Jimmy LuValle (1986) - Hall of Fame

Jimmy LuValle

Induction:
1986

One of UCLA's first African-American student leaders and a 1936 Olympic bronze medalist in the 400-meter run, James Lu Valle earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in chemistry and physics from UCLA. One of the first teaching assistants in UCLA's chemistry department, he was honored in 1985 at the campus dedication of a new student center named after him, Lu Valle Commons. After earning his Ph.D. in chemistry and mathematics in 1940 from Cal Tech, where he worked with Linus Pauling, Lu Valle spent many years doing research in physical chemistry and the photographic process. In 1975, he was named director of the undergraduate chemistry labs at Stanford, which he held until retirement in 1982. Up until his death at 80 in 1993, however, he was doing independent research exploring the chemical basis of memory.