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General Information
Description of Collection Biography of Brian Schwartz Scope and Contents of Collection Restrictions on Use and Access Selected Search Terms Organization of Collection Arrangement of Collection Material Separated from Collection Provenance and Acquisition Information Processing Information Related Collections Administrative InformationSeries Descriptions
Series I. Committee on the Problems of Physics and Society Series II. Forum on Physics and Society Series III. Science Job Market Series IV. Science and Defense ResearchContainer List
Series I. Committee on the Problems of Physics and Society Series II. Forum on Physics and Society Series III. Science Job Market Series IV. Science and Defense ResearchPapers of Brian Schwartz, 1966-1977
Description of Collection
Repository
American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics.
College Park, MD 20740
Papers created by
Schwartz, Brian B., 1938-
Size of collection
2.5 linear feet in 5 manuscript boxes and 1 oversized folder
Short description of collection
This collection documents the creation and early operations of the Committee on Problems of Physics and Society and the Forum on Physics and Society. It also covers Brian Schwartz's collection of materials related to the science job market and the relationship between science and the defense industry.
Language(s) of collection
English
Biography of Brian Schwartz
Brian Schwartz was born on April 15, 1938 in Brooklyn, New York. He was married in 1961 to Teri B. Geller and has two children. Schwartz received his B.S. in 1959 from the City College of New York and his Ph.D. in physics in 1963 from Brown University.
Schwartz began his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the leader of the Theoretical Physics Group at the National Magnet Lab from 1965 until 1977. At MIT, Schwartz was as an associate professor of physics from 1969 till 1974. Since 1977, he has been a professor at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. His specialty is theoretical solid state physics. Schwartz has performed research in the following areas: low temperature physics, superconductivity, type II superconductors, Josephson junctions, the response of ferromagnetic metals, and the many-body problem. Schwartz has also been very active studying scientific manpower projections and utilization and physics education.
As a member of the American Physical Society, Schwartz was considered a radical in the 1960s and 1970s. In January 1969, Schwartz started a petition at an APS meeting for the creation of a new division within the APS that would deal with the relationship between physics and society. As a result, the Committee on the Problems of Physics and Society (CPPS) was created in 1969 and the Forum on Physics and Society (FPS) was subsequently set up in 1972. As one of the founding members of the FPS, Schwartz was in charge of setting up the first Forum panels at APS meetings. Schwartz later became the ninth chair of the Forum for 1980 and 1981. He was also an active member in the Subcommittee on Professional Concerns.
Schwartz has since been involved in other parts of the APS. He served as the APS Education Officer between 1987 and 1994 and as APS Associate Executive Secretary from 1991 till 1994. He is also a member of the American Associate for the Advancement of Science and the American Association of Physics Teachers.
Scope and Contents of Collection
This collection documents political activity among physicists in the American Physical Society during the Vietnam War era. It is divided into two distinct but related sections that span from 1966 to 1977. The collection contains correspondence, petitions, newsletters, newspaper and journal clippings, fliers, and publications. The first section documents the Committee for the Problems of Physics and Society (CPPS) and the Forum on Physics and Society (FPS). The series on the CPPS documents its creation, its early operations, its programming subcommittee, and its involvement in APS meetings. The series on the FPS explains its creation, its operations, and its involvement in APS meetings and it awards. Important correspondents are Barry Casper, William Havens, Jay Orear, Martin Perl, and Edward Purcell.
The second section is comprised of materials collected by Schwartz as a result of his interests in the lack of science jobs versus the high graduation numbers of new Ph.D.s, and the relationship between science and the defense industry. His interest in the science job market is reflected in materials from the Subcommittee on Professional Concerns and plans for several symposia. Schwartz's materials on science and the defense industry involve protests, publications and activist groups.
Restrictions on Use and Access
Researchers must have an approved access application on file in order to access archival materials. https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/item-request.
Selected Search Terms
These papers have been indexed in the International Catalog of Sources for History of Physics and Allied Sciences (ICOS) using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms.
