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Academic Affiliations | Philanthropy | Industry Associations | Civic Activities | Awards
| Patents
Arnold O. Beckman, founder-chairman emeritus of Beckman
Instruments, Inc., represents nearly a century of outstanding
scientific achievements. Considered one of the top five inventors
of scientific instruments, Dr. Beckman created devices that
revolutionized the study and understanding of human biology,
ultimately saving countless lives around the world.
Dr. Beckman once said, "There is no satisfactory substitute
for excellence." More than just words, this philosophy
guides his life and helped shape scientific history. Throughout
his legacy of excellence, Dr. Beckman has assumed many roles --
that of educator, inventor, civic leader, philanthropist and
humanitarian. The foundation of his highly decorated career has
always been his personal integrity and his love for science.
Born in the small farming community of Cullom, Ill., on April 10,
1900, young Arnold Beckman's interest in science was first piqued
upon finding a chemistry book in the family attic. Not long after
reading Steele's Fourteen Weeks in Science, originally published
in 1861, he converted a tool shed built for him by his father for
his 10th birthday into a makeshift chemistry lab.
Dr. Beckman began a more serious study of science at the
University of Illinois, where he received his bachelor's degree
in chemical engineering in 1922, followed by his master's degree
in physical chemistry one year later. Throughout his school
years, he also tapped into his creative talents by playing piano
in silent movies to help support his family and fund his
education. Beckman went on to receive his doctorate in
photochemistry at the California Institute of Technology (1928),
where he also served as a professor.
While he was still teaching, Dr. Beckman founded what eventually
became Beckman Instruments, Inc. in 1935 with the invention of
the acidimeter. Produced for a former classmate at a Southern
California citrus processing plant, Beckman designed the
acidimeter to measure acidity levels in lemon juice. The
acidimeter was later called a pH meter and quickly became an
indispensable tool in analytical chemistry. The invention earned
him a place in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1987,
joining other great inventors like Thomas Edison and Alexander
Bell. Dr. Beckman once stated, "When you're faced with the
necessity to do something, that's a stimulus to invention. If [my
classmate] hadn't come in with his lemon juice problem, chances
are I never in the world would have thought about making a pH
meter."
Dr. Beckman continued to develop and manufacture scientific
instruments, leading to the release of the DUĆ Spectrophotometer
in 1940. Considered the scientific equivalent of the Model T,
this product not only simplified tedious laboratory procedures,
it also increased analytical precision and revolutionized
chemical analysis.
These extraordinary contributions led President Bush to award Dr.
Beckman the National Medal of Science in 1989 for his leadership
in analytical instrumentation development and for his deep
concern for the vitality of the nation's scientific enterprises.
He was also nationally recognized under the Reagan administration
with the 1989 Presidential Citizens Medal for his exemplary deeds
of service and the 1988 National Medal of Technology for
outstanding technological contributions to the United States.
Dr. Beckman's love of science and spirit of invention lives on in
Beckman Instruments, Inc., a company with modest beginnings that
today is one of the world's leading manufacturers of instruments
and suppliers to the clinical diagnostics and life sciences
markets. Currently, the company has about 6,200 employees in 35
facilities worldwide and operates in more than 120 countries and
territories. Even though the company has made a wide variety of
products over the years, including a "rock smasher" for
a Mars robot mission and an electronic radio-like component
called a Helipot, it has never strayed very far from Dr.
Beckman's original focus on "the chemistry of life."
"The past years have been rewarding for me in many
ways," said Dr. Beckman, during the Golden Anniversary
celebration for Beckman Instruments, Inc. "Perhaps the
greatest reward is the knowledge that Beckman products have
contributed and are contributing to the progress of
mankind."
Throughout his outstanding career, Dr. Beckman constantly
remained active in his educational and research pursuits. In
1953, he was the first alumnus named to Caltech's Board of
Trustees and served as chairman from 1964 to 1974, at which time
he was elected chairman emeritus. Caltech honored Dr. Beckman
with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 1984 and Millikan Award in
1985.
