Explore the history of the physical sciences
Explore the history of the physical sciences
AIP has supported the history of the physical sciences since 1961. We have been publishing the semiannual History Newsletter since 1964 and now offer weekly and monthly email newsletters as well. Our growing collection of history guides builds on prior eras’ web exhibits, teaching guides, and podcast episodes. We also steward AIP’s renowned oral history program and organize the Lyne Starling Trimble public event series. We support scholarly history work through our Early-Career Conferences, grants-in-aid, and the Robert H. G. Helleman Memorial Grant and Fellowship Program.
Weekly Edition and Monthly Update newsletters
Newsletter archive
Latest History Guides
All history resources
Lyne Starling Trimble event series
Lyne Starling Trimble event series
AIP hosts several public events per year that illuminate the history of the physical sciences, covering eras ranging from the distant past to our own time. We have been proud to welcome distinguished scholars, best-selling science writers, and prominent scientists with powerful perspectives on the development of their field. Recordings of most events held since 2018 are available. The series is sustained through a generous gift from the astronomer Virginia Trimble and is named in honor of her father, the chemist Lyne Starling Trimble.
Semiannual AIP History Newsletter
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Catch up with the latest from AIP History and the Niels Bohr Library & Archives.
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Portrait of Francis Williams, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London | Bell Laboratories headquarters in Murray Hill, New Jersey, aerial photograph by John Gates | Robert Oppenheimer at the Tenth International Conference on High Energy Physics, AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Marshak Collection | Karl Jansky’s rotating antenna nicknamed “Jansky’s merry-go-round,” courtesy of NRAO/AUI/NSF | J. David Jackson near Aspen, Colorado. AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Jackson Collection | Spencer Weart interviewing Martin Schwarzschild, photograph by David DeVorkin, AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives | Dava Sobel lecturing in front of a photo of Marie Curie, AIP | Group portrait of physics students and instructors at the University of Göttingen, Hertha Sponer’s Göttingen photo album, AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Franck Collection | Sara Bassanelli visiting the AIP Niels Bohr Library & Archives, Trevor Owens / AIP | Group photo from the Sixth AIP Early-Career Conference in Salvador, Brazil, photo courtesy of Climério Silva Neto.