Finding Aid to the Papers of Robert Jemison Van de Graaff, 1928-1948Sponsor: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 February 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. Reviewed by Elizabeth Andrews and Ewa Basinska, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on August 18, 2000 . 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:Papers of Robert Jemison Van de Graaff, 1928-1948 Papers/Records created by:Van de Graaff, Robert Jemison, 1901-1967 Size of collection:2 records cartons Short description of collection:The collection documents the career of Robert Jemison Van de Graaff, known for developing high-voltage electrostatic generators used for nuclear structure research, cancer therapy, and radiographic studies. Materials include correspondence, reports, contracts, drawings, and technical notes for major projects Van de Graaff worked on during his tenure at MIT, including projects for the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development, as well as materials relating to the courses he taught in the MIT Department of Physics. 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 Robert Jemison Van de GraaffRobert Jemison Van de Graaff, 1901-1967, B.S. 1922, M.S. 1923, University of Alabama, B.Sc. 1926 and Ph.D. 1928, Oxford University, joined the MIT Department of Physics as a research associate in 1931. He became an associate professor in 1934, and retired in 1960 as professor emeritus. During World War II Van de Graaff was appointed the director of the MIT High Voltage Radiographic Project, sponsored by the Office of Scientific Research and Development. After his graduate studies at the University of Alabama, Van de Graaff worked as a research assistant for the Alabama Power Company. Between 1924 and 1929 he studied in Europe, first at the Sorbonne (1924-1925), and later on at Oxford University. During that period he became interested in designing a source of energetic particle beams for the study of atomic nuclei. His first working model of the high-voltage electrostatic generator was built in 1929, when Van de Graaff was a National Research Fellow at the Princeton University's Palmer Physics Laboratory. The invention was reported at a meeting of the American Physical Society in 1931, and patented in 1935. In collaboration with John G. Trump and William W. Buechner, both of MIT, Van de Graaff continued working on his generator in an effort to achieve higher voltages, more homogeneous particle beams, and more compact designs. In 1946, together with Trump and Denis M. Robinson, a professor of engineering from England, Van de Graaff founded the High Voltage Engineering Corporation, where he served as a chief physicist (later chief scientist) until his death in 1967. The company began its manufacturing operations in 1947 becoming a leading supplier of the particle accelerator systems used in cancer therapy, radiography, and studies of nuclear structure. Van de Graaff published many scientific papers and received numerous patents, including those of the high-voltage electrostatic generator and the insulating-core transformer. His work on electrostatic generators was widely recognized within the scientific community. Van de Graaff received several honorary degrees and awards, including the 1947 Duddel Memorial Medal of the Physical Society of Great Britain and the 1966 Tom W. Bonner prize of the American Physical Society. In 1935 he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Scope and Contents of CollectionThe Robert Van de Graaff collection consists for the most part of papers which reflect his tenure at MIT from 1931- 1946. The earliest papers are Van de Graaff's reprints from 1928, but the collection does not document his work at Oxford University or at Princeton, under Karl T. Compton during the 1920's and early 1930's. The bulk of the collection falls between 1943 and 1946, although there are some earlier notes from the MIT Department of Physics (box 2, folders 143-151). Of great significance are the sections of the collection which contain correspondence, drawings, and reports on the MIT generator at Round Hill (box 2, folders 167-168), the early development of generators of higher voltage than 5 MV (boxes 1-2, folders 131-140), and the projects directed by Van de Graaff for the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development (box 2, folders 169-174) and the U. S. Navy (box 2, folder 177) during World War II. Series I. Correspondence, 1932-1948. Arranged alphabetically. This series includes correspondence, chiefly with physicists, engineers, government officials, and manufacturers. Of particular interest are the letters between Van de Graaff and the British Central Scientific Office (box 1, folder 18), the Vannevar Bush letters (box 1, folder 24), and the Karl T. Compton letters and memoranda (box 1, folder 36). Series II. Subject File, 1928-1946. Arranged alphabetically by project. This series consists of the records of major projects Van de Graaff worked on during his tenure at MIT. Included are correspondence as well as lecture and technical notes, photographs, drawings, patents, and reports. Van de Graaff supervised the construction of the 5 MeV electrostatic generator at Round Hill for MIT Project notes and drawings are included (box 2, folders 167-168). He was also director of the High Voltage Radiographic Project for the National Defense Research Committee of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II, and relevant correspondence with G. E. Beggs and G. Failla, as well as technical notes, agreements, and contracts are included (box 3, folders 169-174). Organization of CollectionOrganized into the following series: I. Correspondence, 1932-1948; II. Subject File, 1928-1946 Arrangement of CollectionThe Correspondence series is arranged alphabetically. The Subject File series is arranged alphabetically by project. Access to CollectionThere are no restrictions on access to this collection. Restrictions on Use of CollectionRequests for permission to publish material from the collection should be directed to the Institute Archivist. Provenance and Acquisition InformationAccession number: 82-98 The papers were given to the Institute Archives in 1981 by Harald Enge of the Department of Physics. Processing InformationThis collection was processed by Page Edwards and Don Clayton in June 1982, and edited by Elizabeth Andrews and Ewa Basinska in August 2000. Container List
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