In memory of Leotardo, the Strain Gauge Guy...
Dr. Edward Simmons passed away Tuesday May 18th 2004 of prostate cancer at the age of 93. Although most at Caltech knew Dr. Simmons only as "Leotardo, the Strain Gauge Guy", everyone knew of him. Leotardo could hardly escape notice; he was an elderly man with skinny legs who always wore a lycra tutu, pantyhose, aqua booties and a turban. A constant presence on campus, he could often be observed sleeping in his station wagon on Wilson Avenue across from the Beckman Institute or in the library reading the latest journals. As a graduate student back in 1930's, Leotardo invented the strain gauge, which measures the amount of deformation that occurs in an object when a force is applied to it.
No disrespect intended, but Leotardo was a mascot for Caltech. He was a cautionary tale for prodigal physicists, a marginalized yet unrepentantly weird individual, and someone so drawn to academic life that one can't really imagine him living elsewhere.
He will be remembered fondly.
Edward E. Simmons Jr. (1911 in Los Angeles, California – May 18, 2004, in Pasadena, California) was an electrical engineer and the inventor of the bonded wire resistance strain gauge.
Simmons attended the California Institute of Technology, where he received a B.S. in 1934 and an M.S. in 1936. He continued to work for the Institute under Assistant Professor Donald Clark. In 1938, Simmons invented the strain gauge. Caltech claimed the patent on the strain gauge, but Simmons took his case to the Supreme Court of California, and won patent rights in 1949.
The Franklin Institute awarded Simmons the Edward Longstreth Medal in 1944.
Simmons became notably eccentric later in life, dressing in quasi-medieval attire, including tights, a tutu, a turban, and white women's sandals. He was commonly known among Caltech students as the "Millikan Man," due to his habit of wandering the campus late at night, particularly in the vicinity of Millikan Library. He was known among staff of Caltech as "Renaissance Ralph", and was generally shunned by staff, who were uncertain of his status relative to the institute. One other nickname on campus was "Dr. Strange Gauge". Simmons was repeatedly picked up by Pasadena police who found him wandering nude in the vicinity of Caltech.
The strain gauge, or gage, is one of the most underappreciated inventions of modern history. Its function has served everything from landing men on the moon to the design of sensors for everyday life. Edward's invention is in your cars, homes, devices, and on other planets like Mars. His invention will live on as long as mankind has a grip in this universe. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the reality this man touched, as the vision of this intense reality forever changed him and our plural human experience.
He died of cancer in 2004.
In memory of Leotardo, the Strain Gauge Guy...
Dr. Edward Simmons passed away Tuesday May 18th 2004 of prostate cancer at the age of 93. Although most at Caltech knew Dr. Simmons only as "Leotardo, the Strain Gauge Guy", everyone knew of him. Leotardo could hardly escape notice; he was an elderly man with skinny legs who always wore a lycra tutu, pantyhose, aqua booties and a turban. A constant presence on campus, he could often be observed sleeping in his station wagon on Wilson Avenue across from the Beckman Institute or in the library reading the latest journals. As a graduate student back in 1930's, Leotardo invented the strain gauge, which measures the amount of deformation that occurs in an object when a force is applied to it.
No disrespect intended, but Leotardo was a mascot for Caltech. He was a cautionary tale for prodigal physicists, a marginalized yet unrepentantly weird individual, and someone so drawn to academic life that one can't really imagine him living elsewhere.
He will be remembered fondly.
Edward E. Simmons Jr. (1911 in Los Angeles, California – May 18, 2004, in Pasadena, California) was an electrical engineer and the inventor of the bonded wire resistance strain gauge.
Simmons attended the California Institute of Technology, where he received a B.S. in 1934 and an M.S. in 1936. He continued to work for the Institute under Assistant Professor Donald Clark. In 1938, Simmons invented the strain gauge. Caltech claimed the patent on the strain gauge, but Simmons took his case to the Supreme Court of California, and won patent rights in 1949.
The Franklin Institute awarded Simmons the Edward Longstreth Medal in 1944.
Simmons became notably eccentric later in life, dressing in quasi-medieval attire, including tights, a tutu, a turban, and white women's sandals. He was commonly known among Caltech students as the "Millikan Man," due to his habit of wandering the campus late at night, particularly in the vicinity of Millikan Library. He was known among staff of Caltech as "Renaissance Ralph", and was generally shunned by staff, who were uncertain of his status relative to the institute. One other nickname on campus was "Dr. Strange Gauge". Simmons was repeatedly picked up by Pasadena police who found him wandering nude in the vicinity of Caltech.
The strain gauge, or gage, is one of the most underappreciated inventions of modern history. Its function has served everything from landing men on the moon to the design of sensors for everyday life. Edward's invention is in your cars, homes, devices, and on other planets like Mars. His invention will live on as long as mankind has a grip in this universe. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the reality this man touched, as the vision of this intense reality forever changed him and our plural human experience.
He died of cancer in 2004.
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