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Remembering
Arnold Beckman (1900-2004)
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Arnold Orville Beckman, Ph.D. was born in 1900 in Cullom,
Illinois. The son of a blacksmith, Dr. Beckman went on to found Beckman
Instruments, Inc. (today known as Beckman Coulter, Inc.), one of the
world’s largest manufacturers of scientific equipment.
The recipient of numerous awards, Dr. Beckman is best known for his 1935 invention
of the pH meter, an instrument which changed an industry and served as the base
for his immense corporation. He was the recipient of both the National Medal
of Technology and the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Ronald Reagan;
the National Medal of Science from President George H.W. Bush; and the Public
Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences. The pH meter earned Beckman
a place in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the meter was eventually
designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society.
In addition to his vast scientific and business achievements, Dr. Beckman founded
the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation with his wife in 1977. The Foundation,
to date, has contributed more than $400 million in support of scientific research
and education. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has been the fortunate recipient
of much of this largesse. The Laboratory has received significant grants from
the Beckman Foundation to support research in cancer and neuroscience. During
the Second Century Campaign, funds were received to build the Beckman Neuroscience
Center in 1991, the first home at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for neuroscience
research. In addition to support of the Laboratory’s scientific programs,
the Beckman Foundation also supports Graduate Studententships in the Watson School
for Biological Sciences, funding the coursework and research of students in the
Laboratory’s first Ph.D. degree-granting program.
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