Thomas E. Everhart Named Caltech President
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August 1987 Caltech honors Thomas E. Everhart named Caltech president five graduates as distinguished ~h?ncello~ of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IS fIrst chOIce of two selection committees alumni Cal tech conferred its highest honor Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and -the Distinguished Alumni Award the Committee on Education and on five graduates at Alumni Seminar Technology of the National Associa Day. The awards are given in recog tion of State Universities and Land nition of achievement in science, Grant Colleges. engineering, business, or public serv "It is a great honor to have been ice, and are presented to graduates chosen as Cal tech's new president;' who have made significant accom said Everhart. "Cal tech is recognized plishments not common to alumni of as one of the world's finest teaching the Institute. and research institutions, and I look Those recognized were: forward to my new job with great -James E. Lu Valle (PhD '40), "You listen. You ask a lot of anticipation. I will try hard to live up director for many years of the Stan questions and you listen. to the sterling example set by my ford undergraduate chemistry teach predecessors:' ing program. You don't come in with a lot of preconceived ideas." Everhart was selected as Caltech's -Morris Muskat (phD '29), retired president after an extensive search technical advisor in the Gulf Oil Cor that began when Marvin L. Gold poration and highly regarded for his berger announced that he would technical contributions to the petro retire no later than June 1988. leum industry. 'There were two search commit -Stanley C. Pace (MS '49), chair tees," explained Mettler, "one com man and chief executive officer of posed of faculty members and one General Dynamics Corporation. composed of members of the Board -Alvin W. Trivelpiece (MS '55, of Trustees. Both committees worked PhD '58), executive officer of the Thomas E. Everhart, chancellor of and computer science. He was assist long and hard on this challenging and American Association for the sensitive task and I commend the Advancement of Science and former the University of Illinois at Urbana ant professor there from 1958-1962, associate professor from 1962-1967, members for their diligent efforts. director of the Office of Energy Champaign and a professor of electri cal engineering, has been named and professor from 1967-1978. He "I would also like to acknowledge Research, U.S. Department of president of Caltech, announced the debt of gratitude the entire Energy. served as chairman of that depart Ruben F. Mettler, chairman of Cal tech community owes to Dr. - John Waugh (PhD '53), the ment from 1972-1977. Caltech's Board of Trustees. Everhart did his undergraduate Goldberger. His outstanding leader Arthur Amos Noyes Professor of ship abilities took the Institute Chemistry at MIT, noted for his pio "Dr. Everhart comes to Caltech work at Harvard, where he earned with an outstanding record of scien through some of the most important neering nuclear magnetic resonance an AB in physics in 1953. He earned tific and engineering research and years in its history:' Goldberger, who techniques. an MSc in applied physics at UCLA teaching as well as academic adminis· in 1955 and a PhD in engineering at served as president since 1978, will be Said President Goldberger in pre· tration;' said Mettler. "His leadership Cambridge University in 1958. leaving Caltech to serve as director of senting the awards, "Our alumni and dedication to excellence will the Institute for Advanced Study in characteristically go on to distin He has gained international recog serve Cal tech well as it responds to nition for his work in the develop Princeton, New Jersey. guished careers. It is a special plea "Cal tech is a very special place and sure to honor these five who have new and exciting research and teach ment of electron microscopy. He also ing opportunities:' is known for his research on electron it deserves the very best;' said Gold achieved exceptional professional berger. "I've known Tom Everhart for accomplishments:' Everhart will assume his duties as beams as applied to the analysis and Cal tech's president on or about Sep several years as a scientist and as an In 1975, after a career in industry, fabrication of semiconductors. tember 1, 1987. He is married to the administrator. He is unusually well James E. Lu Valle came to Stanford as Among his many honors and former Doris Arleen Wentz and has qualified to lead Caltech:' director of the undergraduate chemis awards are a Guggenheim Fellow four children. try laboratories and continued in this ship, the Centennial Medal of the Before joining the University of role until his retirement in 1984. He is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Illinois as chancellor of its Urbana credited by colleagues with having