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American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics. Project on the History of Recent Physics.
AIP Center for History of Physics Project on the History of Recent Physics records, 1952-1982 (bulk 1960-1965).
This collection brings together earlier, separate accessions of materials that document the origins of the AIP's Center for History of Physics. A major component of the Project on the History of Recent Physics was the Biographical and Bibliographical Study of American Physicists (subsequently abbreviated to BBA). This contains the lists of physicists from which biographical information was obtained, and documentation describing how the lists were compiled. Also included are the form letters requesting information sent out to physicists, and to various institutions inquiring about the location and content of archives and apparatus related to recent physics research. Included also are the reports and background material on the statistical and demographical analysis of the BBA materials. There is also a collection of material on physics awards and the recipients, and lists of physicists to be interviewed and the related correspondence. The John J. Beer Series contains his final report and correspondence relating to his work on the Project, including the correspondence and reports regarding personal visits to industries. The collection contains more general and integral information on the Project on the History of Recent Physics such as reports, overviews, and Advisory Committee minutes from 1961 to 1963 as well as publication and research guides to the Project's early history. There are also some miscellaneous items such as proceedings of a conference on nuclear physics in 1967, Advisory Committee minutes from 1981, and material from 1960 to 1965 relating to the Friends of the Niels Bohr Library, the establishment of the Niels Bohr Library, and the creation of a Center for the History of Physics.
The Project on the History of Recent Physics arose out of the American Institute of Physics' Committee on the History and Philosophy of Physics. Initial funding for the Project came from National Science Foundation grants awarded in 1961 and 1963. Dr. W. James King was named Director of the Project in mid-1961. The early staff also included a full-time secretary and some part-time assistants. The project was overseen by an Advisory Committee chaired by Dr. Gerald Holton of Harvard University. Activities pursued included the collection of historical materials and biographical and bibliographical information on leading physicists. Dr. John J. Beer joined the Project on the History of Recent Physics in 1963 to coordinate the Project's collecting of information and archival material from industrial companies involved in physics research. He served as a staff consultant while still a member of the faculty at the University of Delaware and left the project in 1964 after generating a final report of his efforts.
Beer, John Joseph, 1927-.
Holton, Gerald James.
King, W. James.
Weiner, Charles
American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics. Project on the History of Recent Physics.
Physicists -- Biographies.
Physics -- History.
Physics -- History -- Bibliography.
Physics -- Industrial applications.
Research, Industrial.
Awards. aat
Bibliographies. aat
Interviews. aat
Newsletters. aat
Pamphlets. aat
Reprints. aat
Biography. ftamc
Boercker, Fred.
AIP-ICOS
American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
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