Dr. Beckman was a member of the Board of Overseers of the
University of California at Irvine, the President's Club of the
University of Illinois and the Rockefeller University Council. He
was a member of the advisory boards of California State
University at Fullerton and Chapman College in Orange, Calif.,
and a regional trustee of Mills College in Oakland, Calif. Dr.
Beckman held honorary LL.D. degrees from the University of
California, Riverside; Loyola University Los Angeles and
Pepperdine University. He held honorary doctor of science degrees
from the University of Illinois, Chapman College and Whittier
College in California, Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y.,
Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill., and
Rockefeller University, N.Y. He also held an honorary doctor of
humane letters degrees from the California State University of
Fullerton, Calif., and the Illinois State University in Normal,
Ill. "I've always enjoyed explaining things, whether it's
called teaching or anything else," says Dr. Beckman.
"It's a challenge to my skill in trying to convey what's on
my mind."
Dr. Beckman is deeply grateful to the scientific community
that nurtured his success and, consequently, directs his
philanthropic efforts to the chemical and life sciences.
Through the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, Dr. and Mrs.
Beckman have generously contributed to the advancement of
education and research. The Beckman Young Investigators Program,
a grant-making program sponsored by the Foundation, provides
research support to the most promising young faculty members in
the early stages of their academic careers in the chemical and
life sciences. Other Foundation gifts have benefited a number of
medical and scientific institutions, including Beckman
Auditorium, the Mabel and Arnold Beckman Laboratories of
Behavioral Biology, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Laboratory of
Chemical Synthesis, and the Beckman Institute all at the
California Institute of Technology; the Beckman Institute for
Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois;
the Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope Hospital and
Medical Center in Duarte, Calif.; the Beckman Laser Institute and
Medical Clinic at the University of California in Irvine; the
Beckman Vision Center at the University of California in San
Francisco; the Arnold Beckman Laboratory and Arnold and Mabel
Beckman Center for Chemical Sciences at the Scripps Clinic and
Research Foundation in La Jolla, Calif.; Stanford University's
Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine; the Arnold and
Mabel Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences and
Engineering in Irvine; the Beckman Center for the History of
Chemistry in Philadelphia, Penn.; and the Arnold and Mabel
Beckman Neuroscience Education and Research Facility at the Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y.
Rockefeller University in New York established the Arnold and
Mabel Beckman Professorship at the University's Laboratory of
Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. Caltech established the
Arnold O. Beckman Professorship of Chemistry.
"I accumulated my wealth by selling instruments to
scientists," says a humble Dr. Beckman of his vast
philanthropic associations. "So I thought it would be
appropriate to make contributions to scientists, and that's been
my number one guideline for charity."
Dr. Beckman is a founder and life member of the Instrument
Society of America, which in 1960 established the Arnold O.
Beckman Award for outstanding technological contribution to
instrument design. In 1981, Dr. Beckman received the Society's
first Life Achievement Award in honor of his career achievements
in instrumentation and service to the community.
Dr. Beckman is a member of the National Academy of Engineering,
the American Chemical Society, the Newcomen Society, and an
honorary member of the American Association for Clinical
Chemistry. In 1977, the Association established annual Arnold O.
Beckman Conferences in Clinical Chemistry to examine critical
topics among clinical scientists and practicing physicians.
The American Association of Engineering Societies presented him
with the 1981 Hoover Medal for his leadership in the development
of precision measurement and analytical instrumentation and for
his deep and abiding concern for human values, reflected in his
career-long participation in education, civic and public affairs.
Dr. Beckman is a fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science and the Association of Clinical
Scientists, which awarded him its Diploma of Honor in 1982. He is
an honorary fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and a Benjamin Franklin Fellow of Great Britain's Royal Society
of Arts.
A man of strong moral and ethical principles, Dr. Beckman has
always been compelled to give back to the community at large. One
of his ongoing concerns was the growing problem of air pollution.
He was instrumental in initiating the studies on the sources of
photochemical smog and later helped develop control regulations
and warning procedures for Los Angeles County.
In 1953, Dr. Beckman served as chairman of a special technical
committee on air pollution appointed by the governor of
California. The committee's report on scientific findings and its
recommendations for smog reduction served as a standard reference
for later air pollution control programs. In 1970, President
Nixon named Dr. Beckman to a four-year term on the Federal Air
Quality Control Board.
