The Making of a Scientist: A Memoir by Calvin Fuller

Author:Calvin Fuller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: solar cell, history of science, bell labs, calvin s fuller, history of technology
Publisher: Robert W. Fuller

A Big Move: Solid State Physics

A year in Washington (1942), had been enough for Williams, who had more important work to do both at the Labs and in connection with his continuing work on nutrition. I was left in charge of the rubber research and commuted home to Chatham every weekend. By the spring of 1944, I could see my job was ending and I asked to be returned to the Labs. This I did July 1, 1944.

But things were not to be the same on my return. Mr. Kelly was soon to become president. (Mervin Kelly replaced Oliver Buckley, who was ill, in 1945. Kelly had received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago.) The War was winding down. While Williams had been away, Robert Burns, Assistant Chemical Director, was implanting himself in firmer control of administrative affairs. More importantly, one John Townsend, who had headed a materials group in the Apparatus Department and had been a constant irritant to many of us in the Chemical Department (including me), had begun swinging around his not inconsiderable influence. This resulted in the retirement of Mr. Williams in the spring of 1945 and the installation of John Townsend and Robert Burns as Co-Directors of the expanded Chemical and Metallurgical Department.

I was still to be in charge of plastics, having refused to share this honor with one of Townsend's men (W. W. Werring, who I met on a tour to Yugoslavia in 1981). But there was a condition: J. R. (as we referred to Townsend) was not only to oversee what I did, but he was also to be in charge of plastics work with me. It was quite obviously a slight, but I went along with this situation, still attempting to carry on my research work on polymers. I was obviously on trial under two bosses, neither of whom had much sympathy for me. I was being forced to conform to the old engineering code of approach, dictated by the apparatus end of the business, and it was difficult for me to swallow the kind of formalism that went along with it. In trying to get me to accept the initial dual arrangement J. R. uttered some pleasant sounding phrases to the effect that "my great chemical insight would meld with his engineering skill to make a great team." I was to be made an engineer by one J. R. Townsend—or was I?

Burns was helpless in this area, but would not have been inclined to do much anyway. I became stubborn and after a few tiffs, I was marked for dumping by J. R., with Burns agreeing. That was in 1947. Williams had seen the light some years before, and had advised me to leave. In fact, I considered a job about that time with Union Carbide, but did not really go after it. I was later (1948) offered a job by Jesse Hobson, who was heading up the Stanford Research Institute. I even went out to California, but returned unenthusiastic about the prospects.

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