New Gimbel Building at Caltech Submillimeter Observatory to Receive Groundblessing and Groundbreaking

PASADENA--On the afternoon of June 5, 1995, there will be a private groundblessing and groundbreaking ceremony in Hilo, Hawaii, for the Georgina and William Gimbel Building, a facility that will support the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory.

The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO), on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, was constructed with funds from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Kresge Foundation, and has been in full operation since 1989. It consists of a 10.4-meter-diameter telescope designed by Dr. Robert Leighton, and is fitted with equipment consisting of superconducting tunnel junction devices and bolometers for detecting wavelengths in the 1 millimeter to 300-micron range. The observatory is used for studies of the very early stages of star formation in the interstellar medium of our galaxy and for the determination of the abundances of the many molecular and atomic species that make up the gases from which stars are formed. Studies of such gases are carried out in nearby and distant galaxies, as well as with searches for extremely distant galaxies that may be in a state of formation. Astronomers also study the effects of galaxies on the cosmic background radiation, to measure the Hubble constant and local perturbations to a steady expansion of the universe.

The CSO is operated by the California Institute of Technology with funding from the NSF. The Universities of Hawaii and Texas are partners, and the telescope is also made available for use by the astronomy community in general.

For the first several years of operation the CSO has not had a dedicated support building at sea level in Hawaii. However, with the assistance of a generous gift from Mr. and Mrs. William Gimbel, the Caltech administration has authorized the construction of a new building in the University Research Park in Hilo. The land is leased from the University of Hawaii. The building will provide office space, laboratory space, and operations facilities for the staff of the observatory who work on the Big Island and for visiting astronomers from Caltech and elsewhere. The new laboratory space will be used for the construction of detection equipment for the observatory, involving state-of-the-art superconducting device technology and acousto-optic devices, and also very high speed digital data-processing technology. There will be facilities for computer programming in telescope and instrument control and in data reduction. The building will be able to support approximately a dozen permanent staff and up to 10 visitors.

In recognition of the support from Mr. and Mrs. Gimbel, the California Institute of Technology is pleased to name this facility the Georgina and William Gimbel Building. Mr. and Mrs. Gimbel, who live in San Marino, California, have also been residents of the Mauna Kea Fairways on the Big Island of Hawaii for 18 years. Mr. Gimbel is chairman of Reliance Steel and Aluminum Company, a Los Angeles-based company that processes and distributes steel, aluminum, and stainless steel products and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Affiliated with the Institute since 1981, the Gimbels and their son and three daughters are all members of the Associates of Caltech.

Contact: Sue Pitts (818) 395-3227