Scope and Content Note
The papers of Philip Hauge Abelson (1913-2004) span the years 1924-2002, with the bulk of the material dating from 1954 to 1989. Abelson was a nuclear physicist and chemist who codiscovered the element neptunium, invented the liquid thermal diffusion isotope separation technique critical in creating the large amount of nuclear fuel needed for building the first atomic bombs, and found a way to scale nuclear reactors to fit into, fuel, and power submarines. The collection, however, mainly documents Abelson's career from the late 1940s through the 1980s when he focused on administration, writing, and editing, serving the Carnegie Institution of Washington successively as chairman of the Biophysics Section, director of the Geophysical Laboratory, and president of the institution, and editing Science magazine. The collection consists of two parts. Further descriptions of each part follows.
Part I
Part I spans the years 1946-2002, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1970-1989. It is organized into the following four series: Committees and Organizations, Science Magazine, Speeches and Writings, and a Miscellany consisting of awards, biographical material, general correspondence, photographs, and printed material.
The Committees and Organizations series contains correspondence, financial records, grant proposals, minutes, publications, and reports relating to Abelson's participation in scientific professional organizations and advisory committees. Notable organizations include the American Geophysical Union, Bio-Energy Council, Carnegie Institution of Washington, International Union of Geological Sciences, Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, and the National Academy of Sciences.
The Science magazine series consists of texts of editorials written by Abelson during his tenure as editor of the chief publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. An index to the editorials is included. The correspondence primarily contains reactions of the general public and the scientific community to opinions voiced by Abelson in his editorials. As editor of this important publication, Abelson visited both foreign and domestic research laboratories. His notes and correspondence regarding these trips are included.
The Speeches and Writings series contains chiefly texts of speeches given by Abelson to educational institutions, private companies, and scientific organizations. Also included are articles written for publications other than Science and correspondence regarding two of Abelson's books.
Part II
Part II spans the years 1924-1984, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1954-1978. It is organized into the following four series: Carnegie Institution of Washington, Speeches and Writings, Notebooks and Reference Material, and Oversize.
The Carnegie Institution of Washington series was generated when Abelson directed its Geophysical Laboratory (1953-1971), and served as president of the Carnegie Institution (1971-1978). The series is arranged as received and includes correspondence, reports, topical files, project files, printed matter, writings, presentations, photographs, and miscellaneous material. In this original order, files are arranged alphabetically primarily by name of person or organization. In some instances organizations are filed by identifying acronyms.
The Speeches and Writings series includes Abelson's scientific papers, articles, editorials, speeches, presentations, and testimony and is arranged chronologically and thereunder alphabetically by title. The Notebooks and Reference Material series documents Abelson's postwar interest in biochemistry after an early career focused on the nuclear aspects of chemistry and physics. The Oversize item is a scrapbook containing appreciative letters received by Abelson when he retired from the editorship of Science in 1984.