Finding Aid to the American Institute of Physics Center for History of Physics Laser History Project records, 1981-1989.

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.

Historical Note

From 1983 to 1990, the AIP Center for History of Physics participated in a project to study the history of lasers in the United States, jointly sponsored by the American Physical Society, the Laser Institute of America (which administered the project in its early years), the Optical Society of America, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The project, under the direction of Joan Bromberg, with work by Robert W. Seidel on military applications, located source materials, taped interviews with over fifty scientists, and surveyed 300 laser specialists. Tapes and survey responses were deposited in the Niels Bohr Library. A book by Bromberg, The Laser in America (MIT Press, 1991), and several scholarly articles were also products of the project.

Scope and Contents of Collection

Project records include correspondence, meeting materials, fundraising information, and miscellaneous papers documenting the administrative aspects of the project. Correspondence is primarily to and from Joan Bromberg and offers a comprehensive view of her work as project director. Topics include selection of participants, scheduling of interviews, transcription of oral histories, coordination of Advisory Committee activities, research, and selection of a publisher for The Laser in America. Among the correspondents are: staff of the Laser Institute of America, Robert W. Seidel, and Joan Warnow and Spencer Weart of the American Institute of Physics. The collection also includes agendas, minutes, memos, mailings and reports relating to the workings of the project’s Advisory Committee and the Laser History Council. Fundraising materials include grant proposals and drafts, correspondence, reports and documentation of awards. Miscellaneous papers include general administrative materials related to the project and the publishing of The Laser in America, and some information regarding the declassification of Department of Defense information relayed in some of the oral history interviews.

Organization and Arrangement of Collection

Organized into the following series:

• Series I. Correspondence
• Series II. Meetings
• Series III. Fundraising
• Series IV. Miscellaneous

Each series is arranged chronologically.

Access to Collection

Permission of an officer of depositing organization required for access to records less than 25 years old. http://www.aip.org/history/nbl/access.html.

Restrictions on Use of Collection

Provenance and Acquisition Information

Transferred to the archive by the American Institute of Physics, Office of the Director.

Processing Information

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

Preferred Citation of Collection

Box [number], Folder [number], American Institute of Physics Center for History of Physics Laser History Project records, 1981-1989. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, College Park, MD 20740, USA.

Container List

Series I: Correspondence
		Subseries A: Alphabetical file
Box 1	Folder 1		Correspondence – A, B, C, 1982
	Folder 2		Correspondence – D, E, F, 1982
	Folder 3		Correspondence – G, H, I, 1982
	Folder 4		Correspondence – J, K, L, 1982
	Folder 5		Correspondence – M, N, O, 1982
	Folder 6		Correspondence – P, Q, R, 1982
	Folder 7		Correspondence – S, T, U, 1982
	Folder 8		Correspondence – V, W, X, 1982
	Folder 9		Correspondence – Y, Z, 1982
	Folder 10		Correspondence – A, B, C, 1983
	Folder 11		Correspondence – AIP, 1983
	Folder 12		Correspondence – D, E, F, 1983
	Folder 13		Correspondence – G, H, I, 1983
	Folder 14		Correspondence – J, K, L, 1983
	Folder 15		Correspondence – M, N, O, 1983
	Folder 16		Correspondence – P, Q, R, 1983
	Folder 17		Correspondence – S, T, U, 1983
	Folder 18		Correspondence – V, W, X, 1983
	Folder 19		Correspondence – Y, Z and miscellaneous, 1983
	Folder 20		Correspondence – A, B, C, 1984
	Folder 21		Correspondence – AIP, 1984
	Folder 22		Correspondence – D, E, F, 1984
	Folder 23		Correspondence – G, H, I, 1984
	Folder 24		Correspondence – J, K, L, 1984
	Folder 25		Correspondence – Lee, Haynes, 1984
	Folder 26		Correspondence – Lee, Marge, 1984
	Folder 27		Correspondence – M, N, O, 1984
Box 1	Folder 28		Correspondence – P, Q, R, 1984
	Folder 29		Correspondence – S, T, U, 1984
	Folder 30		Correspondence – Seidel, Bob, 1984
	Folder 31		Correspondence – V, W, X, Y, Z, 1984
	Folder 32		Correspondence – A, B, C, 1985
	Folder 33		Correspondence – AIP, 1985
	Folder 34		Correspondence – D, E, F, 1985
	Folder 35		Correspondence – G, H, I, 1985
	Folder 36		Correspondence – J, K, L, 1985
	Folder 37		Correspondence – Lee (Haynes and Marge), 1985
	Folder 38		Correspondence – M, N, O, 1985
	Folder 39		Correspondence – P, Q, R, 1985
	Folder 40		Correspondence – S, T, U, 1985
	Folder 41		Correspondence – Seidel, Bob, 1985
	Folder 42		Correspondence – V, W, X, 1985
	Folder 43		Correspondence – Y, Z, 1985
	Folder 44		Correspondence – A, B, C, 1986
	Folder 45		Correspondence – AIP, 1986
	Folder 46		Correspondence – D, E, F, 1986
	Folder 47		Correspondence – G, H, I, 1986
	Folder 48		Correspondence – J, K, L, 1986
	Folder 49		Correspondence – Lee (Haynes and Marge), 1986
	Folder 50		Correspondence – M, N, O, 1986
	Folder 51		Correspondence – P, Q, R, 1986
	Folder 52		Correspondence – S, T, U, 1986
	Folder 53		Correspondence – V, W, X, Y, Z, 1986
	Folder 54		Correspondence – A, B, C, 1987
	Folder 55		Correspondence – AIP, 1987
Box 1	Folder 56		Correspondence – D, E, F, 1987
	Folder 57		Correspondence – G, H, I, 1987
	Folder 58		Correspondence – J, K, L, 1987
	Folder 59		Correspondence – Lee (Haynes and Marge), 1987
	Folder 60		Correspondence – M, N, O, 1987
	Folder 61		Correspondence – P, Q, R, 1987
	Folder 62		Correspondence – S, T, U, 1987
	Folder 63		Correspondence – V, W, X, Y, Z, 1987
	Folder 64		Correspondence – A, B, C, 1988
	Folder 65		Correspondence – AIP, 1988
	Folder 66		Correspondence – D, E, F, 1988
	Folder 67		Correspondence – G, H, I, 1988
	Folder 68		Correspondence – J, K, L, 1988
	Folder 69		Correspondence – Lee (Haynes and Marge), 1988
Box 2	Folder 1		Correspondence – M, N, O, 1988
	Folder 2		Correspondence – P, Q, R, 1988
	Folder 3		Correspondence – S, T, U, 1988
	Folder 4		Correspondence – V, W, X, Y, Z, 1988
		Subseries B: Subject file
	Folder 5		Correspondence – news and updates (1 of 4), 1981-1986; undated
	Folder 6		Correspondence – news and updates (2 of 4), 1981-1986; undated
	Folder 7		Correspondence – news and updates (3 of 4), 1981-1986; undated
	Folder 8		Correspondence – news and updates (4 of 4), 1981-1986; undated
	Folder 9		Correspondence – research affiliations, 1982-1988
	Folder 10		Correspondence – general, 1982-1989
	Folder 11		Correspondence – survey, 1983-1989
	Folder 12		Correspondence – repositories, 1983-1989
	Folder 13		Correspondence – project progress report, 1984-1985
	Folder 14		Correspondence – information on laser papers, 1984-1988
Box 2	Folder 15		Correspondence – fundraising, 1985-1986
	Folder 16		Correspondence – medical application of lasers, oral histories, 1985-1986
	Folder 17		Correspondence – libraries of deposit, 1986
	Folder 18		Correspondence – preservation survey, 1985-1986
	Folder 19		Correspondence – laser history catalog, 1986-1987
	Folder 20		Correspondence – permission requests, 1986-1988
	Folder 21		Correspondence – publishing, 1987-1988
	Folder 22		Correspondence – Bromberg, survey info, 1987-1989

