Department of Physics records, 1870-1983

After clicking 'Submit Request', users will login with their UNI and password (Columbia affiliates) or their special collections account (external users). Appointments are required and will be arranged according to each individual repository's policy.


Series I: Department Records

This series consists of documents and materials of the Physics Department itself, as distinct from those of its associated research laboratories. Series I is divided into two sub-series.


Subseries I.1: Subject Files

This subseries consists of assorted correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports, and so on, organized alphabetically by subject. These records, all contained in record carton 1, are far from comprehensive. Folders 1.1–1.3 contain documents related to research done under the auspices of the Atomic Energy Commission (circa 1948–1953). Folder 1.6 contains records of graduate student fellowships awarded (university-wide) in the mid 1950s. Folders 1.7–1.15 contain John R. Dunning's records of research operations at the Cyclotron Laboratory and within the Division of War Research (circa 1940–1949). Folders 1.22–1.24 contain drafts of papers and theses submitted to Professor Chien-Shiung Wu in the early 1950s.


Atomic Energy Commission



Box 1 Folder 1 Correspondence, Contracts, and Papers, 1948-1958


Box 1 Folder 2 Progress Reports, 1950-1954


Box 1 Folder 3 Security Requirements, 1951-1953


Budget and Appointments



Box 45 Folder 1 1940-1941


Box 45 Folder 2 1941-1942


Box 45 Folder 3 1942-1943


Box 45 Folder 4 1943-1944


Box 45 Folder 5 1944-1945


Box 45 Folder 6 1945-1946


Box 45 Folder 7 1946-1947


Box 45 Folder 8 1947-1948


Box 45 Folder 9 1948-1949


Budget - Summer Session


Box 45 Folder 10 1943


Box 45 Folder 11 1944


Box 45 Folder 12 1946


Box 45 Folder 13 1947


Box 45 Folder 14 1948


Box 45 Folder 15 1949


Box 45 Folder 16 1950



Box 1 Folder 4 Budget Worksheets, 1942-1948


Box 1 Folder 5 Columbia College - Correspondence, 1953-1956


Box 1 Folder 6 Committee on Instruction – Fellowships, 1953-1954


Cyclotron


Box 1 Folder 7-9 Accounts, 1943-1949, 3 folders


Box 1 Folder 10 Contracts, 1940-1949


Box 1 Folder 11 Correspondence, 1944-1949


Box 1 Folder 12 Financial Records, 1944-1949


Box 1 Folder 13 Photos, 1948-1949


Davis, Bergen - correspondence, papers, etc., 1919-1938


Division of War Research


Box 1 Folder 14 Record Book, 1943-1944


Box 1 Folder 15 Reports and Correspondence, 1942-1948


Box 1 Folder 16 Graduate Committee - Records, 1950-1953


Box 1 Folder 17 Joint Committee on Graduate Instruction, 1953-1954


Box 1 Folder 18 Institute for International Education - Correspondence, 1955


Box 1 Folder 19 Library Committee - Records, 1953


Box 1 Folder 20 Pliofilm Procurement - Correspondence, 1950-1951


Box 1 Folder 21 Storage Battery Research (Professor William Hallock), 1902-1910


Student Papers, Submitted to Wu


Box 1 Folder 22 Koerts, Leo, 1953-1955


Box 1 Folder 23 Shaknov, Irving, 1951


Box 1 Folder 24-25 University Council - Agendas and Minutes, 1953-1954, 2 folders


Subseries I.2: Instruction Files

Folders 2.1-10 contain classroom materials and records related to summer session classes offered mainly in the 1950s. Folders 2.11–3.9 contain sample deficiency exams, finals, master's exams, and Ph.D. qualifying exams, some dating as early as the 1920s. The most extensive portion of this sub-series, however, is the course materials within folders 3.10–7.3. Organized principally by academic year and course offered, these records provide a comprehensive view of the Physics Department's course offerings roughly from the late 1930s through the late 1950's. For each course there are syllabi, quizzes, lab assignments, exams, and so on; often there are grade distributions, and in some cases lecture notes. Included are some apparently complete lecture sets, as for example: folder 6.14: Jack Steinberger's lectures on "Meson Physics" (1957); or folder 6.1: Steven Weinberg's lectures on "Advanced Quantum Mechanics" (1958).


