Finding Aid to the Jule Gregory Charney Papers, 1936-1981Sponsor:This finding aid has been encoded by the Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics as part of a collaborative project supported by a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities, an independent federal agency. Collaboration members in 1999 consisted of: American Institute of Physics, California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Rice University, University of Alaska, University of Illinois, and University of Texas. Publisher:American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics. Encoding Information:Machine-readable finding aid encoded in EAD v.1.0 by Clay Redding on October 23, 2000 from an existing finding aid using NoteTab Pro and C++ scripts created by James P. Tranowski (provided by Elizabeth Dow, Special Collections, University of Vermont). Any revisions made to this finding aid occurred as part of the editing and encoding process. Finding aid written in English. Description of the CollectionLocation of collection:Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute Archives and Special
Collections. Title and dates of collection:Jule Gregory Charney Papers, 1936-1981 Papers/Records created by:Charney, Jule G. Size of collection:27 records cartons and 1 manuscript box Short description of collection:These papers document the career of Jules Gregory Charney, whose research focused on the mathematical description of large-scale atmospheric circulations and included work on the theory of ocean currents, atmospheric wave propagation, large-scale hydrodynamic instability, hurricanes, drought, and atmospheric blocking ridges. The papers document his scientific, academic, professional, and political activities, dating from 1936-1981. His contributions to the field of meteorology are described in extensive files of project reports, conferences and seminars, correspondence, and committee records of the many national and international organizations in which he particpated. Languages Represented:English Selected Search TermsThese papers have been indexed in the International Catalog of Sources for History of Physics and Allied Sciences (ICOS) using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms. Biography of Jule Gregory CharneyJule Gregory Charney (JGC), international leader in theoretical meteorology and pioneer in the field of numerical weather prediction, was born January 1, 1917, in San Francisco, California, the son of Russian immigrants, Ely Charney and Stella Litman Charney. Upon completing his secondary education in Los Angeles public schools, he entered the University of California at Los Angeles where he acquired his B.A. in mathematics and physics in 1938, M.A. in mathematics in 1940, and Ph.D. in meteorology in 1946. During World War II, he assisted in the training of weather officers for the armed services at the Army Air Forces Training School at UCLA. In 1946 JGC went to the University of Chicago as a research associate of Carl-Gustaf Rossby, one of the founders of modern meteorology. He continued his post-doctoral work as a National Research Fellow in 1947-1948 at the University of Oslo, Norway. JGC spent the years in Chicago and Oslo developing his theory of quasi-geostrophic dynamics, deriving systematic approximations to the equations of fluid motions thereby allowing large-scale atmospheric circulations to be described mathematically. His landmark research was to form the core of all theoretical work in modern dynamical meteorology. In 1948 JGC joined the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey, as Director of the Meteorological Research Group. At IAS he collaborated with mathematician John von Neumann in pioneering the development of numerical weather prediction through the use of high-speed computers. Initial computations were made on the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC) in 1950. The results were the first numerical predictions of a two- dimensional model approximating the actual flow at a mid-level in the atmosphere. In 1952-1953 JGC obtained the first prediction of cyclogenesis with a three-dimensional model. The results prompted the U.S. government's interest in the practical application of operational numerical prediction. Consequently, JGC contributed to the establishment of the Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit in Maryland for the routine daily prediction of large-scale weather patterns. The facility served the Air Force, Navy, and the United States Weather Bureau. The latter, with JGC's encouragement, established the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, a research-orientated facility utilizing computers for basic atmospheric and oceanic research. In 1956 JGC came to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as Professor of Meteorology and Director of the Atmospheric and Ocean Dynamics Project. In the quarter of a century until his death in 1981, he continued to make fundamental contributions to the theory of ocean currents, atmospheric wave propagation, large-scale hydrodynamic instability, hurricanes, drought, and atmospheric blocking ridges. In 1966 JGC was appointed the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at MIT, the first individual to occupy the chair established through a fund pledged by A. P. Sloan, Jr. In 1974 JGC became head of the MIT Department of Meteorology and was responsible for its reorganization into the Department of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography. In 1977 he resigned his post as Department Head in order to pursue his research interests. During the years 1960 to 