He was named Outstanding Citizen of the Year (1972) by the Orange
Coast, Calif., Community College District for his continuing
pollution control work in the state and the nation, as well as
for the development of new instruments that have advanced man's
knowledge. Dr. Beckman was a member of the Board of Overseers of
the House Ear Institute, a director of Hoag Memorial Hospital
Presbyterian and the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation. He
was also an honorary trustee of the California Museum Foundation.
Dr. Beckman was past president of the Los Angeles Chamber of
Commerce (1956) and the California State Chamber of Commerce
(1967). He was a director of the Security Pacific National Bank,
the Southern California Edison Co., Continental Airlines, SCM
Corporation and Stanford Research Institute. He also served as a
director of the Automobile Club of Southern California and the
Southern California Symphony Association, and as chairman of the
Board of Trustees of the System Development Foundation. His long
interest in the promotion of good government led him to help
found the Lincoln Club of Orange County, which he served as
chairman from its inception in 1962 until 1978 when he was
elected chairman emeritus.
Dr. Beckman was named "Headliner of the Year" by the
Orange County Press Club, and he served as Southern California
chairman for Radio Free Europe and the Orange County Heart Fund.
He was named Humanitarian of the Year by the North Orange County
YMCA in 1985. Today, at age 96, Dr. Beckman remains active in the
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. He lives in Southern
California, where he continues to enjoy good health.
1957 Honorary Fellow of The American Institute of Chemists
(AIC)
1960 "Illini" Achievement Award, University of Illinois
1966 Business Statesman Award, Harvard Business School of
Southern California
1971 Industrialist of the Year Award, California Museum of
Science and Industry
1974 Outstanding Achievement in Business Management, Southern
California School of Business Administration
1974 SAMA Award, Scientific Apparatus Makers Association
1974 Service Through Chemistry Award, American Chemical Society
1979 Private Enterprise Award, Pepperdine University
1981 Distinguished Community Service Award, Americanism Education
League
1981 ISCO Award, University of Nebraska
1982 Man of Science Award, Achievement Rewards for College
Scientists' (ARCS's) Foundation
1982 Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement
1983 Rock of Free Enterprise Award, Economic Development
Corporation of Orange County'
1983 Public Affairs Award, Coro Foundation
1984 Outstanding Philanthropist Award, National Society of Fund
Raising Executives
1984 Vision Award, Luminaires (a support group for the Estelle
Doheny Eye Foundation of Los Angeles)
1987 Vermilye Medal (the first of the Benjamin Franklin National
Medals), the Franklin Institute
1987 National Inventors Hall of Fame, Washington, D.C.
1988 National Medal of Technology
1989 Henry Townley Heald Award, Illinois Institute of Technology
1989 Charles Lathrop Parsons Award, American Chemical Society
1989 National Medal of Science
1989 Presidential Citizens Medal
More Recent Honors:
- Bower Award for Business Leadership, The Franklin Institute in
Philadelphia
- High Tech Industry's Good Scout Award, Orange County Council,
Boy Scouts of America
- Achievement Award for Excellence, Center for Excellence in
Education in Washington, D.C.
- The Order of Lincoln, the State of Illinois
1,684,659 Signaling Device
2,038,706 Inking Reel
2,041,740 Inking Device
2,058,761 Apparatus for Testing Acidity (pH meter)
2,277,287 Coating Materials such as Paper Bread Wrappers
2,302,097 Swing Spout Device for Dispensing Liquids
2,348,103 Soil Surveying for Oil Deposits
2,351,579 Method and Apparatus for Proportioning
2,351,580 Method and Apparatus for Proportioning
2,454,986 Variable Resistance Device (Helipot)
2,473,048 Variable Resistance Unit
2,613,126 Recording Apparatus for Recording Gas Concentrations in
the Atmosphere
2,755,243 Electrochemical Electrode Structure
3,234,540 Meter Pointer Position Monitoring Means Utilizing Heat
Absorbing Vane and Thermistors
© 1997 Beckman Instruments, Inc.