Persons
Casper, Barry M.
Havens, William W.
Orear, Jay.
Perl, Martin L., 1927-
Purcell, Edward M.
Institutions
American Physical Society.
Committee on Problems of Physics and Society.
Forum on Physics and Society.
Subcommittee on Professional Concerns.
Subject terms
Cold War.
Environmental protection.
Nuclear disarmament.
Nuclear weapons.
Physics -- Employment.
Scientists -- Political activity -- United States.
Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975.
Genre terms
Organization of Collection
This collection has been organized into four series: I. Committee for the Problems of Physics and Society; II. Forum on Physics and Society; III. Science Job Market; IV. Science and Defense Research.
Arrangement of Collection
The documents in this collection have been arranged chronologically by date. In the case of correspondence, when there was more than one item per date, the documents were arranged alphabetically by recipient. Newspaper clippings were arranged alphabetically by title when there was more than one clipping for a date.
Material Separated from Collection
Two photographs were removed from the collection and placed in the Emilio Sègrè Visual Archives. Photocopies of the photographs remain with the collection.
Provenance and Acquisition Information
The papers were donated by Patrick Catt from the American Physical Society to the American Institute of Physics in 1999.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Heather McBride in October 2000.
Duplicate materials were removed from the collection. Paper clips and staples were removed from the documents and in some cases replaced with archival quality paper clips. Brittle materials and newspaper articles were photocopied onto acid-free paper and the originals were removed from the collection. All materials were rehoused in archival quality, acid-free folders and boxes. All notations made by the processor to assist with identification were made in pencil and enclosed in brackets. All other notations were previously on the documents in the collection when it was received.
Related Collections
- American Physical Society. Additions to records, 1943-1989.
- American Physical Society. Records, 1899-1987.
- Schwartz, Charles Leon, 1931-. Oral history interview with Charles Leon Schwartz, 1995 July 19.
Administrative Information
Title
Finding Aid to the Papers of Brian Schwartz, 1966-1977
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded by the Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics as part of a collaborative project supported by a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities, an independent federal agency. Collaboration members in 1999 consisted of: American Institute of Physics, California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Rice University, University of Alaska, University of Illinois, and University of Texas.
Publisher
American Institute of Physics.
Center for History of Physics.
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD 20740
nbl@aip.org
Published in 2001
Encoding Information
Machine-readable finding aid encoded in EAD v.1.0 by Clay Redding on January 22, 2001 from an existing finding aid using NoteTab Pro and C++ scripts created by James P. Tranowski (provided by Elizabeth Dow, Special Collections, University of Vermont). Any revisions made to this finding aid occurred as part of the editing and encoding process. Reviewed by K. Hayes on January 22, 2001 .
Series I. Committee on the Problems of Physics and Society
This series contains information on the creation of the CPPS and several APS meetings. It contains the petitions for the creation of the CPPS, minutes of CPPS meetings and reports from the program subcommittee.
Series II. Forum on Physics and Society
This series contains information about the creation of the FPS, the operations of the Forum, planning for APS meetings, nominations for offices in the Forum and the Leo Szilard Awards. It contains such items as the Bylaws of the Forum, the correspondence setting up its original members and offices, newsletters and correspondence with speakers at APS meetings.
Series III. Science Job Market
Subseries A. Newspaper Clippings and Papers
This subseries contains newspaper clippings pertaining to the depressed job market for scientists and engineers.
Subseries B. Lectures
This subseries contains material related to lectures Schwartz gave at Penn State University, for the American Chemical Society and some undated materials.
Subseries C. Correspondence
This subseries contains information on the Subcommittee on Professional Concerns, the American Chemical Society Committee on Professionalism, conferences at Penn State University, and the activities of MIT Junior Faculty. There are also papers written by Schwartz, plans for a manpower symposium at MIT, correspondence relating to other symposia, and an assistant professor survey from the Subcommittee on Professional Concerns.
