The papers primarily document his service, from 1992-1996, as chairman of the American Physical Society's Panel on Public Affairs (APS PoPA). Subject series within the PoPA subgroup cover a variety of topics including large files on the conservation of helium resources, the environmental effects of electromagnetic fields, and renewable sources of electricity. Other subject files discuss national defense issues, nuclear waste, and other controversies. Sub-subgroups document sub-committees of the Panel on Public Affairs with which Bodansky was involved, including Media, Steering and Energy and the Environment. Other subgroups address Bodansky's involvement in UW Committees relating to issues of energy, the physical sciences, science and public policy, and interdisciplinary studies. One large file contains information on the President's Advisory Committee on Cross-Disciplinary Studies. Bodansky's personal papers contain files related to the courses that he taught at the University of Washington and include notes, both published and unpublished, as well as lesson plans. One subject series file contains information about the 1955 controversy over J. Robert Oppenheimer's rejection as a possible lecturer by UW president Henry Schmitz.