Oral history interview with Willis Humphreys
- 2002-Mar-07
Oral history interview with Willis Humphreys
- 2002-Mar-07
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Willis Humphreys begins the interview by describing how he came to work at National Technical Laboratories [NTL] on 31 March 1938. Before joining NTL, Humphreys worked for a small company in Pasadena, California, but was laid off due to lack of work. He was referred to the position at NTL and began there lacing cables. The company was still quite small at the time; Humphreys could recall only about 15 employees working there. Humphreys had little day-to-day contact with the management of NTL, including Arnold O. Beckman and Howard Cary, but what contact he had was positive. Humphreys worked on the electronics for many of the company's instruments including the Helipot, Model R pH meter, and others and remained with the company during its moves to new facilities in South Pasadena, and then Irvine, California.
The need for instruments during World War II led to an increase in production and the development of new instruments. Although Humphreys was eligible for the draft, company executives helped him to get a deferment by arguing that he was doing work essential to the war effort. Humphreys remained with the company throughout his career. Although he did rise to supervisory positions, he surmises that he may have risen further if his interest in working hands-on with electronics had not distracted him from office politics. Humphreys concludes the interview by reflecting back on his career and the changes in electronics technology.
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| Rights | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License |
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About the Interviewers
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.
Gerald E. Gallwas was a member of the original team in the mid 1960s that founded and managed the growth of what became the clinical diagnostic business of Beckman Instruments. As the business grew, he served in many roles from new product development to directing clinical field trials in the United States, Europe, and Japan. This led to an extensive involvement with professional and trade organizations as well as regulatory agencies. He retired after thirty years of service as director of program management overseeing new product development programs.
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| Oral history number | 0238 |
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Interviewee biographical information
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Education
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| High School and Night School Graduate |
Professional Experience
Beckman Instruments, Inc.
- 1938 to 1941 Production Assistant, Electronic Department
- 1941 to 1981 Production Supervisor and Assistant Production Manager
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The published version of the transcript may diverge from the interview audio due to edits to the transcript made by staff of the Center for Oral History, often at the request of the interviewee, during the transcript review process.