Robertson, Channing R.
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Channing R. Robertson is an emeritus professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. The main focus of this two-part oral history is Robertson’s over four decades of research, teaching, and service to the university. The interview also covers Robertson’s youth in Los Angeles, his college experience at the University of California, Berkeley, and the career choices that eventually led him to Stanford. Robertson discusses his family background and notes that he was the first member of his family to graduate from college. Teachers and counselors provided the information and advice that guided his interest in science and pursuit of a college education. In an entertaining manner, Robertson describes his undergraduate experience at UC Berkeley, which involved declaring a chemical engineering major, flunking out of his ROTC requirement, losing his Regents Scholarship, and living with a nocturnal roommate. Robertson discusses the impact current events had on the career choices he made after graduating from UC Berkeley. The Vietnam War draft proved to be an important influence on his decision-making process. Robertson details the influential period from 1965 to 1970, in which he enrolled in the inaugural class of the PhD program in chemical engineering at Stanford, accepted a research position at an oil company after graduation, and returned to Stanford as faculty to help grow the department and form a new bioengineering program. Robertson reflects on the nascent state of the department upon his arrival and its transformation. He attributes the rapid rise of the department from blank slate to top-tier to the small core faculty’s commitment to seek out promising young scholars and allow their interests to grow and evolve. Robertson’s own interests grew and shifted over time, as seen by the wide variety of contributions he made both to the department and the university. He discusses developing new course options and teaching methods and creating Bio-X, an interdisciplinary entity through which scholars can interact, share resources, design joint projects, and fund new ventures in the area of bioengineering. He also discusses his contributions as an expert witness, a consultant for legal issues, and an entrepreneur. To end the session, Robertson discusses his personal feelings about his time at Stanford. He likens the experience to a fairytale, a story that he could not have imagined as a young man who chose engineering for lack of a better alternative. He concludes his session by advising future scholars to remain open to new opportunities.
Description
| Type of resource | mixed material |
|---|---|
| Date created | February 18, 2016 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Robertson, Channing R. | |
|---|---|---|
| Contributing author | DiPaolo, Andy | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Channing R. Robertson |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford Historical Society |
| Subject | oral histories |
| Subject | interviews |
| Subject | higher education |
| Subject | professors |
| Subject | Stanford University > Department of Chemical Engineering |
| Subject | Stanford University > Department of Bioengineering |
| Subject | Stanford University > Bio-X |
| Subject | chemical engineering > study and teaching |
Bibliographic information
| Related item |
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| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/cj914qw1192 |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
Robertson, Channing R.
(2016). Oral History. Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program Interviews (SC0932).
Department of Special Collections & University Archives, Stanford University Libraries,
Stanford, Calif. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/cj914qw1192
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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- Contact
- archivesref@stanford.edu
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