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Oral history interview with Michael A. Kelly

  • 2002-Mar-19

Michael A. Kelly begins the interview with a discussion of his childhood and education. Growing up in Roswell, New Mexico, Kelly became interested in radio and television electronics at a young age. After high school, Kelly earned an ROTC scholarship at UCLA, and obtained his bachelor's degree in engineering from that University in 1959. He later earned his master's degree in electrical engineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic, and his PhD in nuclear physics from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1968, Kelly began as a research scientist for the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP). After three years, he was promoted to manager of R&D for electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). While there, he developed and refined the first ESCA instruments for commercial use. Kelly left HP in 1976, and became the president of Surface Science Laboratories; a company that designed and marketed ESCA instrumentation. In 1988, Surface Science merged with the Kevex Corporation, and Kelly became the president and chief operating officer. He stay with Kevex for about a year, but when the company was bought-out by Thermo Vacuum Generators, Inc., Kelly took a teaching position at Stanford University. He currently teaches materials science at the University, and is working on some new analytical techniques. Kelly concludes the interview with a discussion of his impact on ESCA instrumentation, and the importance of innovation in society.

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kelly_ma_0253_SUPPL.pdf