In 1955, Beckman established the seminal Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory as a division of Beckman Instruments to begin commercializing the semiconductor transistor technology invented by Caltech alumnus William Shockley.
The Spinco division went on to design and manufacture a broad range of laboratory centrifuges. In 1954, Beckman Instruments acquired ultracentrifuge maker Spinco (Specialized Instruments Corp.). In the 1950s, the company name changed to Beckman Instruments, Inc. to sell oxygen analyzers, the Helipot precision potentiometer, and spectrophotometers. In the 1940s, Beckman changed the name to Arnold O. Founded by Caltech professor Arnold O. Beckman in 1935 as National Technical Laboratories to commercialize a pH meter that he had invented.
