Finding Aid to the American Geophysical Union records, 1919-2008

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 Geophysical Union (AGU) is an international non-profit scientific association with a mission to promote discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. AGU was established in 1919 by the National Research Council and for more than 50 years operated as an unincorporated affiliate of the National Academy of Science and served as the secretariat for the U.S. National Committee (USNC) and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). In 1972 AGU was independently incorporated and established its headquarters in Washington, DC. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the field of geophysics, including atmospheric and ocean sciences, solid-Earth sciences, hydrologic sciences, and space sciences. AGU's unique Washington, DC headquarters was completed in 1994, with structural and aesthetic elements that incorporate geophysics into the exterior and interior of the building.

AGU is divided into eleven sections: Atmospheric sciences, Biogeosciences, Geodesy, Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism, Hydrology, Ocean Sciences, Planetary Sciences, Seismology, Space Physics and Aeronomy, Tectonophysics, and Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology.

AGU also has twelve focus groups that organize research areas involving two or more sections: Atmospheric and Space Electricity, Cryosphere Sciences, Earth and Planetary Surface Processes, Earth and Space Science Informatics, Mineral and Rock Physics, Global Environmental Change, Natural Hazards, Near Surface Geophysics, Nonlinear Geophysics, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, Study of the Earth's Deep Interior, and Societal Impacts and Policy Sciences.

AGU holds an annual meeting in every December (known as the Fall meeting), which is the largest annual scientific conference in the world with more than 18,000 attendees in 2010. Until 2005 AGU also held a Spring meeting, and from 2005 until 2010 AGU co-hosted an annual joint assembly along with other societies such as the Geochemical Society, the Mineralogical Society of America, the Canadian Geophysical Union, and the European Geosciences Union. Small, highly focused meetings are offered through the AGU Chapman Conferences.

For more information on the history of AGU, please visit the AGU homepage or read the brochure AGU Celebrates 80 Years of Leadership, 1919-1999 which was written for the 80th anniversary of the founding of AGU and includes a timeline of AGU development and the issues faced in each decade.

[Portions of the historical note were copied or condensed from statements on the AGU website (www.agu.org) and from the Wikipedia entry for AGU (7-2012)].

Leadership timeline

Presidents:

• William Bowie (1920-1922)
• Louis A. Bauer (1922-1924)
• Harry F. Reid (1924-1926)
• Henry S. Washington (1926-1928)
• William Bowie (1929-1932)
• William J. Humphreys (1932-1935)
• Nicholas H. Heck (1935-1938)
• Richard M. Field (1938-1941)
• Walter C. Lowdermilk (1941-1944)
• Leason H. Adams (1944-1947)
• Oscar E. Meinzer (1947-1948)
• Walter H. Bucher (1948-1953)
• James B. Macelwane (1953-1956)
• William M. Ewing (1956-1959)
• Lloyd V. Berkner (1959-1961)
• Thomas F. Malone (1961-1964)
• George P. Woollard (1964-1966)
• William C. Ackermann (1966-1968)
• Helmut E. Landsberg (1968-1970)
• Homer E. Newell (1970-1972)
• Phillip H. Abelson (1972-1974)
• Frank Press (1974-1976)
• Arthur E. Maxwell (1976-1978)
• Allan V. Cox (1978-1980)
• John T. Wilson (1980-1982)
• James A. Van Allen (1982-1984)
• Charles L. Drake (1984-1986)
• Peter S. Eagleson (1986-1988)
• Don L. Anderson (1988-1990)
• G. Brent Dalrymple (1990-1992)
• Ralph J. Cicerone (1992-1994)
• Marcia Neugebauer (1994-1996)
• Sean C. Solomon (1996-1998)
• John A. Knauss (1998-2000)
• Marcia K. McNutt (2000-2002)
• Robert E. Dickenson (2002-2004)
• John A. Orcutt (2004-2006)
• Tim Killeen (2006-2008)
• Tim Grove (2008-2010)
• Mike McPhaden (2010-present)

Executive Directors:

• John A. Fleming
• Waldo E. Smith (1947-1970)
• A. Frederick Spilhaus (1970-2010)
• Christine McEntee (2010-present)

Scope and Contents of Collection

This collection documents the actions of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) from its founding in 1919 through 2008. The earlier files consist of Executive Committee, Council and Board meeting material and can be found in Series II, AGU "Early Files." However, the majority of the records of substance were generated by the office of Fred Spilhaus during his term as Executive Director of AGU from 1970 to 2009.

Each series in this collection contains a cross-section of administrative records, including correspondence, reports, meeting agendas, minutes and notes. Topics of the collection mirror the issues faced by the AGU at the time and include, among many others: the founding and incorporation of AGU, publishing matters such as page charges, electronic publishing and open access, and the AGU vs. Texaco copyright infringement lawsuit in the early 1990s, AGU membership and governance, the development of the AGU headquarters in Washington, DC, as well as AGU's first climate change position statement in 1998.