1965, while a member of the Committee on Atmospheric Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences, and later as Chairman of the Committee on International Meteorological Cooperation, JGC assisted in organizing the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP). GARP developed from several sequences of scientific, technical and political advancements. The United States began to concentrate on the establishment of an American space program during the years following the first successful Soviet satellite launch in 1957. In April 1961 President John F. Kennedy, anxious to strengthen the U.S. space effort and lessen tensions generated by Cold War politics, consulted Special Assistant for Science and Technology, Jerome B. Wiesner, for suggestions to promote collaborative space programs with other nations, including the U.S.S.R. JGC, contacted by Wiesner, was instrumental in initiating a series of discussions among atmospheric scientists on methods to advance international cooperation. In 1962 the International Council of Scientific Unions joined the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in the administration of the Global Atmospheric Research Program. JGC continued to be active in GARP projects and became the first chairman of the United States Committee on GARP. JGC was a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and an Honorary Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and was a foreign member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Norwegian Academy of Sciences. He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the American Meteorological Society's Meisinger Award, the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal, the Losey Award of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, the Symons Memorial Gold Medal of the Royal Meteorological Society, the Hodgkins Medal of the Smithsonian Institution, the Bowie Medal of the American Geophysical Union, and the Cleveland Abbe Award of the American Meteorological Society. JGC died June 16, 1981, at the Sidney Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. He was married to Elinor Kesting from 1946 to 1967 and they had three children: Nicholas, Nora, and Peter. He was married to Lois Swirnoff from 1967 to 1976.
Scope and Contents of CollectionThe papers of Jule Gregory Charney (27.3 cubic feet) document the scientific, academic, professional and political activities of JGC during the period 1936 to 1981. The bulk of the material dates from 1948 when JGC began his professional career as Director of the Theoretical Meteorology Project at the Institute for Advanced Study and terminates with his death in 1981 while Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The collection, organized into five series, offers documentation of JGC's research and administrative efforts in the field of theoretical meteorology and numerical weather prediction. Significant areas of the collection are discussed below and, except where noted, described in the order in which they appear. Series I, Personal, 1936-1980, documents JCG's family life and college education at UCLA in the early 1940s. There is also information about JCG's trip to the Soviet Union in 1961 to observe Soviet meteorological and oceanographic facilities. Organized alphabetically. Family correspondence reflects JGC's relationship with his mother, Stella Litman Charney, and his children Nicholas, Nora, and Peter. Correspondence between JGC and Nicholas offers information about Nicholas's role in founding the magazine Psychology Today in the mid-1960's (box 1, folder 20). Course and lecture notes chronicle JGC's undergraduate and graduate years at the University of California at Los Angeles and include notes generated during his appointment as Instructor/Lecturer in Physics/Meteorology at the Army Air Force Meteorology Training School at UCLA during the years 1941 to 1946 (boxes 1 & 2, folders 57-72). In 1961 JGC traveled to the Soviet Union under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council. As an invited American scientist, he was allowed to visit Soviet meteorological and oceanographical research institutions and subsequently wrote a report of his observations. His wife Elinor, who had accompanied him, also wrote a short account of her impressions of the trip. Additional materials include notes of a lecture JGC delivered May 31, 1961, at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Moscow and an address presented to the Boston Meteorological Society on May 5, 1962, describing the status of meteorological science in the Soviet Union (box 1, folder 56). Series II, Correspondence and Subject Files, 1946-1981, documents JCG's diverse professional activities and relationships with colleagues. This series is organized alphabetically by name of individual, organization, institution, or subject. Conferences and Seminars provide a source of information on scientific convocations attended. Included here are programs, announcements, committee agendas, and related correspondence. The papers delivered by JGC are filed in Series IV. Materials relating to the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) offer a rich account of the nascent field of numerical weather prediction (box 9, folders 296-305). In 1946 the Theoretical Meteorology Project and the Electronic Computer Project were jointly developed at IAS with the expectation that the computer would prove to be a powerful research tool in the investigation of the fundamental problems of dynamical meteorology. Two years later in 1948, JGC was invited to direct the Theoretical Meteorology Project. Materials reflecting