RG XXI: Academy Committee for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) and American Institute of Physics (AIP) Joint Committee on the History of Contemporary Physics
Historical Note
The Academy Committee of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and American Institute of Physics (AIP) Joint Committee on the History of Contemporary Physics (var. Modern Physics) officially existed from 1966-1974, however, most of the activity occurred between 1967-1972. In 1973 it became a subcommittee under the Committee on the History of Recent Science and Technology when that committee was established. I. Bernard Cohen was Chair for the duration, with Victor Weisskopf serving as co-chair in 1968, with Center for the History and Philosophy of Physics Director Charles Weiner as Project Director for the duration as well.
Iniatially a project of the AIP beginning in 1961, in 1966, the Academy's Committee on Research Funds approved funds for a series of conferences held jointly with AIP relating to the project. The AIP would later receive a grant from the National Science Foundation in 1968. The conferences intended to provide the groundwork for documenting the historical development of several fields of contemporary physics, with the hope to serve as a model for conferences in other fields. Initial work included collecting secondary and primary sources, selected original research papers, and tape-recorded interviews with a small number of physicists.
Conferences were held on May 18-19, 1967, and May 18-19, 1969. In 1972 the proceedings of the 1967 and 1969 conferences were published by the American Institute of Physics in 1972 as Exploring the History of Nuclear Physics, edited by Charles Weiner with the assistance of Elspeth Hart. Though noted in the 1974 "Report of the Committee on the History of Recent Science and Technology" as active, no further activity related to the project occurred.
Scope and Content
The series is contained within the Academy Archives’ Record Group XXI: Academy Projects and Programs. This series contains the administrative and conference records of the Academy relating to the joint project with AIP, from 1961 to 1972. The majority are records created between 1968-1970 by the executive office of John Voss and include a significant contribution from I. Bernard Cohen as Chair. Records are comprised of administrative files, conference files, and publication files. Included among administrative files are correspondence with AIP, Academy Committee reports, and grant files. Included among conference planning files is correspondence with participants, as well as agendas/programs. Finally among publication files are draft transcripts for the publication of the proceedings. Material related to the initial work of the project which included collecting primary and secondary sources, selected papers, and interviews with physicists are not within the Archives of the Academy. They can be found at the Niels Bohr Library & Archives of the AIP.
Significant materials include the draft of "Exploring the History of Nuclear Physics", edited by Charles Weiner with the assistance of Elspeth Hart.
See related records RG XXI: Academy Projects and Programs, Committee on Recent Science and Technology.
See related unprocessed records on a project organized by the Western Center of the Academy, History of Astrophysics.
Arrangement
Processing for the series utilized MPLP principles, thus minimum preservation steps were taken, and folder titles listed in the finding aid are as they appear on the actual folders. Some files were created outside the filing system and were incorporated with like materials.
The series contains no subseries and is arranged chronologically.
Preferred Citation
[Item title, date]. Record Group XXI: Academy Projects – Academy Committee for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) and American Institute of Physics (AIP) Joint Committee on the History of Contemporary Physics, 1961-1974. Archives, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
ITEM LIST
Box 1
| Folder 1 | History of Physics - Background and Proposals [1961-1968] |
| Folder 2 | History of Physics - AIP Newsletters, etc [1963-1968] |
| Folder 3 | History of Physics - Miscellaneous [1965-1968] |
| Folder 4 | History of Physics - AIP Correspondence [1965-1971] |
| Folder 5 | [loose] History of Physics File [1965-1972] |
| Folder 6 | History of Physics - Finances and Funds [1966-1967] |
| Folder 7 | AIP: History of Physics Exploratory Conference Report, May, 1967 |
| Folder 8 | History of Physics - Publicity [1967] |
| Folder 9 | [binder] Historical Studies of the Initiation and Growth of Research Fields in Physics Since 1930 - Proposal [1967-1968] |
| Folder 10 | History of Physics - Members and Participants and Consultants [1967-1968] |
| Folder 11 | History of Physics - Meetings and Conferences [1967-1968] |
| Folder 12 | History of Physics - Reports [1967-1968] |
| Folder 13 | AIP-AAAS - Charles Weiner Transcript [1967-1972] |
| Folder 14 | AIP [1968-1971] |
| Folder 15 | Academy-AIP Conf. on History of Nuclear Physics - Transcripts [1969-1970] |