Professor was brains behind Breathalyzer

One word most underage students don’t want to hear during Little 500 week: Breathalyzer.

But most do not know that a former IU student and professor, the late Robert Borkenstein, invented this tool vital to police and public safety.

Borkenstein began working at the Indiana State Police Criminological Laboratory in 1936, where he partnered with professor Rolla N. Harger to work on the Drunkometer.
Because of the Drunkometer’s complicated use, Borkenstein continued to work on developing a more reliable device.

As a result, Borkenstein created the Breathalyzer in 1954. This compact, easy-to-operate machine produced reliable blood alcohol content results.

The original breathalyzer was difficult to work, but still very reliable, IU Police Department Chief of Police Keith Cash said.

“Police officers had to be trained at a higher level because more math and science skills were involved,” Cash said. “It was more time-consuming than today’s model, which is more efficient.”

The machine worked by using two different chemicals that the officer had to load into the machine, Cash said. The officer would have the person blow into the machine containing one chemical and would compare it to the other chemical that did not contain the person’s breath.

The machine detected a ratio of breath to blood alcohol level without drawing a needle, Cash said.

The Breathalyzer changed the way traffic enforcement officials identified and prosecuted intoxicated drivers.

Monroe County Sheriff Jim Kennedy said Borkenstein earned international acclaim because of the Breathalyzer’s worldwide use.

Borkenstein attended IU on a part-time basis, graduating in 1958 with a B.A. in forensic sciences.

He then joined the IU faculty as chairman of the department of police administration.

Kennedy worked as a teaching assistant for Borkenstein.

“For several experiments, we had to drink and he ran us under the Breathalyzer,” Kennedy said. “When you work for him, you better do it and do it right. He expected excellence.”

Borkenstein was also an avid researcher and important figure in his field.

His most significant research was the Grand Rapids Study of 1967-68. Its findings supported changing the legal blood alcohol content level from 0.1 to 0.08.

Borkenstein also worked on constructing an instrument to measure alcohol levels in a teardrop, which would give an exact blood alcohol reading without using a needle, Cash said.

Borkenstein retired from IU in March 1987 but continued to hold the position of professor emeritus and director emeritus of the Center for Studies of Law in Action.

He died Aug. 10, 2002, at the age of 89.

“Bob was a brilliant man,” Kennedy said. “He was a tremendous gentleman in studying the influence of alcohol on traffic safety.”