Oral history interview with John D. Baldeschwieler
- 2003-Jun-13
John D. Baldeschwieler begins the interview with a discussion of his family and childhood interests. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on 14 November 1933. He attended a public school in Cranford, New Jersey, before moving on to college at Cornell University, where he majored in chemical engineering. Baldeschwieler found the chemical engineering program challenging, but despite the 80 percent dropout rate for the program, he graduated at the top of his class. Afterwards, he attended graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley, receiving his PhD in physical chemistry in 1959. Baldeschwieler had been in the ROTC program at Cornell University, but his service in the Army was deferred after he graduated because of an abundance of officers in the Army at that time; however, he was in the Army Reserves while he attended Berkeley. It was while at Berkeley that Baldeschwieler was introduced to infrared spectroscopy. Having served in the military, Baldeschwieler was hired as a chemistry lecturer and instructor at Harvard University. He became an assistant professor in 1962, and remained at the University until 1965, when he moved to Stanford University. Though he had been working in the field of nuclear-magnetic resonance at Cornell, Baldeschwieler decided to change his focus to ion-cyclotron resonance when he moved to Stanford. He became a full professor at Stanford in 1967, and remained with the University until 1971. From 1971 to 1984, Baldeschwieler worked in various important government positions, including the deputy director position for the Office of Science and Technology, and the coordinator position for the Chemical Catalysis Program in the U.S.–U.S.S.R. Commission on Science and Technology. Baldeschwieler began his relationship with Caltech during that time period as well. In 1973, he became chairman of Caltech's Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division, and a full professor at the Institute. In 1981, Baldeschwieler undertook his first commercial endeavor with the creation of Vestar, Inc. Thus began his work on a string of entrepreneurial ventures, which has included Combion, Inc., Epic Therapeutics, Inc., GeneSoft, Inc., and many others. In 1999 and 2000, Baldeschwieler was responsible in part for the creation of the Athenaeum Fund and Pasadena Entretec; two organizations established to fund and support young entrepreneurs from Caltech. Baldeschwieler concludes the interview with his thoughts on entrepreneurship and his experiences in the business world.
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About the Interviewers
Arthur Daemmrich is an assistant professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School and a senior research fellow at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. His research examines science, medicine, and the state, with a focus on advancing theories of risk and regulation through empirical research on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and chemical sectors. At HBS he also plays an active role in an interdisciplinary Healthcare Initiative, advancing scholarship and developing applied lessons for the business of creating and delivering health services and health-related technologies. Daemmrich was previously the director of the Center for Contemporary History and Policy at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. He earned a PhD in Science and Technology Studies from Cornell University in 2002 and has held fellowships at the Social Science Research Council/Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the Chemical Heritage Foundation. He has published widely on pharmaceutical and chemical regulation, biotechnology business and policy, innovation, and history of science.
David C. Brock is a senior research fellow with the Center for Contemporary History and Policy at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. As a historian of science and technology, he specializes in the history of semiconductor science, technology, and industry; the history of instrumentation; and oral history. Brock has studied the philosophy, sociology, and history of science at Brown University, the University of Edinburgh, and Princeton University.In the policy arena Brock recently published Patterning the World: The Rise of Chemically Amplified Photoresists, a white-paper case study for the Center’s Studies in Materials Innovation. With Hyungsub Choi he is preparing an analysis of semiconductor technology roadmapping, having presented preliminary results at the 2009 meeting of the Industry Studies Association.
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| Oral history number | 0280 |
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Interviewee biographical information
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Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Cornell University | BS | Chemical Engineering |
| 1959 | University of California, Berkeley | PhD | Physical Chemistry |
Professional Experience
United States. Army
- 1959 to 1960 First Lieutenant
Harvard University
- 1960 Chemistry Lecturer
- 1960 to 1962 Chemistry Instructor
- 1962 to 1965 Assistant Professor
Stanford University
- 1965 to 1967 Associate Professor
- 1967 to 1971 Professor
United States. Office of Science and Technology
- 1971 to 1973 Deputy Director
US–USSR Commission on Science and Technology
- 1972 to 1976 Coordinator, Program in Chemical Catalysis
California Institute of Technology
- 1973 to 1978 Chairman, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- 1973 to 1999 Professor
- 1977 to 1979 Principal Investigator, California Institute of Technology Institutional Energy Program
- 1996 to 1999 J. Stanley Johnson Professor
- 1999 to 2016 Professor Emeritus
Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China (U.S.)
- 1978 to 1984 Chairman, Science and Technology Panel
Vestar Inc.
- 1981 to 1993 Chairman, Board of Directors
Cryopharm Inc.
- 1988 to 1995 Director
Combion Inc.
- 1993 to 1995 Director
NeXstar Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- 1993 to 1999 Director
Epic Therapeutics Inc.
- 1998 to 1999 Director
Drug Royalty Inc.
- 1998 to 2002 Director
GeneSoft Inc.
- 1998 to 2002 Director
The Athenaeum Fund
- 1999 to 2004 Managing Member
Pasadena Entretec
- 2000 to 2004 Director
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| 1962 to 1965 | Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship |
| 1967 | Award in Pure Chemistry, American Chemical Society |
| 1968 | Fresenius Award of Phi Lambda Upsilon |
| 1970 | National Academy of Sciences |
| 1972 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| 1979 | American Philosophical Society |
| 1989 | Richard C. Tolman Medal, American Chemical Society |
| 1990 | William H. Nichols Medal, American Chemical Society |
| 2000 | National Medal of Science |
| 2001 | Award for Creative Invention, American Chemical Society |
| 2003 | Othmer Gold Medal, Chemical Heritage Foundation |
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