Department of Physics records, 1870-1983

Creator:

Columbia University. Department of Physics

Abstract:

Extent:

45 linear feet 45 record cartons

Language:

English .

Scope and content:

This collection contains records of the Physics Department of Columbia University and several of its affiliated research laboratories: the Columbia Radiation Laboratory, the Pupin Cyclotron Laboratory, the Nevis Cyclotron Laboratory, and the Pegram Nuclear Physics Laboratory. The records of the Columbia Radiation Laboratory comprise more than half the collection as a whole; and more than one quarter consists of the lab notebooks kept by Columbia physicists, including Nobel laureate Polykarp Kusch, Chien-Shiung Wu, their colleagues, associates, and students. This collection includes laboratory notebooks, blueprints and diagrams, correspondence and memoranda, contracts, grant proposals, research reports, classroom materials, reprints, subject files, and miscellaneous items.

Biographical / historical:

Columbia University's Graduate Department of Physics was founded in 1892, and from 1925 has been housed in Pupin Laboratory (named after Michael Idvorsky Pupin on his death in 1935). It was there, under the direction of physicists George Pegram, Isidor I. Rabi, and Enrico Fermi that the preliminary scientific investigations eventually leading to the development of the atomic bomb in America took place.

The Columbia Radiation Laboratory was established under the direction of I.I. Rabi and J. M. B. Kellogg (Jerome Merle Blake Kellogg, b. 1905; Library of Congress states middle name as "Blakely") in 1942 to participate in the development of radar and related research critical to the United States in the Second World War. The Radiation Laboratory continued its government-sponsored research after the war under the direction of Polykarp Kusch and Robert Novick in the 1950s and 1960s while also expanding into new areas of research. In the mid-1970s, the Radiation Laboratory was subsumed under a broader materials science program; in 2001 it was renamed the Center for Integrated Science and Engineering.

Acquisition information:: Source of acquisition--The Physics Department records were administratively transferred from the Physics Department to the Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML) of Butler Library in four accessions: 1978, 1983, 1985, and 1997. A typed inventory was prepared and the records were placed in 126 manuscript boxes (52.5 linear feet) on the shelves of Butler Library's fifteenth floor stacks. Custody was informally conveyed from RBML to the University Archives in the 1990s but the collection remained physically in RBML's custody until 2002, when a physical transfer of these records was made (Accession #2002-057). Other of Professor Wu's papers and materials were transferred to the custody of Southeast University of China in 2000.
Processing information:: This collection was processed by Dr. Marilyn H. Pettit; Frank Lovett (GSAS 2004). Finding aid written by Frank Lovett in February 2004. Finding aid was reformatted by Elizabeth Nolte (Graduate School of Arts and Sciences 2009) in October 2008.
Arrangement:: This collection is arranged in 7 series.
Accruals:: Additions are expected.
Rules or conventions:: Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

There are no restrictions on this collection.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Terms of access:

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred citation:: Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Department of Physics Records; Box and Folder; University Archives, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.

Location of this collection:: Columbia University Archives

University Archives Home Page
6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027, USA
Before you visit:: Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.

Contact:: uarchives@columbia.edu

Collection