Oral History Center University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Alexis T. Bell Alexis T. Bell: A Career in Catalysis and University Administration at UC Berkeley Interviews conducted by Roger Eardley-Pryor, PhD in 2018 and 2019 Copyright © 2020 by The Regents of the University of California Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley ii Since 1954 the Oral History Center of The Bancroft Library, formerly the Regional Oral History Office, has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Alexis T. Bell dated May 3, 2019. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Excerpts up to 1,000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non-commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to The Bancroft Library, Head of Public Services, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should follow instructions available online at http://ucblib.link/OHC-rights. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Alexis T. Bell, "Alexis T. Bell: A Career in Catalysis and University Administration at UC Berkeley," conducted by Roger Eardley-Pryor in 2018 and 2019, Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2020. Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley iii Alexis T. Bell, circa 1999. Photo courtesy of Peg Skorpinski. Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley iv Abstract Alexis T. Bell is the Dow Professor of Sustainable Chemistry in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry. Bell was born on October 16, 1942 in New York City to immigrant parents who fled the Soviet Revolution and taught Bell to speak and read Russian fluently. Bell earned his PhD in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1967, and then joined the faculty at UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry in what is now the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. At Berkeley, Bell became an internationally recognized leader in heterogeneous catalysis and chemical-reaction engineering who pioneered the development and application of spectroscopic methods to elucidate catalytic processes, as well as the application of experimental methods in combination with theoretical methods. Bell has been a Principal Investigator in the Chemical Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 1975. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Bell's work in administration at Berkeley includes twice chairing his department, serving as dean of the College of Chemistry, and chairing various committees in the Academic Senate. In this interview, Bell details his family's Russian ancestry, his education, the academic evolution of chemical engineering, and his research in four thematic areas: reaction engineering of plasma processes; heterogeneous catalysis research on new materials and energy resources; multitechnique catalysis studies in structure-property relations; and applications of theory to catalysis. Bell then outlines his administrative career at UC Berkeley, and he discusses his personal life as a father and a husband. Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley v Table of Contents Interview 1: September 13, 2018 Hour 1 1 Birth on October 16, 1942 in New York City, NY — Father's move to the United States from the country of Georgia to study chemical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — Paternal family history in Georgia — Paternal family in Germany and migration to Israel, 1934 — Spread of the Russian Revolution to Georgia — MIT professor Warren K. Lewis — Father's immigration to New York — Father's work with Sol Hurok in the theatrical business — Artist family friends: the Chaliapins — Mother's early life — Maternal family history in Central Asia — Christianity in Central Asia — Family involvement in industrialism, railroads — Maternal family's move to Moscow, 1905 — Mother's independence in pre-revolutionary Moscow — Uncle Alexander's work in digital communication — Uncle Henri Troyat, French novelist, love of Russia — Literary discussions and Henri's writing style — Similarities of narratives: "every story has a beginning, middle, and an end" — Maternal family flees Russian Revolution, 1919–1921 — Life in Paris: "a bootstrap operation" — Escape from Moscow into Turkey, lost wealth — Mother's ballet and travel, Mathilde Kschessinska as teacher — Parents' meeting and marriage, 1930s New York City — World War II, mother's separation from family — Growing up in Midtown Manhattan — New York's ex-pat Russian community: "Two languages, two worlds, cultural perspectives" Hour 2 23 1945 visit to Paris, childhood trips to France with maternal family — Early public school education, diversity, learning Cyrillic — Self-motivated interest in science — Bomb shelters and school drills — Boris Chaliapin, artist and storyteller — Christian upbringing, thoughts on morality — McBurney School, growing interest in science — Chemical engineering program at Columbia University during high school — Carbon-14 dating in Columbia program — McBurney alumni: J.D. Salinger — Attending MIT, 1960 — 1961–1962 in Senior House, the Russian dormitory — David Perlmutter's linguistics, film screenings to retain him at MIT — 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and John F. Kennedy assassination — Specialization within chemical engineering — Well-known faculty in chemical engineering at MIT — First version of Bird, Stewart, and Lightfoot book on transport phenomena — Bachelor's thesis with Raymond Baddour — Decision to enter academia — 1964 road trip from Boston, MA to Corvallis, OR Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley vi Interview 2: September 18, 2018 Hour 1 49 Undergrad at MIT, 1960–1964 — Science electives program — Work with Raymond Baddour and postdocs on synthesis of acetylene in an electric arc furnace — Bachelor's thesis with Baddour — MIT atmosphere — Freshman summer work at an insurance company in New York City — Undergrad work with Warren K. Lewis, thermal loss in tar storage — Use of work with Lewis for PhD qualifying exam — Applications of theory during PhD work with Baddour, dealing with plasmas — Description of lab building — Abcor, Baddour's company — Interactions with Bill Koch — Home experimentation success, launching one part of Abcor — Peter Dundes, mentor for PhD — Learning plasma physics from Sandy Brown — Application of physics to catalysis and quantum chemistry — From unit operations to transport phenomena and continuum approaches at MIT — Visit to California, 1966 — First impressions of University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), seeking a postdoc position — Comparison of the cultures of UC Berkeley and MIT — Call from Chairman Charles Tobias for interview — Desire to leave New York City — Seminar on plasma chemistry, 1967 — Acceptance of job offer from UC Berkeley — Interviews with California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and University of Michigan — Chevron job offers, decision between academia and industry — Completion of PhD thesis on hydrogen chloride for plasma research — Baddour's doubts about thesis, David Lam's results — Move to California, summer 1967 — Protests and politics at UC Berkeley and MIT — Assistant professorship at UC Berkeley, first teaching experience in transport phenomena Hour 2 73 Israeli folk dancing — Process- vs science-oriented: departmental culture at UC Berkeley — Chemical engineering within the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley — John Prausnitz's work, Gene Petersen's chemical reaction courses — Culture of the College of Chemistry — Relationships with younger faculty — Independent funding from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Research Development Agency (ERDA) — DOE interest in alternate energy sources — First lab in Lewis Hall, 1967 — Creation of lab using UC Berkeley glassblowing and machine shop — First graduate student, Lloyd Brown