Digitizing the Legacy of Women in Physics: Genesis Boykin and the Gloria Lubkin Papers
AIP recently received a $220,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to launch a major initiative documenting and celebrating women’s contributions to the physical sciences. This effort supports AIP’s 2025 research agenda, which emphasizes the importance of visual documentation in shaping our understanding of who practices science and the full lives science professionals lead. Through this initiative, AIP is actively expanding the archives, inviting scholars and donors to help capture the rich history of women in physics.
Genesis Boykin, an archival intern with the Niels Bohr Library & Archives (NBLA), plays a key role in this project. She recently worked on the Gloria Lubkin papers. Lubkin was a pioneering physicist and editor for Physics Today magazine, contributing to the field for numerous years and supporting the broader physics community through her editorial work. “My work involves processing the collection, assessing the documents, and creating a finding aid that makes them searchable,” Genesis explains. Day-to-day tasks included checking for sensitive information, putting folders in chronological order, and building a detailed inventory.
Through this process, Genesis discovered the remarkable scope of Lubkin’s work and life. “What surprised me most about Gloria Lubkin’s collection was her travel,” she says. “Seeing vintage plane tickets and postcards from countries like China, Japan, and the USSR and realizing she was present during major historical events was incredible.” She also noted the many women in physics who were historically not recognized, emphasizing the importance of preserving these stories for future scholars.
Passionate about archives and research, Genesis hopes to pursue a career in museum curation. “Supporting the preservation of the physical sciences is important,” she says. “A lot of these documents are handwritten or predate digital technology. Researchers can see and use materials that simply aren’t available online.” Her work ensures that the stories of women in physics are celebrated and accessible, expanding scholarship and understanding of the physical sciences in the 20th and 21st centuries.
