James Ellis Lu Valle

In addition to being a student leader at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned a B.A. in 1936 and an M.S. in 1937, James Ellis Lu Valle was a track and field athlete who earned a bronze medal in the 400 meter run at the 1936 Olympics. After earning a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1940 from the California Institute of Technology, Lu Valle worked at the Office of Scientific Research and Development, which aided in the effort to develop the first atomic bomb. From 1943 to 1959 Lu Valle held several positions for the Eastman Kodak Research Laboratory, serving as senior chemist, research associate, and project director. From 1959 to 1975, he was director of basic research for Fairchild Camera and Instrument and later became the director of undergraduate chemistry labs at Stanford University.