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These papers have been indexed in the
Elmer Hutchisson was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1902. He completed his B.S. degree at Case School of Applied Sciences in 1923, his M.S. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1924, and his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics at the University of Minnesota in 1926. He studied with Edwin Schrödinger at the University of Berlin, Germany in 1929-30. He was on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh from 1926 to 1944. From 1941 to 1944, he took a leave of absence from Pittsburgh to administer research on underwater warfare for the Office of Scientific Research and Development of the U.S. National Defense Research Committee. In 1944, he became dean of the faculty at Case Institute of Technology and in 1955, dean of the graduate school and director of the research division there. He served as acting president of Case from 1950 to 1952.
Hutchisson succeeded Henry Barton as director of the American Institute of Physics in 1957, but his association with AIP by no means began with that appointment. He had served as assistant director in 1936-37 while on a leave from the University of Pittsburgh. At that time, he also founded and became editor of the
Hutchisson was involved in a host of other professional activities, both before and while he was director, including vice-chairmanship of the Abstracting Board of the International Council of Scientific Unions and membership on the U.S. National Committee of UNESCO. Much of this activity is documented in the General Subject Files (Series X).
Hutchisson's publications include original research in physics, works on physics education, numerous reports, and editorials in the
Hutchisson retired as director of the AIP in October 1964, but continued to take an active interest in its activities. He corresponded frequently with AIP personnel and wrote
At the beginning of 1957, the American Institute of Physics was headquartered at 57 East 55th Street in New York City. Its officers were Henry H. Barton, director; Wallace Waterfall, executive secretary; Kathryn R. Bryans, publications manager, Alice Mastro, circulation manager; Eugene H. Kone, director of public relations; and Frederick Seitz, chairman of the Governing Board. The AIP published four Soviet translation journals that were funded by the National Science Foundation and eleven American journals for itself and its member societies. Elmer Hutchisson became director on July 1, 1957. The following is a list of events and changes that took place in each year of Hutchisson's tenure.
Much of the material in the collection is of a routine nature. It includes a large proportion of copies of correspondence and reports generated by others and sent to the director for his information. Other materials reflect Hutchisson's personal interest and involvement with the activities documented. Among the areas that most interested Hutchisson were science education, publication of scientific journals, and other aspects of scientific documentation. The materials in this collection will provide an especially rich resource in these areas. Also well documented is the funding of scientific and educational endeavors by the federal government. The grant seeking, receiving, and reporting activities were carried out at a heady pace during these years.
Hutchisson's tenure was a time of rapid growth for both physics and the AIP. The best means of describing the diversity of the Institute's activities is to look at the divisions of the Institute and the records that came to the director's office concerning each of them. The basic organization of the collection follows these divisions. The education, history, manpower statistics, publications, documentation research, and public relations activities of the Institute are each represented by one series. The other series are comprised of materials that relate to the organization of the AIP and the awards presented by it; the Institute of Electrical Engineers' publication Science Abstracts, in which the AIP participated; member societies; and unofficial material generated by Hutchisson before, during, and after his tenure, but which remained in the director's office files. In addition, a general subject file contains materials on the interaction of the AIP and its director with other institutions and individuals.
Use of primary source material in the Niels Bohr Library requires prior approval through an Application for Access, which includes a statement of research purpose and the names and addresses of two scholars as references. Access applications can be obtained by contacting the Library (telephone 301-209-3177; or e-mail nbl@aip.org). The application can also be printed from
No restrictions.
The collection was transferred to the Niels Bohr Library in
For further information about Hutchisson and the AIP, researchers may consult the Oral History Interview with Charles Weiner, October, 1970.
Materials relating to the directorship of Hutchisson's successors, Van Zandt Williams, Ralph Sawyer, and H. William Koch have been removed and form separate collections. Only duplicate copies and few other items which have been noted in the series descriptions have been removed.
Materials relating to the constitution, operations, organization, fund raising, personnel, and awards of the American Institute of Physics. During Hutchisson's tenure, the constitution and by- laws were changed to create the associate member society status and to eliminate personal membership in the AIP itself. A special committee was formed to study relations between the AIP and its member societies. This committee produced a report which is included. Another committee, the Property Committee, oversaw the expansion of the new headquarters and the construction of the Niels Bohr Library. A substantial amount of information on the awards presented by the AIP is found here as well as some information on recipients. Correspondence with individuals closely associated with the AIP also forms part of the series. Among these are Henry Barton, past director, and Wallace Waterfall, secretary of the AIP. In the folder on the dedication of the new headquarters building on 45th Street is material relating to Prince Philip's visit on that occasion.
Very little information on the activities of the Governing Board or the Executive Committee are found in this series. Most of what exists is minutes and routine correspondence concerning attendance and expenses.
The first folder in this series contains Hutchisson's history of the AIP, 1956-1966, which should be consulted for a brief but thorough outline of the programs and problems of the AIP during his tenure.
Hutchisson's files document his interest in the activities of the AIP Education Department and in the subject of science education in general. The history and activities of the Education Department are described in the finding aid to the Records of the Education and Manpower Division, 1957-73 (see the National Catalog of Sources for History of Physics) and in "The Story of the AIP, 1956-1966" by Elmer Hutchisson (Box 1, Series I, Folder 1 of this collection).