AGU is constantly adjusting to the rapid growth of the geophysical sciences, with the increasing role of geophysics in geology and in oceanic, atmospheric, and space science. This collection documents national and international research in geophysics and includes prominent developments of the late 20th century such as the success of the theory of plate tectonics, growing evidence of climate change, and the increasing attention to systematic interactions among various Earth systems.

Organization and Arrangement of Collection

This collection is organized into thirteen series, with corresponding subseries. Most series and subseries are arranged chronologically, with some exceptions arranged alphabetically then chronologically.

Series I: History of AGU

This series includes records of the origin and development of AGU, as well as historical files and publications created for the AGU 75th anniversary meetings and celebrations held in 1994.

Series II: AGU "Early Files"

This series contains a combination of Executive Committee, Council and Board meeting material and files. These files are photocopied from a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) collection of early AGU documentation from 1919 through the 1980s. This series was kept in the original arrangement of the NAS collection, which results in some overlap between this series and the rest of the collection.

Series III: AGU Governance

AGU is currently governed by the AGU Council, Board, and Executive Committee. The Council is responsible for developing the policies of AGU, while the Board has general authority for AGU affairs and is the representative for external relations. The Executive Committee is a subgroup of the Board and conducts the affairs of AGU when the Board is not in session. In this collection, the files of the Board can only be found in Series II, AGU "Early Files," where they document the meetings between 1920 and the early 1960s. At some point after that, the Board was reabsorbed by the Council and it was not reinstated until 2012. This series also documents the public policy and advocacy efforts of AGU, including creationism and climate change statements from the late 1990s.

• Subseries A: Statutes and By-laws
• Subseries B: AGU Council
• Subseries C: Executive Committee

Series IV: Committees

• Subseries A: Committees
• Subseries B: Committee leadership and elections

Series V: Executive Office

These files document the actions of the Executive Officers, including the Executive Director, President, Vice President, and Secretary. Most folders include combinations of correspondence, reports, and meeting notes. The Waldo Smith files mostly pertain to publishing matters during his term as Executive Director.

• Subseries A: Executive Director - Waldo Smith files
• Subseries B: Executive Director - Spilhaus correspondence
• Subseries C: Executive Director - Spilhaus files
• Subseries D: Other officers
• Subseries E: Strategic plan
• Subseries F: Management
• Subseries G: AGU leadership and officer elections
• Subseries H: Fundraising
• Subseries I: Headquarters relocation
• Subseries J: Information technology

Series VI: AGU conferences

• Subseries A: Chapman Conference
• Subseries B: Other conferences and exhibits

Series VII: Budget and finance

• Subseries A: Budget and Finance Committee
• Subseries B: Financial reports and projections
• Subseries C: Audit
• Subseries D: Miscellaneous financial documents

Series VIII: Membership

• Subseries A: Sections
• Subseries B: Regional branches
• Subseries C: General membership files

Series IX: Publishing

This series documents AGU's response to changes in the publishing industry from the 1970s to the 2000s, including adjustments in page charges, electronic publishing and open access to journals, and copyright issues such as the AGU vs. Texaco copyright infringement lawsuit.

• Subseries A: AGU publications
• Subseries B: Page charges and pricing
• Subseries C: Electronic publishing and open access
• Subseries D: Translations
• Subseries E: Copyright registrations
• Subseries F: Copyright infringement
• Subseries G: Transfer files
• Subseries H: Publishing affiliations
• Subseries I: Miscellaneous publishing files

Series X: Affiliated organizations

• Subseries A: American Geological Institute (AGI)
• Subseries B: American Institute of Physics (AIP)
• Subseries C: Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE)
• Subseries D: International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU)
• Subseries E: International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG)
• Subseries F: International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) General Assembly
• Subseries G: International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG)/U.S. National Committee (USNC)
• Subseries H: National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
• Subseries I: National Academy of Sciences (NAS)National Research Council (NRC)
• Subseries J: National Academy of Sciences (NAS)/U.S. National Committee (USNC)
• Subseries K: Renewable Natural Resources Foundation (RNRF)
• Subseries L: Other affiliations
• Subseries M: General affiliation files

Series XI: Awards and medals

• Subseries A: Awards and medals
• Subseries B: Award administration

Series XII: Grants

• Subseries A: AGU grants
• Subseries B: General grant files

Series XIII: Miscellaneous AGU files

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

The records were held at the headquarters of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) until they were transferred to the Niels Bohr Library & Archives in January 2011. AGU signed a deed of gift transferring ownership of the records to AIP on June 9, 2011.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Melanie J. Mueller and Chloe Raub in 2011-2012. Wherever possible, the original order of the records was retained. All records were placed in acid-free buffered folders and boxes. All original folder titles were retained, but were expanded in some instances to include a range of dates and a better indication of the contents of a folder. The records also include photocopies from a collection held at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington, DC. In order to retain their order and to preserve their relationship with the collection at the NAS, these photocopied items are separated into a series titled AGU "Early Files" (Series II) and not interfiled into the rest of the collection.

Preferred Citation of Collection

Box [number], Folder [number], American Geophysical Union records. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, College Park, MD 20740, USA.