Engineers (IEEE), and his election as a Champaign campus in 1984, Everhart made an "enormous impact on member of the National Academy had been dean of Cornell University's undergraduate education" at Stan of Engineering. ford. He also designed highly effec- College of Engineering. From 1958 to He has served as chairman of a 1978 he was at . tive summer programs for minority UC Berkeley in the number of important committees, department of electrical engineering including the Scientific and Educa Continued on page 3 tional Advisory Committee of the . "• j 2r ~ Scientific community: model for human relations? AT&T Foundation grant to initiate Scientists can help solve some of the emergence of the modern life sci - We are generating a "growing new research effort the grim problems facing humanity, ences has transformed medicine. One underclass of people gravely dam not only through research but side effect is the large number of aged for life:' The AT&T Foundation has given through their ideals and processes older people alive today. At least half Thus the innovations in science Caltech a three-year, $300,000 grant and through their participation in the the people who have ever lived to the and technology that can transform to help support a new program in international community of scientists, age of 65 are currently alive on the our society have come at a time when computation and neural systems. David A. Hamburg, president of the planet, Hamburg told his audience. we face grim challenges to our capac "This is one of the most exciting Carnegie Corporation of New York, The age composition of the U.S. ity to survive. The crisis that we as intellectual developments at Cal tech told members of the 1987 Caltech population today is thus an evolu humans are facing calls for" a during the nine years I've been here;' graduating class. Hamburg, who has tionary novelty, he observed, and strengthening of institutional capabil said Provost Barclay Kamb as he served as president and chairman of ity for objective, scholarly analysis of discussed the new program. "I'm the board of the American Associa critical issues based on a broad foun delighted that AT&T Foundation tion for the Advancement of Science, dation of knowledge and experience. has agreed to provide a large portion was at Caltech as a Sherman Fair "Colleges and universities, acade of the funds l"\eeded to initiate child Distinguished Scholar in 1974; mies, and free-standing institutes can this effort:' however, his time here was cut short mobilize a wide range of talent to According to AT&T vice president when Stanford University prevailed address the great issues of our time;' William C1ossey, neural systems on him to play an active role in Hamburg said. "One potential source research could lead to the creation of securing the release of four Stanford of strength lies in interaction between an all-new computer architecture. students who were being held hostage the scientific community and the pol "We hope to construct machines in Zaire. As commencement speaker, icy community over a wide range of that are able to recognize and remem he spoke on "New Wine in Old Bot economic and social questions:' ber by association-tasks that living tles: Can We Cope with Our Success?" Another great resource is the scien organisms now perform much faster "The scientific community is prob tific and scholarly community of the and more efficiently than computers;' ably the closest approximation we United States, and its links to the C10ssey said. ''This can be done now have to a truly international worldwide scientific and scholarly through experimental computer-chip community, sharing certain funda community. designs, called electronic neural net mental interests, values, and stand ''The scientific community is prob works, that mimic the way some ards, as well as certain fundamental ably the closest approximation we brain cells retrieve stored information curiosities about the nature of matter, have to a truly internationaj and solve problems:' life, behavior, and the universe .... one that poses unprecedented prob community.... Therefore, sCience The computation and neural sys So to some extent the scientific com lems in health, economics, social can contribute to a better future by tems program (CNS) will combine munity can provide a model for services, and human relationships at its ideals and its processes, as well as aspects of neurobiology, computa human relations that might transcend the same time that it enables us to by the specific content of its tion, information theory, very large the biases and dogmatisms that have take advantage of the experience, research;' Hamburg stressed. scale integration (VLSI) technology, torn the species apart throughout his knowledge, and wisdom of many He observed that the scientific out materials science, and studies of the tory;' Hamburg said. older people. look flows from some very old fea richness of complex systems.