Among the projects documented here are the apparatus drawing project, the production of career booklets, programs to improve high school and college physics teaching, studies of the effectiveness of teaching physics via film and videotape, the visiting physicists programs, and student sections of AIP.
Annual reports of the three visiting scientists programs may be found in the AIP Education and Manpower Division Records, as can additional materials on the above topics.
Materials in this series relate to the first efforts of the AIP to document the history of physics, to the creation of the Niels Bohr Library, and to a proposed research institute for history of physics. Other files relate to the joint project of the American Physical Society and the American Philosophical Society to document the history of quantum physics; this project was funded by a NSF grant managed by the AIP. The correspondence in this series is particularly detailed and exhibits Hutchisson's interest in history of physics and in the projects.
The duties of this division have included placement; student draft deferments; the physics and astronomy section of the National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel; surveys of degrees, enrollments and placement; the Director of Academic Physics Departments; and a number of booklets and reports.
The primary activity of the AIP since its founding has been the publication of journals. The documentation of these activities in the Director's office files, though not extensive, reflects several important developments. First is the increase in the number of journals published by the AIP itself as distinct from those published for the member societies. These include the
Also in this series are materials Hutchisson collected prior to his appointment as director of the AIP as chair of the Board of Editors, as editor of the
The files also contain a small amount of material on member society journals, revision of the style manual, and advertising.
Not documented are the problems the AIP experienced with punch card machines designed to make subscription handling easier. These difficulties are discussed in Hutchisson's history of his tenure.
This series begins with correspondence from the files of Henry Barton concerning problems encountered in publishing scientific journals. The discussion of these problems led to the creation of the AIP Committee to Study Physics Publishing Problems, the minutes and correspondence of which are included. R.E. Maizell wrote many reports and memoranda to Hutchisson on a wide range of publishing-related matters such as copyright, abstracting, and available technologies. He also wrote the research proposal for the Documentation Research Project and directed it until 1961 when his assistant, Pauline Atherton, assumed principal responsibility. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Atomic Energy Commission. Correspondence with both of these bodies is included. As with most AIP projects, this one was overseen by an advisory committee; the minutes and correspondence of the committee are included. The project advisory committee superseded the Committee to Study Physics Publishing Problems. Some of the research reports generated by the project are to be found at the end of the series, as a brochure prepared in association with it.
The APS and the AIP contributed materially to the Institution of Electrical Engineers' (IEE publication
Routine correspondence and minutes of the APS/AIP committee and of the IEE Committee of Management of
Folders VII/9-12 document the in-depth evaluation of
The remaining folder (VII/13-19) contain Hutchisson's correspondence with W.K. Brasher and G.F. Gainsborough, secretaries of the IEE; B.M. Crowther, editor of
Members of the APS/AIP Committee at times included F.G. Brickwedde (chairman), D. Gray, C. Herring, E. Hutchisson, S.L. Quimby, Norman Ramsey and Hugh Wolfe.
This series documents the expansion of the AIP's public relations activities from simply providing press releases for member society meetings to a broad program that included television and radio spots, seminars for science writers, and a PR Newsletter. These activities were first proposed by Eugene Kone in 1957 and later elaborated upon by the public relations firm of Burson-Marsteller Associates, Inc. This firm also conducted an audit of the "opinion climate regarding physics and physicists."
The folders on the seminars for science writers contain proposals, correspondence with the NSF concerning grants, and reports on the seminars. Most of the expanded PR activities were funded by NSF grants.
The files maintained in the Director's office pertaining to member societies are few in number and reflect only a fraction of the activities of the societies and their importance in the AIP. The materials concerning the Acoustical Society of America, the Optical Society of America, and the Society of Rheology consist largely of copies of reports, incomplete runs of minutes, and some informational copies of correspondence. Very little of the material originated in the AIP Director's office.
The files pertaining to the American Association of Physics Teachers contain some substantive correspondence in addition to the usual informational copies, reports, and minutes. The Committee on Apparatus and the Commission on College Physics are represented among other AAPT committees. Additional AAPT activities are documented in Series II: Education. Series I: AIP International Organization and Awards contains information on the relationship of AIP to the member societies. See the National Catalog of Sources for History of Physics for more information on the records of member societies.
The General Subject File contains materials relating to organizations and activities outside the AIP. These include activities of the director that did not result directly from his position with the AIP but from his standing in the scientific community. Some examples are files on the Committee on Science in UNESCO, the Scientific Manpower Commission, and the President's Science Advisory Committee.
The files contain correspondence with individuals, industries, government agencies, and other institutions. Subjects discussed include educational and scientific legislation and funding, international cooperation on scientific matters, dissemination of scientific information, and scientific organizations.
Speeches, reprints, personal correspondence, and correspondence that documents some aspects of Hutchisson's involvement with the AIP before he became director. This correspondence concerns Hutchisson's membership on the AIP Board of Editors, his election to the Governing Board, and a fundraising campaign. These and other files contain both substantive and routine correspondence. Other files relating to specific activities such as editorship of
Printed materials concerning Case Institute of Technology Board of Trustees were discarded as were reprints of articles by others, newsletters, and magazines.