Charles Witham Memorial Website

Charles K. Witham
The Science Side

Chuck's interest in the hard sciences began very early. Initially he was fascinated with mathematics, but his desire to build something was stronger and as an undergraduate at Yale, he majored in Mechanical Engineering.

He then lived, for a while, a pseudo-student existence in Brooklyn, New York, rooming in a house with a lot of people who didn't know each other and chopping vegetables as a prep chef in a Manhattan restaurant to pay the bills.

When trying to get permission to use the Engineering library at Brooklyn Poly Tech, he was talked into matriculating. In his one term there, however, he learned very little science. His activity in the classroom primarily was explaining to the professors what the students were trying to ask and explaining to the students what the professors were trying to answer. He did learn something: that he had the motivation to find a graduate program worthy of his intelligence and to continue his education.

Chuck applied to, and was accepted at, both Berkley and Caltech. Caltech and Brent Fultz, who was to become his advisor, were more accommodating regarding his interest in energy engineering; and

quickly backed up acceptance with a firm offer of a research assistant position for the fall term and even some immediate funding so he could start during the summer.

The choice was a good one, as is evident by what he accomplished in his chosen field and the full and satisfying life he was able to build in Pasadena.