Grant O. Gale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grant Oscar Gale (1903-1998) was a professor of physics at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. In 1928 Grant O. Gale came to the college as an instructor in physics, and eventually became Professor of Physics. Until his death in 1998 he collected science equipment which had become obsolete and maintained a series of exhibits which now form the core of Grinnell's Physics Historical Museum.

One of Professor Gale's most noted students was Robert Noyce, co-inventor of the integrated circuit and founder of Intel. While a student at Grinnell, Noyce stole a pig from a nearby farmer for a college luau and then slaughtered it in Clark Hall. The prank nearly earned him expulsion, if not for the intervention of Prof. Gale.

The Grant O. Gale Observatory was opened in 1984 on the north edge of campus. Designed by Woodburn and O'Neil of Des Moines, the building is a 38-foot by 55-foot structure rising 26 feet to the top of the dome. It houses a 24-inch Cassegrain reflecting telescope and two computer systems: the first controls the telescope and the second accommodates data acquisition and analysis and can be used to store television images. In addition to its primary function as an instructional and research tool, the observatory is also a facility for public viewing of astronomical phenomena under staff supervision.

The large sundial which sits next to the Noyce Science Center on the Grinnell College campus is named in honor of Grant Gale's wife Harriet.