Finding Aid to the Nancy Grace Roman Addition to Papers, 1934-2006

Selected Search Terms

These 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.

Biographical note

Nancy Grace Roman was born in Nashville, Tennessee on May 16, 1925. She received her B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1946 and her Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1949.

After receiving her Ph.D., Nancy Grace Roman remained at the University of Chicago as a research associate, and later, as an assistant professor. In 1955 she took a position as an astronomer with the Radio Astronomy Branch of the Naval Research Laboratory. She was the head of the Microwave Spectroscopy Section when, in 1959, she left NRL to become the head of the observational astronomical program at NASA. Dr. Roman remained at NASA, serving as Chief of the Astronomy and Relativity Programs in the Office of Space Sciences from 1960, until her retirement in 1979.

The high-ranking position Nancy Grace Roman held, at a time when it was unusual for women to have such responsibility, is a strong indication of her knowledge and abilities. Because of her achievements in a field dominated by men, Dr. Roman has become a role model for young women.

Scope and Contents of Collection

This addition to the papers of Nancy Grace Roman include correspondence about her career, and correspondence relating to her work with the American Institute of Physics. The bulk of the correspondence is comprised of annual Christmas letters to her friends and family. These letters provide a review of Roman's activities from the previous year, her travel and research projects, and her thoughts on the passing year.

Also included in this collection are the following: Roman's notebooks containing research notes and data from her astronomical observations; course materials from her years at the University of Chicago; reprints of articles and NASA reports authored by Roman; personal accounting books from her days at Swarthmore College; engagement books and calendars; and materials from her childhood, including photographs, early essays, poetry, artwork, and arithmetic assignments.

Organization and Arrangement of Collection

Organized into the following series:

• I. Correspondence
• II. Notebooks
• III. Lecture notes
• IV. Reprints and articles
• V. Personal materials

This collection is arranged chronologically within each series.

Access to Collection

Open to approved researchers without restrictions. 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 our website.

Restrictions on Use of Collection

The scholar pledges not to quote from, cite, or reproduce by any means this material except with the written permission of the Institute.

Provenance and Acquisition Information

Donated to the Niels Bohr Library and Archives inApril and August 2006.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Melanie J. Brown in January 2007.

Preferred Citation of Collection

Cite as: Box [number], Folder [number], Nancy Grace Roman addition to papers, 1934-2006. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library, College Park, MD 20740, USA.

Other Related Materials

Nancy Grace Roman papers, 1931-1993 (bulk 1950-1980)

Materials Separated from Collection

The following books were included in the original donation, and have been removed to the public books stacks of the Niels Bohr Library:

• Challenge of the Universe (Hynek and Anderson), 1962
• Astrophysics and Space Science, Volume 267, Nos. 1-4 (ed. Dyson and Lamb), 1999
• She Does Math! Real Life Problems from Women on the Job (ed. Marla Parker), 1995
• Les Spectres de Astres dans L'ultraviolet Lointain - Les Congrs et Colloques de L'universit de Lige, Volume 20, 1960
• International Astronomical Union, International Scientific Radio Union - Paris Symposium on Radio Astronomy (ed. Ronald Bracewell), 1958
• Astronomy in Space (Newell, Smith, Roman, and Mueller) - NASA Scientific and Technival Publications, 1967
• International Astronomical Union - Symposium no. IV - Radio Astronomy (ed. H.C. Van de Hulst), 1957
• Radio Astronomy (by Bernard Lovell and J.A. Clegg), 1952
• Radio Astronomy (by J.L. Pawsey and R.N. Bracewell) - part of International Monographs on Radio - 1955
• Wanderers in the Sky: The Motions of Planets and Space Probes - part of Macmillan's Sky and Telescope Library of Astronomy (ed. By Thornton Page and Lou Williams Page), 1965
• Principles of Stellar Dynamics (S. Chandrasekhar), 1942
• Astronomy (Robert H. Baker), 1938
• Statistical Astronomy (Robert J. Trumpler and Harold F. Weaver), 1953
• Spectra of Long-Period Variable Stars (Paul W. Merrill), 1940
• Stellar Evolution: proceedings of an international conference, 1963, sponsored by the Institute for Space Studies of the Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (ed. R.F. Stein and A.G.W. Cameron), 1966
• An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure (S. Chandrasekhar), 1939
• Seeing Stars (W.B. White), 1935
• Handbook of the Heavens (ed. Hubert J. Bernhard, Dorothy A. Bennett, Hugh S. Rice, foreword by Harlow Shapley), 1935
• International Astronomical Union, Colloquium No. 7 - Proper Motions (ed. W.J. Luyten), 1970
• The Nature of Light and Color in the Open Air (M. Minnaert), 1954

Container List

Series I: Correspondence
Box 1	Folder 1	Family correspondence, 1941-1976; undated
	Folder 2	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1942
	Folder 3	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1942-1949
	Folder 4	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1943
	Folder 5	Correspondence, 1945-2006
	Folder 6	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1949
	Folder 7	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1950-1951
	Folder 8	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1951
	Folder 9	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1952-1954
	Folder 10	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1952-1953
	Folder 11	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1954-1958
	Folder 12	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1954
	Folder 13	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1955
	Folder 14	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1955
	Folder 15	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1956-1967
	Folder 16	Correspondence from Nancy Grace Roman to parents, 1961-1966
	Folder 17	Christmas letters, 1962-2005

Series II: Notebooks
Box 1	Folder 18	Photometry notes, undated
	Folder 19	Observation logbook, 1948-1950
	Folder 20	Observation logbook, 1951
	Folder 21	Observation logbook, titled "Photometry", 1951
	Folder 22	Observation logbook, 1952-1953
	Folder 23	Observation logbook, 1953-1955

Series III: Lecture notes
Box 1	Folder 24	Lecture notes and course materials, University of Chicago, 1952; undated

Series IV: Publications
Box 1	Folder 25	NASA publications, undated
Box 2	Folder 1	Articles authored by Nancy Grace Roman, undated
	Folder 2	"Sky and Telescope" magazine , 1948
	Folder 3	"Sky and Telescope" magazine, 1951
	Folder 4	Articles authored by Nancy Grace Roman, 1955-1969
	Folder 5	Articles authored by Nancy Grace Roman, 1970-1999
	Folder 6	NASA Final Report - Life cycle cost comparison of four space technologies for crustal motion measurement, 1984
	Folder 7	Report of the Space Telescope Science Program Implementation Committee, 1985
	Folder 8	NASA Technical Report - Aspect determination for AXAF, 1985

Series V: Personal materials
Box 2	Folder 9	Photographs, undated
	Folder 10	Childhood poetry, artwork and schoolwork, 1934-1935
Box 3	Folder 1	Personal accounting logbook, 1942-1948
	Folder 2	Personal accounting logbook, 1960-1976
	Folder 3	Engagement books and calendars, 1964-1994
	Folder 4	Swarthmore reunion materials - class of 1946, 1971-2001
	Folder 5	Engagement books and calendars, 1997-2005