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Finding Aid to the American Institute of Physics Physics Resources Center records of James Stith, 1987-2009

Publisher:

American Institute of Physics Niels Bohr Library & Archives
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD 20740
USA
nbl@aip.org

2010

Encoding Information:

Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Melanie J. Brown in 2010. Any revisions made to this finding aid occurred as part of the editing and encoding process.

Finding aid is written in English.

Description of the Collection

Repository:

American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives.

Title and dates of collection:

American Institute of Physics Physics Resources Center records of James Stith, 1987-2009

Papers created by:

American Institute of Physics. Physics Resources Center.

Size of collection:

2.5 linear feet
2 records boxes, 1 half manuscript box

Short description of collection:

This collection contains the records of James Stith, created during his tenure as Vice President of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Physics Resource Center (PRC).

Language(s) of material:

English

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

The American Institute of Physics (AIP) is a non-profit membership corporation created to promote the knowledge of physics and its application to human welfare. It is the mission of AIP to serve the sciences of physics and astronomy by serving its member societies, by serving individual scientists, and by serving students and the general public.

The AIP Physics Resources Center (PRC) provides the public and the scientific community with resources that advance physics as a discipline and a profession through: publishing up-to-date information on federal science policy and funding; supplying authoritative science news for print, radio and TV, and supporting science journalism; preserving and making known the history of modern physics and allied fields through the Niels Bohr Library and Archives, Emilio Segre Photo Archives, and a variety of publications and award-winning web exhibits; collaborating with government-funded projects to support science teachers and students, and providing leadership for support of physics undergraduate students; publishing reports on education and employment trends in physics and offers professional services in data collection and analysis; and fostering the industrial physics community with a variety of programs and an annual conference.

Dr. James Stith was the Vice President of PRC 1998 until 2008. He directed AIP's Magazine Division, the Media and Government Relations Division, the Education Division, the Center for the History of Physics, the Statistical Research Division and the Careers Division.

Stith received his M.S. in physics from Virginia State Universisty and earned his Ph.D. in physics from The Pennsylvania State University. A physics education researcher, his primary interests are in program evaluation, and teacher preparation and enhancement. Throughout his career, he has been an advocate for programs that ensure ethnic and gender diversity in the sciences.

Dr. Stith was a professor of physics at The Ohio State University and spent 21 years on the faculty of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has also been a visiting associate professor at the United Air Force Academy, a visiting scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a visiting scientist at the University of Washington, and an associate engineer at the Radio Cooperation of America. He is a past president of both the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the National Society of Black Physicists, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, the National Society of Black Physicists, and a member of the Ohio Academy of Science. In 2004 he was named one of “50 Most Important Blacks in Research Science" by the magazines Science Spectrum and US Black Engineer & Information Technology. Additionally, he serves on a number of national and international advisory boards and has been awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters by his alma mater, Virginia State University. In October 2005, he was named an Alumni Fellow, the highest honor given by the Pennsylvania State University Alumni Association.

[Biographical information for James Stith condensed in part from his biographical information on the AIP website - http://www.aip.org/aip/stith.html, 11/16/2010]

Scope and Contents of Collection

This collection documents the work of James Stith, during his tenure as Vice President of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Physics Resource Center (PRC). The records mostly document Stith's involvement with various committees, workshops and other groups, on topics such as physics education, minorities in the sciences, as well as his involvement with assorted AIP committees and groups. The collection also contains a small amount of correspondence and a small subject file kept by Stith.

Organization and Arrangement of Collection

This collection is organized into three series:

  • Series I: Correspondence
  • Series II: Subject files
  • Series III: Meetings, conferences and workshops

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.

Provenance and Acquisition Information

Received from the office of James Stith, 2009.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Melanie J. Brown in 2010.

Preferred Citation of Collection

Box [number], Folder [number], American Institute of Physics Physics Resources Center records of James Stith. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, College Park, MD 20740, USA.

