The collection is open for research use. One film is tored at an off-site facility and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use. All duplication requests must be reviewed and approved by Archives Center staff.
Collection Citation:
Lockwood Greene Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Sponsor:
Preservation of this collection was made possible in part by a generous gift from CH2M HILL.
The collection is open for research use. One film is tored at an off-site facility and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use. All duplication requests must be reviewed and approved by Archives Center staff.
Collection Citation:
Lockwood Greene Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Sponsor:
Preservation of this collection was made possible in part by a generous gift from CH2M HILL.
History of the Ultracentrifuge Videohistory Interviews
Extent:
1 cu. ft. (1 record storage box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Video recordings
Place:
Fullerton (Calif.)
Palo Alto (Calif.)
Date:
2007
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Videohistory Program, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation from 1986 until 1992, used video in historical research. Additional collections have
been added since the grant project ended. Videohistory uses the video camera as a historical research tool to record moving visual information. Video works best in historical
research when recording people at work in environments, explaining artifacts, demonstrating process, or in group discussion. The experimental program recorded projects that
reflected the Institution's concern with the conduct of contemporary science and technology.
Smithsonian historians participated in the program to document visual aspects of their on-going historical research. Projects covered topics in the physical and biological
sciences as well as in technological design and manufacture. To capture site, process, and interaction most effectively, projects were taped in offices, factories, quarries,
laboratories, observatories, and museums. Resulting footage was duplicated, transcribed, and deposited in the Smithsonian Institution Archives for scholarship, education,
and exhibition. The collection is open to qualified researchers.
Descriptive Entry:
Ramunas Kondratas, National Museum of American History, conducted videotaped interviews at Spinco to document the history of ultracentrifuge technology. Interviewees
included Phyllis, M. Browning, Michael Cahn, Robert Stanley Carey, Robert E. Cunningham, Noli L. de la Cruz, James D. Duty, Giancarlo Ernoli, Jack Finney, Robert C. Franklin,
Robert Frederito, Scott Gammon, Brian George, Dean Hanquist, Robert Indig, Kenneth C. Johnson, Eva T. Juhos, Benson Kwan, C. Richard McEwen, Frank Meze, Patrick O. Moore,
James C. Osborne, Mehmet Pamukco, Fred J. Pisturino, Frank Richards, Ron Ridgeway, Louis T. Rosso, Howard K. Schachman, Karen F. Shore, Robert Slocum, Carol Smith, Paul Voelker,
Eugene B. West, and James Woodall, at Beckman Coulter, Spinco Division, in Palo Alto and Fullerton, California. Participants discussed the history and development of ultracentrifuge
technology, research and development, the commercial manufacture of the equipment, drive and heat-sink assembly, optics assembly, business and marketing. Visual documentation
included tours of research and manufacturing facilities.
This collection is comprised of 24 interview sessions, totaling approximately 14 hours of recording. There are one or more original videotapes for each session. In total,
this collection is comprised of 24 original analog and digital video tapes and transcripts. There are two generations of recordings for each session: analog and digital videotape
originals and digital video reference copies.
Historical Note:
The Ultracentrifuge has played an important role in modern biotechnology. The ultracentrifuge is a centrifuge optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds, capable
of generating acceleration as high as 2,000,000 G (approx 19,600 km/s2). There are two kinds of ultracentrifuges, the preparative and the analytical ultracentrifuge. Both
classes of instruments find important uses in molecular biology, biochemistry, and polymer science. The analytical ultracentrifuge was invented in 1925 by Theodor Svedberg,
who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on colloids and proteins using the ultracentrifuge.
Edward Greydon Pickles developed the vacuum ultracentrifuge which allowed a reduction in friction generated at high speeds and enabled the maintenance of constant temperature.
In 1946, Pickles cofounded Spinco (Specialized Instruments Corporation) and marketed a vacuum ultracentrifuge. The original machine design was complicated to operate, so he
developed a more user-friendly version, but initial use of the technology remained low. Spinco almost went bankrupt, but Pickles persisted, and in 1947 Spinco was the first
to commercially manufacture ultracentrifuges. In 1949, Spinco introduced the Model L, the first preparative ultracentrifuge to reach a maximum speed of 40,000 rpm. In 1954,
Beckman Instruments (now Beckman Coulter) purchased the company, forming the basis of its Spinco centrifuge division, which has developed both preparative and analytical centrifuges.
The Smithsonian Videohistory Program, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation from 1986 until 1992, used video in historical research. Additional collections have
been added since the grant project ended. Videohistory uses the video camera or digital recorder as a historical research tool to record moving visual information. Video works
best in historical research when recording people at work in environments, explaining artifacts, demonstrating process, or in group discussion. The experimental program recorded
projects that reflected the Institution's concern with the conduct of contemporary science and technology.