Series II: Meetings
	Folder 23	Advisory Committee – first meeting, 1982
	Folder 24	Laser History Council meeting, November, 1983
	Folder 25	Laser History Council – recruiting, 1983
	Folder 26	Advisory Committee updates, 1983-1986
	Folder 27	Laser History Council meeting files, June, 1984
	Folder 28	Advisory Committee updates, 1984
	Folder 29	Advisory Committee meeting, June, 1984
	Folder 30	Advisory Committee and Laser History Council meeting, 1985
Box 3	Folder 1	Advisory Committee and Laser History Council meeting, April, 1985
	Folder 2	Advisory Committee meeting, November, 1985
	Folder 3	Advisory Committee meeting, 1986
	Folder 4	Advisory Committee meeting, May, 1986
	Folder 5	Laser History Council meetings, 1986-1987
	Folder 6	Advisory Committee meeting, April, 1987
	Folder 7	Advisory Committee meeting, November, 1988
	Folder 8	Advisory Committee meeting, June, 1989

Series III: Fundraising
	Folder 9	NSF grant – proposal #1, 1982
	Folder 10	NSF correspondence, 1982-1984
	Folder 11	NSF grant – proposal #2, 1983
	Folder 12	NSF grant – report for #2, 1984-1985
Box 3	Folder 13	NEH grant – proposal and correspondence, 1984-1988
	Folder 14	NSF grant – proposal #3, 1985
	Folder 15	Grant proposals, 1985
	Folder 16	Fundraising status, 1985
	Folder 17	NSF award, 1986
	Folder 18	Sloan Foundation grant, 1987-1989

Series IV: Miscellaneous
	Folder 19	Laser history project book draft, [undated]
	Folder 20	Survey subjects – list, [undated]
	Folder 21	Laser brochure – draft, [undated]
	Folder 22	Tax exemption file, 1981-1988
	Folder 23	Proposal to member societies, 1982
	Folder 24	Survey mailing, 1983
	Folder 25	AAAS symposium, 1985
	Folder 26	Bromberg’s institutional contacts, 1985; undated
	Folder 27	Preservation survey, 1985-1986
	Folder 28	Unpublished materials, 1985-1987
	Folder 29	Department of Defense – contracts and proposals, 1985-1988
	Folder 30	Department of Defense – declassification review, 1986-1987
	Folder 31	Publishing – editors, 1987
	Folder 32	Survey subject list – with Klein additions, 1987
	Folder 33	Survey – sample, 1987
	Folder 34	IEEE survey lists, 1987
	Folder 35	Publishing – suggestions for readers, 1988
	Folder 36	IEEE laser survey, 1988
	Folder 37	Laser history project – final report, 1988
	Folder 38	Survey – responses list, 1988
	Folder 39	Article – “The Birth of the Laser”, 1988
	Folder 40	Project presentation, 1988