Francis was 16 by this time and studying at Phillips Academy in Andover, after he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1875 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME.Upton's sister Sadie, a frequent visitor in Menlo Park, is described as a "smart attractive lady with a distinguished swing".He was brimming over with ideas but needed someone with advanced mathematical skills who could do calculations and research the scientific literature to help solve intractable problems.Upton attended the 28th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and spoke "On the phenomena of heating metals in vacuo by means of electric current".[4] Upton contributed to other key inventions such as the watt-hour meter, the parallel circuit distribution grid and the new constant voltage dynamo.