Smithsonian historians participated in the program to document visual aspects of their on-going historical research. Projects covered topics in the physical and biological
sciences as well as in technological design and manufacture. To capture site, process, and interaction most effectively, projects were videotape recorded in offices, factories,
quarries, laboratories, observatories, and museums. Resulting footage was duplicated, transcribed, and deposited in the Smithsonian Institution Archives for scholarship, education,
and exhibition. The collection is open to qualified researchers.
Descriptive Entry:
Ramunas Kondratas, curator at the National Museum of American History, documented the history, development, commercialization and applications of diagnostic ultrasound.
Session One was recorded between January 20 through January 24, 1997 at Acuson Corporation located at Mountain View, California. Interviewees included scientists, engineers,
managers, and a patent attorney from Acuson. The session took place at several sites on the Acuson campus. Interviews focused on the history of the company, the development
of ultrasound and transducer technologies, design and commercial development of the equipment, the manufacturing process, clinical applications, education of clinicians, and
the patenting process.
Kondratas also interviewed several of the participants on audiotape. The tapes and transcripts complement the videotape sessions and are also available through the Institutional
History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives.
This collection consists of one interview session, totaling approximately 12:00 hours of recording and 203 pages of transcript.
Historical Note:
Medical diagnostic ultrasound systems use high-frequency sound waves to produce images of soft tissues and internal body organs. First introduced to the medical world
in the 1950s, it is a widely used diagnostic imaging modality today. Ultrasound exams are non-invasive and generally considered safe at the power levels used for diagnostic
exams. Ultrasound is used in obstetrical, abdominal, urological, vascular and cardiac applications.
Sonar - the technique of sending sound waves through water and observing the returning echoes to characterize submerged objects - inspired early ultrasound investigators
to explore ways to apply the concept to medical diagnosis. Early on, ultrasound was used to detect gallstones, breast masses, and tumors. During the early 1970s, the technology
advanced to gray scale ultrasound systems that produce static images of internal organs easily recognizable to physicians. Later in the 1970s, the development of real-time
ultrasound imaging enabled physicians to see continuous live-action images of the area under investigation. The 1980s saw the introduction of spectral Doppler and later color
Doppler which depicts blood flow in various colors to indicate speed of flow and direction.
In 1979, Samuel H. Maslak, Sc.D., began developing a new approach to medical ultrasound imaging. The scanners used in the existing ultrasound technology produced satisfactory
diagnostic images from the returning echoes through sixty-four electrical channels, but the machines could not refine the images because computers for ultrasound imaging did
not exist. Dr. Maslak's work in applying computer technology to ultrasound led to the founding, with Robert Younge and Amin Hanafy, of Acuson Corporation in 1982. Acuson introduced
its first product in 1983, the Acuson 128 Computed Sonography System which applied computer technology to diagnostic ultrasound. The 128 channel software-controlled image
formation process provided black-and-white and color ultrasound images with high resolution and clarity.
Acuson continued to develop ultrasound technology. The introduction of the Sequoia 512 system in 1996 provided clinicians with twice the amount of image information in
half of the time. Acuson's development of a new way to form ultrasound images called Coherent Image Formation used both the phase and the amplitude information from ultrasound
echoes to produce images. Conventional ultrasound systems produced images based only on the amplitude information. This discovery offered the user increased spatial and temporal
image resolution.
Bradford C. Anker was educated at Purdue University receiving the B.S. degree in industrial engineering in 1968. Anker joined the Hewlett-Packard Automatic Measurement
Systems Division in 1968. During his six years there, Anker progressed through the materials management function and was master scheduling manager when he left Hewlett-Packard
to join Spectra-Physics, where he held several senior manufacturing and management positions during his ten years at the company. Anker was Vice President, manufacturing,
for Margaux Controls before joining Acuson in 1983, as Vice President, manufacturing.
Corinne Augustine was educated at the University of Florida where she received the B.S.I.E. degree in 1980, and the M.B.A. degree in 1991 at Stanford University. Augustine
joined Frito Lay Company in 1980 as the Industrial Engineering Department Manager. She then joined Intel Corporation in 1984 as the Industrial Engineering and Production Manager.
From 1986 through 1989, Augustine was the New Products Project Manager at Sun Microsystems. In 1991, Augustine joined Acuson Corporation as a project manager and was promoted
to Director of manufacturing in 1994.
Amin Hanafy, Sc.D., was educated at Alexandria University in Egypt where he received the bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1965. He attended the New Jersey
Institute of Technology receiving the M.S. in electrical engineering in 1971 and the Sc.D. in acoustical optical imaging in 1977. His professional experience included four
years with Alexandria University Faculty of Engineering, where he was an instructor in the electrical engineering department. He spent six years as a design engineer at L
& R Manufacturing Company. He then joined Hewlett-Packard Company as Technical Director of transducer activity, from 1975 until 1981. Hanafy was one of the founders, with
Robert Younge and Samuel Maslak, of Acuson Corporation in 1981. He was the transducer division director at Acuson until 1988, and continued his association as Principal Fellow.
