Lee Alvin DuBridge () was an American educator and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

, best known as president of the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

from 1946–1969.

Background

Lee Alvin DuBridge was born on , in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

. His father was

Fred DuBridge Frederick Alvin DuBridge (September 28, 1872 – January 29, 1959) was an American college football coach. He served as the head coach at Indiana State Normal School in 1898 and at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa from 1904 to 1905. DuBri ...

, a football coach at Indiana State Normal School. He graduated from

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

in 1922, and then began a teaching assignment at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

, from which he received an M.A. degree in 1924 and a Ph.D. in 1926. DuBridge continued his academic work at the

, as assistant, then associate professor at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

(1928–1934), and the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

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 The Radiation Laboratory, commonly called the Rad Lab, was a microwave and radar research laboratory located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was first created in October 1940 and operated until 31 ...

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

. In 1946, DuBridge began serving as president of the California Institute of Technology through 1969.

Civil service

In 1958, he, along with

William A. Fowler William Alfred Fowler ( ) was an American nuclear physicist, later astrophysicist, who, with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is known for his theoretical and experimental research into nuclear reactions wit ...

Max Mason Charles Max Mason (–), better known as Max Mason, was an American mathematician. Mason was president of the University of Chicago (1925–1928) and president of the Rockefeller Foundation (1929–1936). Mason's mathematical research inte ...

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling (; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific top ...

, and Bruce H. Sage, was awarded the

Medal for Merit The Medal for Merit was, during the period it was awarded, the highest civilian decoration of the United States. It was awarded by the President of the United States to civilians who "distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct i ...

. DuBridge served as presidential Science Advisor under President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

from 1952–53 and under President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

from 1953-55, and (after retiring from Caltech) under President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

from 1969–70.

Associations

DuBridge served on boards for:

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

(1948–1961),

National Science Board The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President and the Congress. The NSB also serves as an ind ...

(1950–1954), Western College Association (president, 1950–1951),

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded in ...

(1951–1957), Air Pollution Foundation (1953–1961), Institute for Defense Analysis (1956–1960),

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

(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 KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE-TV ...

(1962–1968),

Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mar ...

(1962–1968), and

National Educational Television National Educational Television (NET) was an American non-commercial educational, educational terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Ford Foundation and later co-owned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It o ...

(1964–1968).

Personal and death

DuBridge died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at a retirement home in

Duarte, California Duarte () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 21,727. It is bounded to the north by the San Gabriel Mountains, to the north and west by the cities of Bradbury and Monrovia ...

, on .

Awards

* 1943:

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

* 1947: Research Corporation Award * 1948: United States

* 1967: Governor's Award, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences * 1968: Sesquicentennial Award, University of Michigan * 1969: Lehman Award, New York Academy of Sciences * 1974: Golden Plate Award,

Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...

* 1982:

Vannevar Bush Vannevar Bush ( ; March 11, 1890 – June 28, 1974) was an American engineer, inventor and science administrator, who during World War II headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), through which almost all wartime ...

Award, National Science Foundation * Minor planet 5678 DuBridge discovered by

Eleanor Helin Eleanor Francis "Glo" Helin (née Francis, 19 November 1932 – 25 January 2009) was an American astronomer. She was principal investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Some sources gi ...

is named in his honor.

References

External links

Oral history interview transcript with Lee DuBridge on 13 December 1968, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives

Oral history interview transcript with Lee DuBridge on 9 June 1972, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives

Oral history interview transcript with Lee DuBridge on 14 February 1986, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives

Oral history interview transcript with Lee DuBridge on 6 March 1987, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
* * * * * * * * , - , - 1901 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American physicists California Institute of Technology faculty Deaths from pneumonia in California Fellows of the American Physical Society Medal for Merit recipients Office of Science and Technology Policy officials People from Terre Haute, Indiana Presidents of the California Institute of Technology University of Rochester faculty University of Wisconsin{{ndashMadison alumni Vannevar Bush Award recipients Washington University physicists Washington University in St. Louis faculty Presidents of the American Physical Society