Subseries D. Posters
This subseries contains two oversize posters advertising lectures on the science job market from 1970 and 1975.
Series IV. Science and Defense Research
Subseries A. Newspaper Clippings and Fliers
This subseries contains newspaper clippings pertaining to the ABM projects and other scientific and defense related concerns that affected the profession and society at large. There are also clippings related to activism at MIT in opposition to defense research. Groups and events such as Science Action Coordinating Committee (SACC), Scientists and Engineers for Social and Political Actions (SESPA) and the March 4 research stoppage at MIT are represented.
Subseries B. Publications and Papers
This subseries contains publications and papers (some by Brian Schwartz) pertaining to science and defense research. Some were published by SESPA. There are also SACC newsletters and Center for Science in the Public Interest newsletters.
Subseries C. Correspondence
This subseries contains correspondence pertaining to Congressional Hearings on ABMs, the March 4 MIT research stoppage and various activist groups.
Series I. Committee on the Problems of Physics and Society
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | Correspondence January 1969-September 1969 |
| Folder 2 | Correspondence October 1969- December 1969 |
| Folder 3 | Correspondence 1970 |
| Folder 4 | Correspondence 1971 |
Series II. Forum on Physics and Society
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | Correspondence 1971 |
| Folder 6 | Correspondence January-March 1972 |
| Folder 7 | Correspondence April-June 1972 |
| Folder 8 | Correspondence July-September 1972 |
| Folder 9 | Correspondence October-December 1972 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | Correspondence January-April 1973 |
| Folder 2 | Correspondence May-December 1973 |
| Folder 3 | Correspondence January 1974 |
| Folder 4 | Correspondence February-June 1974 |
| Folder 5 | Correspondence July-September 1974 |
| Folder 6 | Correspondence October 1974 |
| Folder 7 | Correspondence November-December 1974 |
| Folder 8 | Correspondence 1975 |
| Box 3 | Folder 1 | Correspondence- 1976-1977 |
Series III. Science Job Market
Subseries A. Newspaper Clippings and Papers
| Box 3 | Folder 2 | Newspaper Clippings and Papers 1966-1969 |
| Folder 3 | Newspaper Clippings and Papers 1970 |
| Folder 4 | Newspaper Clippings and Papers 1971 |
| Folder 5 | Newspaper Clippings and Papers 1972-1976 |
Subseries B. Lectures
| Box 3 | Folder 6 | Lectures 1971-1974 |
Subseries C. Correspondence
| Box 3 | Folder 7 | Correspondence 1969-February 1970 |
| Folder 8 | Correspondence March-December 1970 |
| Box 4 | Folder 1 | Correspondence 1971 |
| Folder 2 | Correspondence 1972 |
| Folder 3 | Correspondence 1973 |
| Folder 4 | Correspondence 1974-1975 |
| Folder 5 | Correspondence 1976 |
| Folder 6 | Correspondence 1977 |
Subseries D. Posters
| Oversize folder | Two (2) posters advertising lectures on science job market, 1970; 1975 |
Series IV. Science and Defense Research
Subseries A. Newspaper Clippings and Fliers
| Box 4 | Folder 7 | Newspaper Clippings and Fliers 1967-February 1969 |
| Folder 8 | Newspaper Clippings and Fliers March-April 1969 |
| Folder 9 | Newspaper Clippings and Fliers May-December 1969 |
| Box 5 | Folder 1 | Newspaper Clippings and Fliers 1970-1973 |
Subseries B. Publications and Papers
| Box 5 | Folder 2 | Publications and Papers 1967-1969 |
| Folder 3 | Publications and Papers 1970-1973 |
| Folder 4 | Publications and Papers 1974-1976 |
Subseries C. Correspondence
| Box 5 | Folder 5 | Correspondence 1968-February 1969 |
| Folder 6 | Correspondence March-December 1969 |
| Folder 7 | Correspondence 1970-1975 |
| Oversize folder | Correspondence |