his eight-year contribution to the Project include log books of research performed on the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC), progress reports of the Meteorology Group, and contracts with the Office of Naval Research. The Office of Naval Research initially funded the Meteorology Project with supplemental support begun in 1951 by the Geophysical Research Division of the Air Force Cambridge Research Center. In 1961 the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) was proposed by President John F. Kennedy in an address before the General Assembly of the United Nations. In the following year the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) agreed to develop complementary programs to advance international cooperative efforts to gather information concerning the atmospheric processes. WMO and ICSU proceeded autonomously until 1967 when the Joint Organizing Committee (JOC) was established to provide for the joint planning and execution of GARP objectives by the parent organization. National committees of the participating countries assumed responsibility for the coordination of field experiments. In the United States, the U.S. Committee on the Global Research Program (USC-GARP) was established in 1967 under the aegis of the National Academy of Sciences. JGC's contribution to the establishment and success of the Global Atmospheric Research Program is richly documented in five cubic feet of materials in the GARP and National Academy of Sciences sections. During the years 1960 to 1965, while a member of the Committee on Atmospheric Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences (NASCAS) and later as Chairman of the NASCAS Panel on International Meteorological Cooperation, JGC participated in the conceptualization and organization of the Global Atmospheric Research Program. In 1962 he prepared a position paper for NASCAS in which he outlined an international cooperative effort to measure the atmosphere on a global scale ("A Suggested International Meteorological Observation Program," box 11, folder 378). The following year he was appointed Chairman of the NASCAS Panel on International Meteorological Cooperation. In March 1966, the NASCAS Panel published the report "The Feasibility of a Global Observation and Analysis Experiment," the so-called "Charney Report," (box 11, folder 390) which led to the August 1966 meeting at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in which plans for the Line Islands Experiment (box 13, folder 408) and the major tropical experiments of GATE (GARP-Atlantic Tropical Experiment) were outlined (box 7, folders 236-239). One well-documented GARP project is the Barbados Oceanographic and Meteorological Experiment (BOMEX). During the summer of 1969, atmospheric research was begun above a 90,000 square mile region located 50 miles east of Barbados in order to conduct the first large- scale experiment involving the ocean and atmosphere. JGC, as one of the principal investigators, headed the portion of the experiment to measure the fields of motion and cloud distribution in the Western Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone. Among the materials documenting the BOMEX effort is a proposal jointly written by JGC and H. Rielhl, "Exploration of the Planetary Boundary Layer Within and Without the Rain Areas of Tropical Disturbances"; printouts of electronically transmitted data relaying such information as flight formations, instrumentation readings, systems operations, schedules and weather variations; and observational data from aircraft, radar, satellites and other platforms (boxes 7 and 8, folders 240-244). JGC was appointed Chairman of the United States Committee on GARP for a term beginning March 1, 1968, to June 1, 1971. His administration is well documented by USC-GARP reports, correspondence, and meeting minutes generated during his three-year tenure (boxes 6 and 7, folders 204, 222). The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), a major government meteorological research laboratory, contributed financial assistance, scientific personnel, and the use of aircraft and computer terminals to the Global Atmospheric Research Program. Because of this collaboration, NCAR-related materials may be found through the GARP section, particularly with materials documenting GARP experiments. In 1967 the Tropical Meteorological Experiment (TROMEX) was initiated by NCAR in order to attain an understanding of the physical and dynamic characteristics of the tropical atmosphere and apply that knowledge to the understanding of global atmospheric circulation. Preliminary work for the study was organized by three working groups; JGC was chairman of Working Group C which focused on the observational needs and opportunities for investigating large-scale motions in the tropics. Among the records offering documentation of JGC's chairmanship are reports of Working Group C, memoranda relating to TROMEX seminars and conferences, and materials describing the Line Islands Experiment. Additional GARP and NCAR-related materials may be found in the files of NCAR's parent organization, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). JGC served on the Science Advisory Committee which coordinated NCAR scientific programs with UCAR's consortium of academic institutions. Documentation of JGC's contribution to the Science Advisory Committee is sparse but his participation is reflected in committee meeting minutes, membership lists, and memoranda (box 15, folders 494-495). JGC's role in the establishment of a meteorological and physical oceanographic community in Italy is documented by the papers of