California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is a prestigious research university located in Pasadena, California, recognized globally for its emphasis on science and technology disciplines. Originally founded as Throop University in 1891 by Amos Gager Throop, it transitioned through various names before adopting its current title in 1920. Caltech has a rich history of notable faculty, including physicist Robert A. Millikan, who played a pivotal role in establishing the institution as a leading research center while assembling a world-class academic team.
Over the decades, Caltech has been associated with numerous influential scientists and engineers, including Nobel laureates such as Linus Pauling and Richard Feynman, who have contributed significantly to fields like chemistry, physics, and biology. The institute has awarded numerous Ph.D. degrees and is known for its groundbreaking research and innovations, including the invention of the pH meter and advancements in electronics. Additionally, Caltech has served as a foundation for the launch of many prominent companies and continues to be recognized as one of the top-tier research institutions in the world. Its legacy includes a commitment to scientific advancement and education, making it a notable hub for aspiring scientists and researchers.
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Identification: Research university
Also known as: Throop College of Technology (1913–1920); Throop Polytechnic Institute (1893–1913); Throop University (1891–1893)
Date: Renamed February 10, 1920
Caltech is one of the leading research universities in the world, specializing in science and technology disciplines. The university faculty and staff have made significant breakthroughs in a variety of science and engineering fields.
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) was originally called Throop University, founded by Amos Gager Throop in Pasadena, California, in 1891. After a series of name changes that retained the Throop name, the institution was formally rechristened the California Institute of Technology in 1920. Physicist Robert A. Millikan served as chairman of the executive council from 1921 to 1945; the title of president was not used until his successor, Lee A. DuBridge, took office in 1946. Millikan, a former president of the American Physical Society, would assemble a world-class faculty over the next decade that would make Caltech a leading research center for science and engineering.
Caltech awarded its first Ph.D. in 1920 to Roscoe Dickinson, who remained at the institution as a chemistry professor. Dickinson became the doctoral advisor to Linus Pauling, who received a joint Ph.D. in physical chemistry and mathematical physics in 1925, and to Arnold O. Beckman, who graduated with a chemistry Ph.D. in 1928. Pauling would go on to elucidate the nature of the chemical bond and win both the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Nobel Peace Prize; Beckman invented the pH meter, amassed a fortune with his Beckman Instruments company, and subsequently financed the launch of the first company to produce silicon transistors, which would fundamentally change electronics and spawn the computer age. Another famous scientist to work at Caltech in the 1930s was Albert Einstein, who was a visiting professor from Germany for three winter terms, from 1931 to 1933.
Over the following decades, many world-famous scientists and engineers would earn degrees or come to Caltech as professors and researchers, including Nobel Prize winners in physics such as Carl Anderson, Richard Feynman, William A. Fowler, and Murray Gell-Mann. Biologists and Nobel Prize winners Thomas Hunt Morgan, George Beadle, Max Delbrück, and Roger Sperry would all make fundamental discoveries in the labs of Caltech. Charles Richter, father of the famed Richter scale, received his Ph.D. from Caltech in 1928 and was a professor of seismology there from 1952 to 1970.
Impact
Caltech has produced a legion of scientists, engineers, and scholars who have conducted research in fundamental areas of science and invented technologies that are ubiquitous in the modern world. It has served as the launchpad for many companies and is consistently regarded as one of the world’s top-tier research universities.
Bibliography
California Institute of Technology. An Informal History of the California Institute of Technology: Pictorial Highlights, 1891–1966. Pasadena, Calif.: Author, 1966.
DuBridge, Lee A. Frontiers of Knowledge: Seventy-five Years at the California Institute of Technology. London: The Newcomen Society, 1967.
Goodstein, Judith A. Millikan’s School: A History of the California Institute of Technology. New York: W. W. Norton, 1991.