Philip Hauge Abelson Papers
Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm2001084803
General International Standard for Archival Description
Manuscript Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C.
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2003
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Philip Hauge Abelson Papers1939-2002 (bulk 1970-1989)
Abelson, Philip Hauge
Biographical History for: Philip Hauge Abelson Papers1939-2002 (bulk 1970-1989)
Biographical Note Date Event 1913, Apr. 27 Born, Tacoma, Wash. 1935 M.S., Washington State University, Pullman, Wash. 1936 Married Neva Martin (died 2000) 1939 Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Calif. Identified products of uranium fission 1940 Codiscoverer with Edwin M. McMillan of Element 93 (Neptunium) 1941-1945 Associate physicist, physicist, senior physicist, and principal physicist, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. 1945 Awarded U.S. Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Medal 1946-1953 Chairman, Biophysics Section, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. 1953-1971 Director, Geophysics Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. 1959 Elected to National Academy of Sciences 1960-1963 General Advisory Committee, Atomic Energy Commission 1962-1984 Editor, Science magazine 1968-1981 Council member, National Academy of Sciences, with a seven-year absence from 1971 to 1978 1971-1978 President and trustee, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. 1972 Awarded Kalinga Prize, UNESCO 1978-1980 Chairman, Board of Trustees, Bio-Energy Council 1984 Received Distinguished Public Service Award, National Science Foundation
Scope and Content Note The papers of Philip Hauge Abelson (1913- ) span the years 1939-2002, with the bulk of the material dating from 1970 to 1989. The papers are organized in the following series: Committees and Organizations, Science Magazine, Speeches and Writings, and a Miscellany consisting of awards, biographical material, general correspondence, photographs, and printed material. The Committees and Organizations series contains correspondence, financial records, grant proposals, minutes, publications, and reports relating to Abelson's participation in scientific professional organizations and advisory committees. Notable organizations include the American Geophysical Union, Bio-Energy Council, Carnegie Institution of Washington, International Union of Geological Sciences, Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, and the National Academy of Sciences. The Science Magazine series consists of texts of editorials written by Abelson during his tenure as editor of the chief publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. An index to the editorials is included. The correspondence primarily contains reactions of the general public and the scientific community to opinions voiced by Abelson in his editorials. As editor of this important publication, Abelson visited both foreign and domestic research laboratories. His notes and correspondence regarding these trips are included. The Speeches and Writings series contains chiefly texts of speeches given by Abelson to educational institutions, private companies, and scientific organizations. Also included are articles written for publications other than Science and correspondence regarding two of Abelson's books.
series
Committees and Organizations, 1946-2001
Correspondence, financial records, grant proposals, minutes, publications, and reports relating to Abelson's participation in scientific professional organizations and advisory committees.
file
Ad Hoc Geological Committee on Remote Sensing from Space, 1975-1976
Advisory Committee, American University, Washington, D.C., 1973
Advisory Panel on the Documentation, Dissemination, and Use of Research and Development Results, 1963-1964, undated
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1965-1966, 1972-1979, 1990
American Chemical Manufacturers Association, 1980
American Council on Education, 1978
American Geophysical Union
American Philosophical Society, 1973-1979
Bio-Energy Council
Correspondence
Financial records, 1978-1980, undated
Grant proposals, 1979-1980, undated
Meeting minutes, 1978-1979
Miscellany, 1979-1980, undated
Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., 1964-1966, 1977-1983
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.
Correspondence, 1967-1970, 1980-1982
News releases and printed matter, 1962-1963, undated
Reports
Director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, 1946-1954
Director of the Geophysical Laboratory
General Electric Corporate Research and Development, 1977-1978, undated
President
Specialized Conference on the Application of Science and Technology to Latin American Development, Brasilia, Brazil, 1972
Studies of Biosynthesis in Escherichia Coli, 1963
Chemical Abstracts Service, 1976-1980
Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, Research Triangle Park, N.C., 1979, 1985
Council on Science and Technology for Development
1980-1981, undated
Encyclopedia of Bioethics, 1973-1974
Energy Information Administration, 1979
Geological Survey of Canada, 1979
International Geological Correlation Program, 1978-1981
International Union of Geological Sciences
Jan.-Mar.