the 1973 Summer School on Mesoscale Meteorological Phenomena (box 14, folders 479-480, 480.1). Included are workshop study programs, bound lectures, study group reports, summary of cyclogensis lectures, notes from discussions led by JGC, and correspondence reflecting JGC's position as chairman and organizer of the Italian Summer School. The Universities National Anti-War Fund (UNAF), established in the wake of the United States invasion of Cambodia, was an ad hoc political organization composed of college and university faculty opposed to the Vietnam War. The initial focus of UNAF was to provide financial support to congressional candidates committed to the termination of the war in Indochina. UNAF efforts later turned to voter registration projects with the registration of the national student population as the primary goal. JGC's participation as President of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Harvard/MIT UNAF Organizing Committee is reflected in strategy notes and other handwritten communications by JGC, budget information, meeting agendas and minutes, news clippings, and a notebook documenting financial contributions (boxes 15-16, folders 496-512). Correspondence between JGC and pioneering members of the international meteorological community is extensively documented. Prominent correspondents include Jacob Bjerknes, Arnt Eliassen, Carl-Gustaf Rossby, and mathematician John von Neumann. Correspondence with von Neumann offers a rich account of the close working and personal relationship between the two scientists. Among the correspondence is a letter dated August 24, 1948, in which JGC discusses his ideas on numerical forecasting and presents his proposal for the "immediate attack on the numerical forecast problem" (box 16, folder 516). Of additional interest is correspondence with Carl-Gustaf Rossby in which JGC outlines his landmark research in numerical weather prediction with von Neumann at the Institute for Advanced study (box 14, folders 459-460). Series III, MIT-Related, 1955-1981, records JCG's activities at MIT as a teacher, researcher, and administrator. The series is arranged alphabetically. The MIT Computation Center was utilized by the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) Group in the MIT Meteorology Department to assist in the development of techniques to predict and understand large-scale atmospheric motions. Materials reflecting the meteorological problems researched by JGC and other NWP members include applications for computer usage, problem approval forms, problem abstracts, and progress reports from 1957 to 1962. A significant amount of correspondence filed in the Computation Center subseries is directed to and from Norman A. Phillips, Associate Professor and Professor of Meteorology from 1956 to 1974 and Head of the Meteorology Department from1970 to 1974. Phillips-related correspondence is scattered throughout the MIT Series and sporadically appears in other series, particularly Subject and Correspondence (box 14, folders 449). Materials filed in the Department of Meteorology section are generally a mixture of routine departmental correspondence, colloquia announcements, course schedules and memoranda. There is sparse documentation of JGC's tenure as Head of the Department of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography during the years 1974 to 1977 (box 17, folder 572). Among the grant projects documented from 1961 to 1978 in which JGC was the principal investigator are "Application of High-Speed Computers to Dynamical Meteorology and Oceanography," and "Theory of Large-Scale Atmospheric and Oceanic Processes." Materials representing his scientific and administrative participation include grant proposals, progress reports, budgets, and correspondence between JGC and NSF grant administrators. Courses taught by JGC are richly documented by course and lecture notes generated between 1959 and 1972. Additional materials relating to his teaching include student notes, papers, problem sets, and examinations (box 18). Series IV, Writing and Lectures, 1940-1981, consists mainly of articles written by JGC, and lectures he delivered to professional meetings. Some research data, photographs, and correspondence relating to his publications and presentations are included. Arranged chronologically. Throughout his career, JGC was a prolific and inventive researcher. His writings provide rich documentation of his great influence on the science of meteorology. Of particular interest is JGC's 1947 manuscript "Dynamics of long waves in a baroclinic westerly current." This paper contained the first description of the process of baroclinic instability and formed the foundation for all modern dynamical meteorology and the modern theory of the general circulation of the atmosphere (box 18, folders 640-641). Also of note are the 1967 and 1968 manuscript versions of his 1969 paper "The intertropical convergence zone and the Hadley circulation of the atmosphere." Included with the manuscripts are meteorological calculations, research notes, and test data (box 22, folders 781-782). Series V, Research, 1949-1977, is research files assembled by JGC consisting of notes, calculations, correspondence, manuscripts, reprints, and diagrams. Arranged alphabetically by topic or title. The material in this series has been kept to preserve a record of JGC's research methods. Most of the research materials, especially from his Princeton years, was maintained in folders in a filing cabinet. This material consisted primarily of calculation and notes. Later, JGC organized his research material by topics in green boxes (known as Princeton