Millimeter waves

In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews Anneila Sargent, Ira S. Bowen Professor of Astronomy Emeritus at Caltech. Sargent recounts her childhood in Scotland and the encouragement she received regarding her desire to pursue science as a young woman at the University of Edinburgh. She describes her work at the Royal Greenwich Observatory and her developing interests in astronomy. Sargent recounts meeting her husband to be, Wallace Sargent, who had traveled to Britain following his postdoctoral research. She describes the series of events leading to her graduate work at UCSD and then at Caltech, where she worked with Peter Goldreich. She describes her decision to pause her studies to raise a family, and she explains her involvement with millimeter-wavelength interferometers when she returned to school. Sargent explains her growing expertise in millimeter wave astronomy and how her interests in how massive stars formed molecular clouds formed the basis of her dissertation. She describes the opportunity the department gave her to stay on at Caltech and her work at Owens Valley Radio Observatory and her ascent to the directorship of OVRO. Sargent explains the offers she considered that would have taken her away from Caltech and her consistent decision to stay. She explains her contributions to the ISO Camera steering committee and the Space Science Advisory Committee. Sargent describes her work as director of CARMA, her tenure as vice president for student affairs, and she discusses her recent work since her retirement in 2017.

Harold Lyon's Atomic Physics group at Hughes in the mid-1950s; Theodore Maiman's researches in the group; electron cyclotron-resonance for the generation of millimeter waves; improved portable ruby masers. Maiman's knowledge of I. Weider's proposals for optically pumped solid-state masers; Maiman's view of the trustworthiness of Weider's quantum-efficiency measurements. The effect upon Maiman of the Schawanga Lodge conference. The budget for Maiman's laser experiments; details of the experimental work.

In this interview, Edward N. Clarke discusses: his family background and education; his time at Brown University and joining the Naval Reserves; his service in the Navy during and immediately following World War II; Vartan Gregorian, former president of Brown; his time at Harvard University with Ed Purcell, Norman Ramsey, and Julian Schwinger; a course he took in millimeter wave technology; Harry Farnsworth; Russ Sherburne; Al Crowell; low-energy electron diffraction work for his thesis; working with vacuum systems and photoelectric effects; his time with Sylvania Electric and work with semiconductors; his work with semiconductors; John Welty; Bell Laboratories and Western Electric; invention of the transistor by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley; learning how to grow single crystals; Bernie Rothlein; joining Sperry Rand and working with Joe Gruber, Bob Hopkins, and Art Seifert; Karl Lark-Horovitz; starting up their company, National Semiconductor; being a part of the Institute of Radio Engineers; working with venture capitalists; Peter Sprague; creating the first mass produced integrated circuit, an integrated chopper the INCH; integrated circuits were first invented by Bob Noyce and Jack Kilby; the field effect transistor; his time at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI); working jointly with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Bill Grogan; solar energy; solar powered car races; and his retirement and volunteer work.