Apr.-Nov.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
Correspondence, 1976-1984
Notes, 2001
Photographs, 1978-1980
Printed matter
1981, undated
National Academy of Public Administration, 1978-1984
National Academy of Sciences
Awards, 1981-1982
Committee on an Aging Society, 1982-1983
Committee to Review the Office of Information, 1982
Congressional endowment proposal, 1980
Finance Committee, 1974-1979
Geology Section, 1979-1983
Institute of Medicine, 1973-1982
Meeting minutes
National Research Council
Advisory Committee on International Investment, Technology, and Development
Biomass Substitutes for Liquid Fuels Symposium, Campinas, Brazil, 1981-1982
Climate Research Board, 1980-1984
Commission on International Relations, 1976-1981
Commission on Natural Resources
Board on Mineral and Energy Resources, 1975-1980
Miscellany, 1979
Committee on Abiogenic Methane, 1979
Committee on Geology, 1979
Committee on Internal Management Structure, 1981-1982
Committee on International Human Resources Issues, 1979
Division of Earth Sciences, 1973-1975
Division of Medical Sciences
Committee on Radiation Cataracts, 1949-1955
Subcommittee on Shock, 1950-1953
Geological Sciences Board, 1979-1983, undated
Geophysics Research Board
1980-1984, undated
Governing Board meeting, 1979
Miscellany, 1973, 1979
U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, 1973-1974, 1981-1983
Printed matter, 1978-1983
Treasurer's reports, 1979-1981
National Association of Science Writers, 1963, 1976-1978
National Commission on Air Quality, 1981
National Science Foundation, 1964-1966, 1973-1984, undated
Phi Beta Kappa, 1979-1982, undated
President's Science Advisory Committee, 1980
Sigma Xi, 1964, 1973, 1979-1981, undated
Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT), 1979
United States Association for the Club of Rome
United States Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, 1978-1979
United States Geological Survey, 1979-1984
United States Navy, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
Atomic Energy Submarine, 1946
Liquid Thermal Diffusion, 1946, 1958, 1985-1998
Washington Gas Light Co., 1974-1975, 1981-1984
Science Magazine, 1962-2000
Texts of editorials written by Abelson, correspondence in reaction to his editorials, and notes taken on business trips.
Jan.-Aug.
Sept.-Dec.
1975-1985, undated
Editorials
Index, 1962-2000
Trips
California, 1962
China, 1978-1979
India and Thailand, 1984
London, England, 1963-1964
Research laboratories
Bell Laboratories, 1964, 1979
E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., 1978, undated
Exxon Research and Engineering Co., 1978
General Electric Co., 1975-1978
General Motors Research Laboratories, 1977-1979
International Business Machines Corp., 1978
Miscellany, 1978-1983, undated
Texas Instruments, 1978
3M Co., 1979
Speeches and Writings, 1950-1999
Articles, books, and texts of speeches along with related correspondence and administrative material.
Articles
1993-1999, undated
Books
Energy: Uses, Conservation, and Supply, 1974
Enough of Pessimism, 1985-1987, 1993-1998, undated
Speech file
Jan.-May
July-Nov.
1991-1999, undated
Miscellany, 1939-2002
Awards, biographical material, general correspondence consisting primarily of invitations to speak, photographs, and printed matter.
Abelson, Neva, 1991-2000, undated
Appointment books and calendars, 1963-1979
Awards and honors, 1962-1963, 1974-1995
Biographical material
Autobiography, 1997, undated
Miscellany, 1962-1965, 1972-1985, undated
Oral history transcripts, 2002, undated
Jan.-Sept.
Oct.-Dec.
Jan.-Apr.
May-Dec.
1984-1991, 1997, undated
Photographs, 1939, 1968, 1984, undated
Printed matter, 1961-1975, 1982, undated