files). Older material from diverse projects was brought together as JGC typically gathered correspondence with colleagues, reprints by himself and others, computations, drafts of articles, and data. Manuscripts and correspondence about the new article was then filed with the older records. The majority of the undated research files are apparently associated with work undertaken by JGC at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies. Included are papers relating to JGC's collaboration with John von Neumann to solve meteorological equations by electronic computer (for example, see "Meteorological Noise, 1949," box 25, folder 1007). An insight into JGC's intellectual processes can be gathered from the papers associated with "Dynamics of deserts" (box 24, folders 926-927). While on sabbatical leave at the Weizmann Institute in Israel in 1973, JGC began to develop a dynamical theory of deserts. He suggested that the borders of some deserts could be shifted by human activity and the drought at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert (the Sahel) could have been caused by overgrazing. Material relating to his desert research includes reports, correspondence, simulation experiment data, manuscripts, lecture notes, and reprints by researchers other than JGC. His investigations led to numerous publications and lectures during the period 1973 to 1979 (see Writings and Lectures Series). "Dynamics of deserts," a Princeton file, contains all the materials JGC originally gathered including the reprints by himself and others. Most reprints not authored by JGC have been removed from "Hurricanes" (box 24, folders 981-988), and JGC's manuscript "The dynamics of a mature hurricane" has been removed and placed in the Writings and Lectures Series (box 21, folder 714). Two other files, "The intertropical convergence zone and the Hadley circulation of the atmosphere" (box 22, folders 781-782) and "Predictability of monsoons" (box 27, folders 1045-1946) have had the majority of unannotated reprints removed. Organization of CollectionOrganized into the following series: I. Personal; II. Correspondence and Subject Files; III. MIT-Related; IV. Writing and Lectures; V. Research. Arrangement of CollectionIn general, the papers are in their original folder units, and original folder headings have been retained whenever possible. The arrangement is alphabetical except where noted. Correspondence pertaining to related subjects may be located both in correspondence files and under relevant subject headings. Access to CollectionThere are restrictions on access to this collection. Researchers may request permission to use restricted materials. Consult the Institute Archivist for further information. Restrictions on Use of CollectionRequests for permission to publish material from the collection should be directed to the Institute Archivist. Provenance and Acquisition InformationThe papers were given to the Institute Archives in 1982 by Peter E. Charney and Nora K. Charney. Accession number: 83-25. Processing InformationThis collection was processed by Elizabeth Craig-McCormack in October 1984. Processing of the collection was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Education, Title II-C. During processing, the collection was reduced from 52 to 27.3 cubic feet of material. Appraisal NoteThe primary appraisal problems were posed by the (1) published literature and the (2) scientific data. (1) Published literature. JGC's library of monographs and journals was not accessioned, as these items fall outside the scope of the Institute Archives collecting policy. This material was given instead to the reading room of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. The collection included a large volume of reprints not authored by JGC. (JGC's reprints are retained in Series IV.) These reprints by other authors were retained if they were filed with active research materials; they are grouped by topics (see Series V). Isolated reprints were discarded, as they do not give a researcher the insight that is provided by those specifically associated with Charney's research. As researchers might profit, though, from knowing the topics on which Charney collected reprints, a list is included:
Several theses by MIT students whom JGC advised were also included in the collection. The theses were discarded, as they are available in the Institute Archives theses collection. For a list of theses supervised by JGC, see the bibliography section. (2) Scientific data. Included in the collection were raw scientific data including NCAR films and microfilm related to the 1967 NCAR Line Island Experiment (LIE) and computer printouts associated with specific articles and projects. In each case, JGC's colleagues and other knowledgeable members of the MIT faculty were called upon to identify the data and offer advice about the value of the data for ongoing scientific activity. The consultants determined that the data were not gathered by JGC but were acquired from NCAR, and were most likely used not by JGC but by one of his graduate students. These data were removed from the collection, as they are available from NCAR. Materials Separated from CollectionThe appraisal note describes the material that was removed. In addition, awards, citations, and photographs were removed from the collection and presented to the MIT Museum. The material described below has been removed from this collection and transferred to the MIT Museum. Certificates:
Various photographs including photos of ENIAC at the Institute for Advanced Study. Container List
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||