept him busy.  He and Mabel lived close to the campus, and Beckman had a study partner in a cedar waxwing that the couple had adopted.  Beckman remained true to his experimental background by choosing photochemical research for his dissertation.  This choice placed him on the frontier of science under the tutelage of Roscoe Gilkey Dickinson, a respected experimental scientist at Caltech.  His research on the photochemical decomposition of hydrazine required a delicate experimental touch, and it was this unique combination of intellectual and mechanical skill that served him so well in his later career.

He made his first inventions while a graduate student at Caltech and was also issued his first patent, for a “signaling device” for automobiles that rang an alarm when a certain speed was exceeded.  Beckman needed this device himself, as he had already gained his lifelong reputation as a fast driver.  He furthered his interest, developed at Bell Labs, in the power of the vacuum tube by building radios for himself and his friends.  His journals from his graduate school years contained ideas for many other inventions that were never fully worked out, such as an audio recording scheme for film and a proto-power window for an automobile. 

Beckman won his Ph.D. in 1928, and was immediately asked to join the faculty at Caltech.  He does not remember investigating any other job options; he liked Caltech, he was invited to stay on competitive terms, and so he did.  Both he and Mabel liked California and Caltech, and the transition from student to professor seemed simple at the time.  He was promoted from instructor to assistant professor after only a year, at about the same time as the stock market crashed.  Caltech and its faculty tightened their belts and marched on, however.  Beckman continued his photochemical research with minimal budget cuts, but found that there was an increasing demand for his mechanical and technical skills as and experimenter.  His research was never the central focus of his life at Caltech; instead, he took his duties as a teacher with the utmost seriousness and enthusiasm.  He showed a good deal of inventiveness in the classroom, using laboratory devices of his own invention that allowed interesting and informative demonstrations.

Beckman quickly became responsible for freshman chemistry, a course that he enjoyed teaching immensely.  His inclination towards practical problem solving led him to teach experimental techniques for chemical engineering and industrial chemistry as well.  He quickly became the acknowledged faculty virtuoso in the lab, and much of his time was occupied with a stream of problems and requests from all over the university.  His skills as a glassblower were especially in demand.  His photochemical research suffered in this flurry of miscellany, but there was order to the chaos.  The challenges that were most often presented to Beckman, as well as those that most often held his interest, were the construction of instruments and apparatus. 

As the 1930s wore on, the chemistry department at Caltech became increasingly interested in pure, academic science.  Beckman began to work more closely with William Lacey, the sole professor of chemical engineering, and soon became a primary resource for answering questions posed to the institute by industry.  Beckman and Lacey paid close attention to what was going on outside Caltech in the world of applied chemistry.  For example, he worked with inventor Lee De Forest on the early development of television by supplying him with a device that would place a uniform coat of metallic silver on a strip of film.  His photochemical research continued to languish further under a tidal wave of practical, mechanical challenges.

Despite the Depression, the Beckmans thought themselves sufficiently successful to begin building their dream house in 1933.  They had it built sturdily to their own design at the entrance to Eaton Canyon, in nearby Altadena.  Their spare time was well occupied with activities that they enjoyed, such as camping and hiking, but soon they began to think about having a family.  Mabel had learned early in their marriage that she was unable to have children and in her despair even suggested a divorce so that Arnold could have his own children, but Arnold flatly refused to hear of it.  They joined The Cradle, a new adoption agency operating out of Chicago, and in 1936 Mabel traveled there to adopt Gloria Patricia, or Patty, Beckman, then three years old.  Less than a year later, they returned to adopt the newborn Arnold Stone, or Arnie, Beckman.  By 1937, the family was complete in their new Altadena home.  Mabel fought off an attack of tuberculosis around this time in order to dedicate herself completely to her new family.

Off to New York: Mabel and Bell Labs | The World of Business
Main Menu

Order a copy of CHF's “Arnold O. Beckman: One Hundred Years of Excellence.”