Container List

Series I: Correspondence
Box 1 Folder 1 Correspondence, 1987-1998
Folder 2 Correspondence, 1999-2002
Folder 3 Correspondence, 2000-2007
 
Series II: Subject files
Box 1 Folder 4 Subject file - American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and American Physical Society (APS) minority membership reports, 1987
Folder 5 Subject file - Physics Today readership survey report, 1991
Folder 6 Subject file - Center for Physics Education (CPE), 1991-1995
Folder 7 Subject file - Physics and the arts, 1997
Folder 8 Subject file - American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 1997-1998
Folder 9 Subject file - Packard Foundation, 1998-2002
Folder 10 Subject file - West Point project, 1999-2000
 
Series III: Meetings, conferences and workshops
Box 1 Folder 11 American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Standards Working Group - meetings and notes, 1993-1996
Folder 12 Project Kaleidescope workshop, 1995
Folder 13 Project Kaleidescope workshop, 1997
Folder 14 New faculty workshop - slides and presentation notes, 1998
Folder 15 National Science Foundation (NSF) - Visiting Committee - Physics Education Group, University of Washington, 1998
Folder 16 Project Kaleidescope workshop - correspondence, meeting material, 1998-2002
Folder 17 American Institute of Physics (AIP) Governing Board meeting - presentation slides, media outreach, 1999
Folder 18 Committee for Public Understanding on Science and Technology, 1999
Folder 19 Commission on Professionalism in Science and Technology (CPST) - meeting material, correspondence, 1999-2003
Box 2 Folder 1 National Research Council meeting, March 2000
Folder 2 Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education - Board of Directors meeting, 2001
Folder 3 Standards-Based Teacher Education Project - mid-year report, 2001
Folder 4 International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) - U.S. Liaison Committee (USLC) - meeting material, 2001
Folder 5 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - Office of Space Science and Professional Minority Organization - meeting material, 2001
Folder 6 Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory - conference on the role of research in the natural sciences at undergraduate institutions - meeting material, 2001
Folder 7 Industrial Physics Forum - presentation, 2001
Folder 8 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) - Science Advisory Panel meeting, 2001
Folder 9 Society of Physics Students - National Council - meeting material, 2002
Folder 10 American Institute of Physics (AIP) Liaison Committee on Physics Education, 2002
Folder 11 American Institute of Physics (AIP) Governing Board meeting - Publishing Center three year plan (2004-2006), 2003
Folder 12 Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) - Diversity Institute - meeting material, 2004
Folder 13 Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) - project review meeting material, 2005
Folder 14 Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) - National Advisory Board - meeting material (1 of 2), 2005
Folder 15 Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) - National Advisory Board - meeting material (2 of 2), 2005
Folder 16 Engaging Higher Education for Diversity in Leadership: Conversations and Collaborations - meeting material, 2005
Folder 17 American Institute of Physics (AIP) Governing Board meeting - Publishing Center three year plan (2008-2010), 2007
Folder 18 American Institute of Physics (AIP) Liaison Committee on Underrepresented Minorities (LCURM) - meeting material, 2007
Folder 19 Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) - Advisory Committee - meeting material, 2007
Folder 20 Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling - Advisory Council - meeting material, 2007
Folder 21 Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) meeting, 2008
Folder 22 American Institute of Physics (AIP) Physics Resource Center (PRC) Policy Committee - meeting material, 2008
Box 3 Folder 1 Re-envisioning the PhD - meeting material, 2000
Folder 2 American Institute of Physics (AIP) Physics Resource Center (PRC) Advisory Committee - meeting material (1 of 2), 2008
Folder 3 American Institute of Physics (AIP) Physics Resource Center (PRC) Advisory Committee - meeting material (2 of 2), 2008
Folder 4 Physics Today - Advisory Committee - meeting material, 2008
Folder 5 American Institute of Physics (AIP) Congressional Science Fellowships - meeting, interviews, 2008-2009