Includes publications (1930-1991), dissertations and theses by Bardeen's students (1952-1985), correspondence (1945-1970, 1972-1991) and reports, preprints, reprints (1956-1974), drafts, speeches, notes, photographs, slides, tape-recorded interviews and motion pictures (1910-1991). Materials concern theoretical physics, solid state physics, development of the transistor, xerography, development of the theory of superconductivity with J. R. Schrieffer and Leon Cooper, Bardeen's 1956 and 1972 Nobel prizes and lectures (Dec. 11, 1956 Nobel Lecture on Semiconductor Research Leading to the Point Contact Transistor, and Dec. 11, 1972 Nobel Lecture on Electron-Photon Interactions and Superconductivity); also includes Nov. 12, 1964 address at the Xerox Research Laboratory Dedication on "The Role of Basic Research," a 1973 survey of solid state physics, a 1973 history of superconductivity research, and a 1964 nomination for a National Medal of Science. Other topics: the application of transistors and superconductivity, many body theory, Russian and Chinese physics research, American Physical Society, Army Research Office, Bell Laboratories and the transistor (1936-1968), Center for Advanced Study, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, Naval Ordnance Laboratory, Navy Research Office, Sony Corporation, Supertex, Inc., White House Science Council (1979-1983), Xerox Corporation, electrolytic transistor invention patents (1910-1960), consulting work, the Physics Department, University of Wisconsin, Princeton University, Harvard University, and University of Minesotta. Correspondents include: Walter H. Brattain, P. W. Bridgmen, Leon Cooper, Harry G. Drickamer, H. Frl̲ich, Nick Holonyak, Jr. (BS 1950; MS 1951; Ph.D. 1954), Charles Kittel, J. R. Schrieffer (MS 1954, Ph.D. 1957), Karlheinz Seeger, Frederick Seitz, William B. Shockley, and J. H. Van Vleck. The tape-recorded interviews contain comments on theoretical physicists, experimental physics, theory of superconductivity, many body theory, scientific publication, education, Charles Bardeen, solid state physics, considerations in coming to Illinois, recruitment of new faculty, scientific understanding and communication between and education of non-scientists and scientists. Interviews include the following: one-hour interview by Maynard Brichford, 1965, with transcription; 12-minute filmed interview, 1972, featuring Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley, for a television broadcast produced by Bell Laboratories on the 25th anniversary of the development of the transistor; audio-tapes and film footage for Swedish Broadcasting Company film concerning the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics for the development of a microscopic theory of superconductivity; and tape-recorded interview by Louise Geislers, 1973). Motion pictures include a May 1972 interview with Bardeen, and a December 1972 Swedish film on the contributions of Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer to the theory of superconductivity. Also materials relating to the period 1945-1951 when Bardeen was at Bell Laboratories working on semiconductor properties, work that led to the invention of the transistor, and the period 1951-1958 during which he was at the University of Illinois working on the theory of superconductivity. Much of this material relates to Bardeen's major work: notes, calculations, and manuscript versions of many of the papers and articles that he wrote, including the original notes and calculations for the historic letter sent in February 1957 to Physical Review Letters announcing the first successful microscopic theory of superconductivity; also notes by Bardeen on the work of others such as Herbert Frh̲lich and Lev Landau; correspondence with many of the major physicists, theoretical and experimental, who were involved in solid state physics after World War II, including Brian Pippard; and notes from several important conferences that dealt with solid state physics. The collection of material can shed light on important historical issues, such as the emergence of major scientific and technological breakthroughs, the reluctance on the part of many scientists to accept the solution to a problem (superconductivity) that many had invested much time in, the appearance of a many-body approach to solid state physics after the Second World War, and the relationship between basic research and technological development.