initially suspected that smog was a result of sulfur dioxide pollution, and proposed that the county convert the suspected pollutant into fertilizer through a costly process. Beckman was not convinced that sulfur dioxide was the real culprit behind Los Angeles smog. He visited Gary, Indiana, where steps were being taken to address sulfur dioxide pollution, and was struck by the characteristic smell of sulfur in the air. Returning, Beckman convinced McCabe that they needed to search for a different cause. Beckman got in touch with a Caltech professor who was working on smog, Arie Jan Haagen-Smit. They developed an apparatus to collect particulate matter from Los Angeles air, using a system of tubing intermittently cooled by liquid nitrogen. Haagen-Smit identified the substance they collected as a peroxy organic material. He agreed to spend a year studying the chemistry of smog. His results, presented in 1952, identified ozone and hydrocarbons from smokestacks, refineries and car exhausts as key ingredients in the formation of smog. While Haagen-Smit worked out the genesis of smog, Beckman developed an instrument to measure it. On October 7, 1952, he was granted a patent for an "oxygen recorder" that used colorimetric methods to measure the levels of compounds present in the atmosphere. Beckman Instruments eventually developed a range of instruments for various uses in monitoring and treating automobile exhaust and air pollution. They even produced "air quality monitoring vans", customized laboratories on wheels for use by government and industry. Beckman himself was approached by California governor Goodwin Knight to head a Special Committee on Air Pollution, to propose ways to combat smog. At the end of 1953, the committee made its findings public. The "Beckman Bible" advised key steps to be taken immediately: stopping vapor leaks from refineries and filling stations establishing standards for automobile exhausts converting from diesel trucks and buses to propane asking polluting industries to restrict pollutants or move away from cities banning open burning of trash developing regional mass transportation Beckman Instruments also acquired the Liston-Becker Instrument Company in June 1955. Founded by Max D. Liston, Liston-Becker had a successful record in the development of infrared gas analyzers. Liston developed instruments to measure smog and car exhaust emissions, essential to attempts to improve Los Angeles air quality in the 1950s. Beckman helped to create the Air Pollution Foundation, a non-profit organization to support research on finding solutions to smog, and educating the public