Summer Session



Box 2 Folder 1-3 General, 1948-1964, 3 folders


Box 2 Folder 4-6 Physics s5 (Sloan Grant), 1960-1967, 3 folders


Box 2 Folder 7-8 1961 Institute for High School Teachers, 1959-1962, 2 folders


Box 2 Folder 9-10 1962 Institute for High School Teachers, 1961-1963, 2 folders


Exam Samples


Box 2 Folder 11-13 Deficiency Exams, 1947-1957, 3 folders


Box 2 Folder 14-17 Final Course Exams, 1947-1962, 4 folders


Box 2 Folder 18-19 Masters Exams, 1921-1949, 2 folders



Box 3 Folder 1 Masters Exams, 1950-1962


Box 3 Folder 2 Midterm Exams, 1954-1962


Box 3 Folder 3 Special Exams and Solution Sheets, 1958-1960


Box 3 Folder 4-9 PhD Qualifying Exams, 1926-1962, 6 folders



Box 43 Folder 21 Prof. Devon's Final Exams, 1961-1966

(Elementary Physics 2 / Physics C1002y)


Course Materials



Box 3 Folder 10 Lab Manual, undated


Box 3 Folder 11 Summer 1927, Summer 1934, Summer 1935, 1927-1935


Box 3 Folder 12-14 Spring/Summer, 1936-1939, 3 folders


Box 3 Folder 15 Summer/Fall, 1939


Box 3 Folder 16 Miscellaneous, 1940-1948


Box 3 Folder 17 Electromagnetics, 1948 Spring

(based on Lamb lectures)


Box 3 Folder 18-19 Academic Years, 1948-1950, 2 folders



Box 4 Folder 1-13 Academic Years, 1949-1955, 13 folders


Box 4 Folder 14-15 Electromagnetics - based on Kroll lectures, 1955 Spring, 2 folders



Box 5 Folder 1 Electromagnetics - notes and PhD qualifying exams, 1955 Spring


Box 5 Folder 2 Quantum Mechanics - based on Serber lectures, 1955-1956


Box 5 Folder 3 Quantum Mechanics - based on Pais lectures, 1955-1956


Box 5 Folder 4-7 Academic Year, 1955-1956, 4 folders


Box 5 Folder 8 Quantum Mechanics - based on Lee lectures, 1956 Fall


Box 5 Folder 9-16 Academic Years, 1956-1958, 8 folders



Box 6 Folder 1 Quantum Mechanics - based on Weinberg lectures, 1958 Fall


Box 6 Folder 2-5 Academic Years, 1958-1959, 4 folders


Box 6 Folder 6 Elementary Particles - based on Weinberg lectures, 1959 Spring


Box 6 Folder 7 Miscellaneous, 1959-1962


Box 6 Folder 8 Loose class notes, 1964-1966


Box 6 Folder 9 Rainwater on Optics (incomplete), undated


Steinberger Lectures


Box 6 Folder 10 Unknown topic (handwritten), 1939


Box 6 Folder 11-12 Electrodynamics (handwritten), 1939, 2 folders


Box 6 Folder 13 Unknown topic (handwritten), 1954


Box 6 Folder 14 Meson Physics, 1957


Box 6 Folder 15 Strange Particles, 1958


Box 6 Folder 16 Nuclear Models (handwritten), 1958


Box 6 Folder 17 Unknown topic (handwritten), 1964


Box 6 Folder 18 Experiments on Beta-decay, undated


Box 6 Folder 19 Low Energy Physics, undated


Box 6 Folder 20 Miscellaneous, 1959


Box 6 Folder 21 Fermt Lectures on Electrodynamics (handwritten), 1939


Box 6 Folder 22 Oppenheimer Notes on Electrodynamics, 1947


Box 6 Folder 23 Anderson Lectures on Meson Physics, 1953


Box 6 Folder 24 Lee Lectures on Quantum Mechanics, 1954



Box 7 Folder 1 Feld Lectures on Meson Physics, 1955


Box 7 Folder 2 Salam Lectures on Dispersion Theory, 1956


Box 7 Folder 3 Feld Lectures on Meson Physics, 1956


Laboratory Manuals



Box 41 Folder 1 Experiments in Physics for students, 1976 January

(Lab manuals for multiple courses)


Box 41 Folder 2 Physics C1004, F1004 and Pharmacy 22, undated

(Magnetic and electrical fields experiments)


Lecture Notes


Box 41 Folder 3 Lecture Series on Nuclear Physics, 1943-1944

(Dunning's set of lecture notes; LA report 24. includes lecture on Terminology (E.M. McMillan), Radioactivity (E. Segre, E. Teller, F. Bloch), Neutron Physics (J.H. Williams), etc.)