Thomas Jedrzejewicz received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University in 1958. After ten years as a field application engineer with Raytheon
Company, Jedrzejewicz worked as product development specialist at Corning Glass Works and then as product manager at American Optical. From 1975 to 1978, he served as Marketing
Manager for ultrasound for Picker Corporation. Then, following two years at SmithKline Instruments and one year at Technicare, Jedrzejewicz became Marketing Manager for ultrasound
and nuclear medicine at Toshiba America Medical Systems. From 1983 to 1989, he performed various tasks for Acuson, including the commencement of Acuson's marketing and communications
plans. He then worked as Director of ultrasound marketing for Toshiba America Medical Systems for two years before again joining Acuson as Director of technical programs in
1992.
Hugh G. Larsen received the B.S.E.E. degree from Brown University in 1965. He received the M.S.E.E. at the University of Cincinnati in 1971 and the Ph.D. in Electrical
Engineering at the University of Vermont in 1976. From 1976 to 1983, Larsen worked at Hewlett-Packard on their phased-array cardiac ultrasound system. In 1983, he joined Acuson
working in a variety of technical and managerial roles to advance ultrasound technology. In 1991, he was promoted to Director of Imaging Technology on the Sequoia program
and then served as Director of the Sequoia Engineering.
Samuel H. Maslak, Sc.D., was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), receiving the degree of Sc.D. in 1975 and the degrees of E.E., S.M. and S.B.
in electrical engineering in 1971. Maslak's dissertation was on ultrasound design. His professional experience included four years with Hewlett-Packard Company, where he was
a member of the technical staff and project manager at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. While at Hewlett-Packard, Maslak invented a unique scanner architecture which was subsequently
patented and assigned to Hewlett-Packard. In 1979, Dr. Maslak began developing a new and proprietary approach to medical ultrasound imaging. This work led to the founding,
with Robert Younge and Amin Hanafy, of Acuson Corporation in 1982. Maslak served as President and Chief Executive Officer from the inception of the company until June 1995,
when he was elected to Chairman of the Board. Maslak retained his position as Chief Executive Officer.
After receiving her law degree from Ohio State University in 1982, Liza K. Toth first worked in the Chicago patent law firm of Hume Clement. She helped start the Intellectual
Property group in the San Jose, California, law firm of Hopkins & Carley. After July 1994, Toth served as Acuson's Chief Patent Counsel responsible for the patent, trademark
and copyright portfolio of the company.
J. Nelson Wright received the B.S. in 1976 and the M.S. in 1978 in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Acuson, Wright
was a member of the technical staff at the MIT Lincoln Lab from 1976 to 1981. Wright joined Acuson as Project Manager during the development of the Acuson 128 ultrasound system.
Beginning in 1987, Wright initiated and subsequently contributed to and managed the development of Sequoia ultrasound technology.
Additional interviewees included David Burris and Marketing Communication Manager Jackie Ferreira. Also included are Gelston Howell, Manager of transducer development,
Alan Kirby, 128 XP Production Manager, Jon Knight, Production Manager of Sequoia manufacture, Vaughan Marian, Mechanical Engineering Senior Fellow, Rick Sperry, Process Engineer,
and Worth Walters, New Products Development Engineer.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Melvin Kranzberg Papers, 1934-1988, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
This videohistory documents the Moore-Stein Protein Sequencer. The sequencer enabled automatic analysis of protein structure and was the forerunner of the automated instruments essential to modern biotechnology.
Arrangement:
Divided into 3 series: (1) Original videos; (2) Master videos; (3) Reference videos.
Biographical / Historical:
The first complete chemical analysis of a protein's primary structure was done on a small protein, insulin, by Frederic Sanger at Cambridge University for which he received the first of his two Nobel Prizes in 1958. The second protein structure to be completely analyzed was ribonuclease, done in the U.S. by Stanford Moore and William Stein at Rockefeller University, 1960.
Related Archival Materials:
The protein sequencer apparatus is located in the Division of Science Medicine, and Society.
Provenance:
Created by the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, National Museum of American History, 1996.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original videos are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permission Requests.
Collection Citation:
Bellcomm, Inc Technical Library Collection, Accession XXXX-0093, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permission Requests.
Collection Citation:
Bellcomm, Inc Technical Library Collection, Accession XXXX-0093, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permission Requests.
Collection Citation:
Bellcomm, Inc Technical Library Collection, Accession XXXX-0093, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permission Requests.
Collection Citation:
Bellcomm, Inc Technical Library Collection, Accession XXXX-0093, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permission Requests.
Collection Citation:
Bellcomm, Inc Technical Library Collection, Accession XXXX-0093, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permission Requests.
Collection Citation:
Bellcomm, Inc Technical Library Collection, Accession XXXX-0093, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permission Requests.
Collection Citation:
Bellcomm, Inc Technical Library Collection, Accession XXXX-0093, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Sally K. Ride Papers, Acc. 2014-0025, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
