James Lu Valle
*James Lu Valle was born on this date in 1912. He was a Black Chemist.
From San Antonio, Texas, he received a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA in 1936. During that time, he ran track for UCLA and won a Bronze medal in a 400-meter race in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In 1937, Lu Valle earned a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. 1940 from the California Institute of Technology.
Dr. Lu Valle taught at Fisk University as a chemistry instructor from 1940 to 1941. From 1941-1942, Lu Valle began working for Kodak Research Laboratory. During World War II, he worked with the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) at the University of Chicago and California Institute of Technology from 1942-1943. Returning to Kodak, Dr. Lu Valle became Senior Chemist for the Eastman Kodak Research Laboratory. From 1945-53, he worked as a Research Associate. From 1953 to 1959, he served as Project Director for Technical Operations, Inc.
In 1959, he became the Director of Basic Research for Fairchild Camera and Instrument in Syosset, New York. Since 1975, he has served as Laboratory Administrator for undergraduate chemistry labs for the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University. His research focuses on photochemistry, electron diffraction, and magnetic resonance.
Dr. James Lu Valle died on January 30, 1993, of a heart attack while vacationing in New Zealand.
