-
https://www.electrifying.collopy.net/files/original/2282de192b0f114285c51cb37b7fd137.jpg
737ad52cc897528d30e8b6018d4a01f3
https://www.electrifying.collopy.net/files/original/72508d59f9c43b07dede5e0ca1deb5c6.jpg
76c80d50e92793596e5aa230414229af
https://www.electrifying.collopy.net/files/original/e680e2db9f2a9941d6e599eaef1bf7cd.jpg
566e62e401c1919c7362eacbf7db6853
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Typed memorandum, 3 pages
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Memorandum Regarding Kellogg Radiation Laboratory Research, Future Plans, and Caltech's Physics Curriculum
Description
An account of the resource
Lauritsen and Fowler’s 1948 memorandum defines the Kellogg Lab’s post-WWII pivot from high-voltage X-rays toward fundamental nuclear research. This transition is clear when we look at Caltech's 1942 Big T, a student yearbook prior to end of WWII. It emphasized the connection from the High Voltage Laboratory to the broader LA community, like Hollywood recording studios, through Westinghouse and the Southern California Edison Company (California Institute of Technology). However, this emphasis on high-voltage transmission and X-rays faded, as seen through the Kellogg Lab's new goals shown in the memorandum.<br /><br />Robert Millikan failed at sustaining X-ray medical technology research at Caltech - a key focus of the Kellogg Lab - due to funding challenges and medical X-ray commercialization (Holbrow). Soon afterwards, the memo shows how the lab shifted towards stellar energy research. The institution as a whole responded through the formalization of physics courses like Ph 12abc and Ph 109abc that moved away from high-voltage transmission and urban electrification towards atomic discovery. <br /><br /><strong>Works Cited</strong><br />
<div>
<div>
<p>California Institute of Technology. <i>The Big T, 1942 - CaltechCampusPubs</i>. <span class="url">resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechCampusPubs:20111024-135709577</span>.</p>
</div>
<p>Holbrow, Charles H. “The Giant Cancer Tube and the Kellogg Radiation Laboratory.” <i>Physics Today</i>, vol. 34, no. 7, July 1981, pp. 42–49. <span class="url">https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2914646</span>.</p>
</div>
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Caltech Archives and Special Collections; California Institute of Technology Historical Files, Series A: Academic Division & Programs, Division of Physics, Math & Astronomy, Box A12, Folder 10. <br />[Accessed March 17, 2026: <a href="https://collections.archives.caltech.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/104749">https://collections.archives.caltech.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/104749</a>]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
July 8, 1948
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Typed memorandum (3 pages)
Scanned as digital image (.jpg)