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Theodore H. Geballe : An Oral History

Theodore “Ted” H. Geballe begins his interviews by discussing his early life in San Francisco and his family. He continues on to his time as an undergraduate and graduate student at University of California, Berkeley, and the formative experience of working with William Giauque. He discusses his career at Bell Labs, including influential colleagues he worked with as well as his time studying semi- and superconductors. He speaks of his recruitment to Stanford by Marvin Chodorow and the motivations for accepting his position. Geballe goes on to discuss the history of Applied Physics and its growth during his time in the department. He notes his contributions to the department, including his role as department chair, in recruiting other top faculty, and in cultivating interdisciplinary research. He discusses his teaching, noting his work with Mac Beasley on the research group Ted-Mac Amateur Hour and later with Aharon Kapitulnik and Beasley on the research group KGB. Geballe also discusses Stanford’s reputation, the growth of independent labs at Stanford, and Applied Physics’ relationship with the Department of Physics and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. He goes on to discuss his time as director of the Center for Materials Research, the development of materials science research at Stanford, and his research accomplishments while at Stanford. He also discusses the evolution of superconductivity research, and discusses his business venture Conductus. Ted Geballe concludes the interview by discussing recent development of lab space devoted to materials research at Stanford, including the Geballe Lab for Advanced Materials, named in his honor. In the 2019 addendum, Geballe discusses the work he has done on superconductivity since 2013, particularly the use of XAFS to study “overdoped” cuprates in collaboration with Steven D. Conradson.

Theodore H. Geballe : An Oral History

Theodore “Ted” H. Geballe begins his interviews by discussing his early life in San Francisco and his family. He continues on to his time as an undergraduate and graduate student at University of California, Berkeley, and the formative experience of working with William Giauque. He discusses his career at Bell Labs, including influential colleagues he worked with as well as his time studying semi- and superconductors. He speaks of his recruitment to Stanford by Marvin Chodorow and the motivations for accepting his position. Geballe goes on to discuss the history of Applied Physics and its growth during his time in the department. He notes his contributions to the department, including his role as department chair, in recruiting other top faculty, and in cultivating interdisciplinary research. He discusses his teaching, noting his work with Mac Beasley on the research group Ted-Mac Amateur Hour and later with Aharon Kapitulnik and Beasley on the research group KGB. Geballe also discusses Stanford’s reputation, the growth of independent labs at Stanford, and Applied Physics’ relationship with the Department of Physics and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. He goes on to discuss his time as director of the Center for Materials Research, the development of materials science research at Stanford, and his research accomplishments while at Stanford. He also discusses the evolution of superconductivity research, and discusses his business venture Conductus. Ted Geballe concludes the interview by discussing recent development of lab space devoted to materials research at Stanford, including the Geballe Lab for Advanced Materials, named in his honor. In the 2019 addendum, Geballe discusses the work he has done on superconductivity since 2013, particularly the use of XAFS to study “overdoped” cuprates in collaboration with Steven D. Conradson.

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