Box 45 Folder 21 Devons, Samuel. Logarithmic Notation, undated



Box 41 Folder 4 Eden, R.J. - Introduction to the Structure Analysis of Collision Amplitudes, 1962 January

(Dept. of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge)



Box 45 Folder 22 Luttinger, J.M. - Solid State / Many Body Theory, 1965-1966

(Lectures presented at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Notes by Gary A. Pearson.)



Box 41 Folder 5 Nordsieck, A. - Quantum Mechanics Lectures, 1945-1946


Box 41 Folder 6 Peierls, R.E. - Complex Eigenvalues in Scattering Theory, 1959 Winter

(Department of Mathematical Physics, University of Birmingham; Visiting Professor in the Department of Physics, Columbia University, February to May 1959)


Von Karman, Theodore



Box 43 Folder 26 Aerothermodynamics lectures, 1947

(Notes prepared by William Perl. 12 lectures given at Columbia in the Spring Session 1947)



Box 44 Folder 1 Developments in the Statistical Theory of Turbulence, 1948

(Notes prepared by William Perl. 3 lectures given at Columbia in November-December 1948)



Box 41 Folder 7 Weinstein - Mathematical Foundations of Relativity, 1964 October

(Handwritten notes)


Box 41 Folder 8 Wentzel, Gregor - Strong Coupling Meson Theory, 1954 Spring

(Lecture notes compiled by B.F. Nigam and A.E. Woodruff)



Box 45 Folder 18 Yukawa, Hideki - Quantum Theory of Nonlocal Fields, 1949 October


Class Notes


Bernardini, Gilberto



Box 40 Folder 3 Physics R268 - Cosmic Rays, 1948-1949 Winter


Chiu, Hong-Yee


Box 40 Folder 4 Physics G8045x - Stellar Physics, undated

(Notes of the course in the Spring Term.)


Feinberg, Gerald



Box 44 Folder 3 Physics G8070 - Particle Physics, 1963 Spring

(Notes by Costa Tsipis)


Foley, H.M.


Box 44 Folder 4 Physics 119 - Mathematical Methods in Physics, undated


Box 44 Folder 7 Physics 120 - Mathematical Methods in Physics, undated


Fuller, Robert W.



Box 40 Folder 5 Physics G6019x - Mathematical Methods of Physics, 1961 Fall

(Formerly Physics 119. Certain sections of these notes are based on the 119 notes of Professor Feinberg, Foley and Lee.)



Box 44 Folder 5 Physics G6019x (formerly 119) - Mathematical Methods in Physics, 1961 Fall


Gell-Mann, Murray


Box 44 Folder 6 Physics 247 - Advanced Quantum Mechanics, 1954-1955

(Notes by Gerald Feinberg and Leon F. Landovitz)


Greenberg, Daniel


Box 44 Folder 2 Physics G4013x - Heat and Thermodynamics, 1962 Fall

(Notes prepared by Professor Daniel Greenberg)


Lee, Tsung-Dao



Box 40 Folder 11 Physics 119 - Mathematical Methods in Physics, 1954 Winter (Revised 1958)

(Notes by Menasha J. Tausner. These notes have not been checked by Professor Lee.)



Box 42 Folder 1 Physics 120 - Mathematical Methods in Physics, 1959 Spring

(Bob Eisenstein and Uriel Nauenberg)



Box 43 Folder 23 Physics 236 - Statistical Mechanics, 1957 Spring

(Notes by Karl Eklund)



Box 42 Folder 2 Physics 236 - Statistical Mechanics, 1957-1958



Box 43 Folder 24 Physics 247 - Advanced Quantum Mechanics, 1956 Fall

(Notes by Sigurd Larsen and Elihu Lubkin)


Kroll, N.M.



Box 40 Folder 6 Physics 192 - Electromagnetic Theory I, 1955 Spring

(Notes by Alfred Landman)


Box 40 Folder 7 Physics 194 - Electromagnetic Theory III, 1959 February

(Lecture notes prepared by Martin L. Teiger)


Box 40 Folder 8 Physics 249 - Quantum Electrodynamics, 1949-1950 Winter


Kusch, P. (Polykarp)


Box 40 Folder 9 A Course in Molecular Beams, undated


Lamb, Willis E.


Box 40 Folder 10 Physics 215-216 - Electromagnetic Theory, 1946-1947 Spring

(Physics 227 in Winter 1948)



Box 41 Folder 9 Physics 226 - Electromagnetic Theory, 1948 Spring


Luttinger, Joaquin M.



