The Emilio Segrè Visual Archives: Preserving the Personal Side of Physics
American Airlines public relations photograph showing the arrival of Emilio Segrè and his wife, October 6, 1954.
American Airlines Photo, courtesy of AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Segrè Collection
L-R: Hans Bethe visiting Emilio Segrè at his home.
AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Segrè Collection
(L-R): Chien-Shiung Wu, Emilio Segrè, and Tsung-Dao Lee having dinner at Asian restaurant.
AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Segrè Collection
Clyde Wiegand, Emilio Segrè, Herbert Steiner and Edwin McMillan at Nobel Prize press conference
AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Segrè Collection
This summer, AIP is celebrating the migration of the Emilio Segrè Visual Archives (ESVA) to a new digital repository. Named for Nobel Prize–winning physicist Emilio Segrè, the collection boasts over 30,000 historical photographs, with 25,000 of those images already available online. It features unique contributions from physicists, their families, and institutions, offering a rich visual history of the scientific community.
At the heart of ESVA is the Segrè Collection. A passionate photographer from the age of ten, Segrè documented much of his personal and professional life. As a leading physicist of the 20th century, his photographs provide rare, behind-the-scenes glimpses of key figures and pivotal moments in the history of physics.
Hosted by AIP’s Niels Bohr Library & Archives, the collection was established in 1989 shortly after Segrè’s death. Segrè, a nuclear and particle physicist who discovered the elements technetium and astatine, as well as the antiproton, was not only an accomplished scientist but also an avid photographer and historian of modern physics.
His images remind us that behind every scientific breakthrough are people with personal stories. Before they won awards, physicists were students. Before they led conferences, they sat in the audience. Photographs capture these human dimensions—moments shaped by mentors, collaborations, and quiet curiosity.
Spanning from the 1800s to the present day, the holdings include a wide array of formats such as Kodak stereo slides, Polaroids, negatives, lithographs, engravings, illustrations, and more. Thanks to ongoing donations from the physics community and an endowment from Segrè’s wife, Rosa Segrè, the collection continues to grow—preserving the personal side of physics for generations to come.
