A Briefly Noted Anniversary
I’m not sure why I remember this date, but on Aug. 14, 1967 (a Monday) I joined Bell Telephone Laboratories as a Member of Technical Staff. Has it really been 40 years already?
I don’t remember a whole lot about that day, except that another older guy who was joining the Labs at the same time was going to work on vacuum tubes—a little strange I thought. As for me I was setting off to explore red light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) from a compound known as gallium phosphide.
Here’s a picture taken about that time (actually 10 months later) at my graduation from CMU. I had to go back to get my diploma since I finished my dissertation a month too late to make the June graduation in 1967. Fortunately, BTL didn’t hold that against me and let me join them anyway.
One other memory from that date. Susan & her sister dropped me off at the Lab in Murray Hill (NJ) so they could use the car while they worked on our new apartment in Chatham Township. I waited a LONG time for them to come get me after the work day was over. They couldn’t find their way back to Murray Hill. (And cell phones hadn’t been invented yet.) Even I have to admit driving in that part of Jersey was challenging, particularly at the intersection of Mountain Ave. with…..Mountain Ave!
I
August 15th, 2007 at 12:10 am
Angie wanted to leave this comment but Wordpress wouldn’t let her:
Anyway, I was just going to say that one time Susan told Elizabeth and I the story of she and Shari coming to pick you up that day. She said that when they drove up, it was like a vast sea of nerds. Nerds going every which way. She and Shari laughed about it. I don’t think she used those exact words to describe it, but that was the thought. Eliz and I cracked up. We decided that if we ever acted out your relationship (like the boys did with Elwood and Helen for their anniversary), we would definitely have to include that scene! Funny perspective Susan had!