Box 45 Folder 23-24 Physics 6036 - Statistical Mechanics, undated, 2 folder


Nauenberg, Michael



Box 40 Folder 12 Physics 247 - Dispersion Relations, 1961 Winter

(Notes prepared by H.S. Mani and James Nearing)


Novick, R.



Box 41 Folder 10 Physics G4015x - Atomic Physics, 1964 Winter

(Notes prepared by Jack Hahn)


Pais, A.



Box 42 Folder 3 Physics 247 - Advanced Quantum Mechanics (Field Theory), 1955-1956

(Notes prepared by G. Feinberg and L. Landovitz)


Peaslee, D.C.


Box 42 Folder 4 Physics S135 - Atomic Physics, 1953 Summer


Quate, C.F.



Box 44 Folder 8 Physics s229 - Microwave Electronics, 1952 Summer

(Notes by Seymour Koenig)


Quimby, S.L.


Box 44 Folder 9 Physics 125 - Vector Analysis, 1949


Box 44 Folder 10 Physics 202 - Dynamics of Particles, 1957


Box 44 Folder 11 Physics 203 - Vibration Theory and Dynamics of Rigid Bodies, 1958


Box 44 Folder 12 Physics R202 and R203 - Analytical Dynamics, 1960


Box 44 Folder 13 Physics R266 - The Theory of Solids, 1952


Rabi, I.I.


Box 44 Folder 14 Physics 235 - Statistical Mechanics, undated


Rainwater, James


Box 44 Folder 17 Physics 59-109 - Supplementary Notes on Optics, undated



Box 42 Folder 5 Physics 257-258 - Nuclear Physics, 1959



Box 44 Folder 16 Physics 257-258 - Nuclear Physics, 1959


Box 44 Folder 15 Physics 257-258 - Slow Neutron Scattering by Systems of Atoms, 1953



Box 42 Folder 6-7 Physics G4009 - Optics, 1969, 2 Volumes

(Part I: Introductory material and mainly geometric optics, chapters 1-7 (there is no chapter 8); Part II: chapters 9-15)


Ramsey, Norman Foster



Box 45 Folder 17 Physics 125 - Introduction to Theoretical Physics, 1946-1947


Serber, Robert



Box 43 Folder 25 Physics 238 - Quantum Mechanics, 1956

(Notes by L. Landovitz (Spring 1954) and Elliot Auerback (Spring 1955))



Box 45 Folder 20 Serber Says: About Mesotrons, undated


Thomas, Llewellyn



Box 42 Folder 8 Physics 240 - Special and General Theories of Relativity, undated


Townes, Charles H.



Box 43 Folder 22 Physics 252 - Notes on Microwave Physics, 1949



Box 42 Folder 9 Microwave Spectroscopy, undated


Weinberg, Steven



Box 41 Folder 11 Physics 260 - Elementary Particles: Weak Interactions, 1959 March

(Notes prepared by Hector Rubinstein and Arthur Bierman)


Box 41 Folder 12 Physics 257 - Advanced Quantum Mechanics, 1958-1959


Wu, C.S. (Chien-Shiung)


Box 41 Folder 13 Physics 257-258 - The Neutrino: A Contribution to the Memorial Volume to Wolfgang Pauli, 1959 June

(Pupin Cyclotron Laboratory and George B. Pegram Laboratory, CU-197)


Box 41 Folder 14-15 Physics 234 - Theoretical Nuclear Physics, 1961-1962

(2 volumes; on spine "Dr. Wu's Course" ; on front page "A course given by Dr. H. A. Weidenmuller at Caltech during 1961-1962. Lecture notes by Fernando B. Morinigo and Yvon R. Cusson.")



Box 42 Folder 11 Physics 8057x - Advanced Nuclear Physics, 1964



Box 41 Folder 16 Physics 8057x - Advanced Nuclear Physics, undated

(Notes by Weidenmuller)



Box 42 Folder 10 Physics G4040 - Nuclear Physics, 1963


Physics F1001x - Concepts of Science



Box 40 Folder 1 The Concepts of Space and Time (Chapter 2), undated

(Metz)



Box 45 Folder 19 Newton's Law of Gravity (Chapter 7) and the Conservation of Angular Momentum (Chapter 8), undated



Box 40 Folder 2 Physics 135 - Atomic Physics, 1955-1956 Winter

(Book list, course outline, lecture notes)