Lee Alvin DuBridge (21 September 190123 January 1994) 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 cau ...

, best known as president of the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

from 1946 to 1969.

Background

Lee Alvin DuBridge was born on 21 September 1901, in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

. His father was Fred DuBridge, a football coach at Indiana State Normal School. He graduated from Cornell College in 1922, and then began a teaching assignment at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, 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 (1928–1934), and the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

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 at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

. 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, Max Mason,

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling ( ; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist and peace activist. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics. ''New Scientist'' called him one of the 20 gre ...

, and Bruce H. Sage, was awarded the

Medal for Merit The Medal for Merit was the highest civilian decoration of the United States in the gift of the president. Created during World War II, it was awarded by the president of the United States to civilians who "distinguished themselves by exceptiona ...

. 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. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

from 1952 to 1953 and under President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

from 1953 to 1955, 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 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

from 1969 to 1970.

Associations

DuBridge served on boards for:

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...

(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 of the United States, president and the United ...

(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 Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...

(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 foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

(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 KOC ...

(1962–1968), Huntington Library (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 op ...

(1964–1968).

Personal and death

DuBridge died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at a retirement home in

Duarte, California Duarte () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 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 ...

, on 23 January 1994.

Awards

* 1942:

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

* 1943:

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...

* 1946:

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

* 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 * 1982:

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

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 in St. Louis physicists Presidents of the American Physical Society Members of the American Philosophical Society