Interview with Jesses L. Greenstein
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The Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry
THE BECKMAN CENTER FOR THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY GERHARD HERZBERG Transcript of an Interview Conducted by M. Christine King at The National Research Council of Canada on 5 May 1986 This interview has been designated as Free Access. One may view, quote from, cite, or reproduce the oral history with the permission of CHF. Please note: Users citing this interview for purposes of publication are obliged under the terms of the Chemical Heritage Foundation Oral History Program to credit CHF using the format below: Gerhard Herzberg, interview by M. Christine King at The National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 5 May 1986 (Philadelphia: Chemical Heritage Foundation, Oral History Transcript # 0023). Chemical Heritage Foundation Oral History Program 315 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; encourages research in CHF collections; and carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society. GERHARD HERZBERG 1904 Born in Hamburg, Germany on 25 December Education 1928 Dr. Ing., Darmstadt Technische Universität Professional Experience 1928-1929 Post-doctoral -
2016-2017 Year Book Www
1 2016-2017 YEAR BOOK WWW. C A R N E G I E S C I E N C E . E D U Department of Embryology 3520 San Martin Dr. / Baltimore, MD 21218 410.246.3001 Geophysical Laboratory 5251 Broad Branch Rd., N.W. / Washington, DC 20015-1305 202.478.8900 Department of Global Ecology 260 Panama St. / Stanford, CA 94305-4101 650.462.1047 The Carnegie Observatories 813 Santa Barbara St. / Pasadena, CA 91101-1292 626.577.1122 Las Campanas Observatory Casilla 601 / La Serena, Chile Department of Plant Biology 260 Panama St. / Stanford, CA 94305-4101 650.325.1521 Department of Terrestrial Magnetism 5241 Broad Branch Rd., N.W. / Washington, DC 20015-1305 202.478.8820 Office of Administration 1530 P St., N.W. / Washington, DC 20005-1910 202.387.6400 2 0 1 6 - 2 0 1 7 Y E A R B O O K The President’s Report July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2017 C A R N E G I E I N S T I T U T I O N F O R S C I E N C E Former Presidents Daniel C. Gilman, 1902–1904 Robert S. Woodward, 1904–1920 John C. Merriam, 1921–1938 Vannevar Bush, 1939–1955 Caryl P. Haskins, 1956–1971 Philip H. Abelson, 1971–1978 James D. Ebert, 1978–1987 Edward E. David, Jr. (Acting President, 1987–1988) Maxine F. Singer, 1988–2002 Michael E. Gellert (Acting President, Jan.–April 2003) Richard A. Meserve, 2003–2014 Former Trustees Philip H. Abelson, 1978–2004 Patrick E. -
Prehistory of Transit Searches Danielle BRIOT1 & Jean
Prehistory of Transit Searches Danielle BRIOT1 & Jean SCHNEIDER2 1) GEPI, UMR 8111, Observatoire de Paris, 61 avenue de l’Observatoire, F- 75014, Paris, France [email protected] 2) LUTh, UMR 8102, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-92195 Meudon Cedex, France [email protected] Abstract Nowadays the more powerful method to detect extrasolar planets is the transit method, that is to say observations of the stellar luminosity regularly decreasing when the planet is transiting the star. We review the planet transits which were anticipated, searched, and the first ones which were observed all through history. Indeed transits of planets in front of their star were first investigated and studied in the solar system, concerning the star Sun. The first observations of sunspots were sometimes mistaken for transits of unknown planets. The first scientific observation and study of a transit in the solar system was the observation of Mercury transit by Pierre Gassendi in 1631. Because observations of Venus transits could give a way to determine the distance Sun-Earth, transits of Venus were overwhelmingly observed. Some objects which actually do not exist were searched by their hypothetical transits on the Sun, as some examples a Venus satellite and an infra-mercurial planet. We evoke the possibly first use of the hypothesis of an exoplanet transit to explain some periodic variations of the luminosity of a star, namely the star Algol, during the eighteen century. Then we review the predictions of detection of exoplanets by their transits, those predictions being sometimes ancient, and made by astronomers as well as popular science writers. -
Ira Sprague Bowen Papers, 1940-1973
http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf2p300278 No online items Inventory of the Ira Sprague Bowen Papers, 1940-1973 Processed by Ronald S. Brashear; machine-readable finding aid created by Gabriela A. Montoya Manuscripts Department The Huntington Library 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2203 Fax: (626) 449-5720 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=554 © 1998 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington Collection Inventory of the Ira Sprague 1 Bowen Papers, 1940-1973 Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington Collection Inventory of the Ira Sprague Bowen Paper, 1940-1973 The Huntington Library San Marino, California Contact Information Manuscripts Department The Huntington Library 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2203 Fax: (626) 449-5720 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=554 Processed by: Ronald S. Brashear Encoded by: Gabriela A. Montoya © 1998 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: Ira Sprague Bowen Papers, Date (inclusive): 1940-1973 Creator: Bowen, Ira Sprague Extent: Approximately 29,000 pieces in 88 boxes Repository: The Huntington Library San Marino, California 91108 Language: English. Provenance Placed on permanent deposit in the Huntington Library by the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington Collection. This was done in 1989 as part of a letter of agreement (dated November 5, 1987) between the Huntington and the Carnegie Observatories. The papers have yet to be officially accessioned. Cataloging of the papers was completed in 1989 prior to their transfer to the Huntington. -
New 78 Covers
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ROBERT SANDERSON MULLIKEN 1896–1986 A Biographical Memoir by R. STEPHEN BERRY Biographical Memoirs, VOLUME 78 PUBLISHED 2000 BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C. Photo credit: Photo by Harris & Ewing, Washington, D.C. ROBERT SANDERSON MULLIKEN June 7, 1896-October 31, 1986 BY R. STEPHEN BERRY OBERT S. MULLIKEN WAS a quiet, soft-spoken man, yet so R single-minded and determined in his devotion to under- standing molecules that he came to be called “Mr. Molecule.” If any single person’s ideas and teachings dominated the development of our understanding of molecular structure and spectra, it surely was Robert Mulliken. From the begin- ning of his career as an independent scientist in the mid- 1920s until he published his last scientific papers in the early 1980s, he guided an entire field through his penetrat- ing solutions of outstanding puzzles, his identification (or discovery) and analysis of the new major problems ripe for study, and his creation of a school—the Laboratory of Molecular Structure and Spectroscopy or LMSS at the University of Chicago, during its existence the most impor- tant center in the world for the study of molecules. Robert’s background led him naturally into academic sci- ence. He was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, in a house built by his great-grandfather in about 1798. His father, Samuel Parsons Mulliken, was a professor of chemistry at MIT, which made him a daily commuter between Newburyport and Boston. Samuel Mulliken and his child- hood friend and later MIT colleague Arthur A. Noyes were 3 4 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS strong influences stirring Robert’s interests in science. -
Messenger Extreme Exploration
MESSENGERMESSENGER EEXTREMEXTREME EEXPLORATIONXPLORATION — Deborah Domingue, MESSENGER Deputy Project Scientist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory The first half of 2004 has been an exciting time for planetary exploration with the successful encounter and sampling of Comet Wild 2 by Stardust, the landing of two Mars rovers, orbital operations at Mars by three spacecraft, and the arrival of Cassini at Saturn. This month we wished “Bon Voyage” to the MESSENGER spacecraft, which successfully launched from Cape Canaveral on August 3, 2004, and began its journey to the innermost planet of our solar system, Mercury. MESSENGER is a MEcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging mission that will orbit Mercury for one Earth year (beginning in March 2011) following three flybys (in January and Septem- ber 2008 and October 2009) of the planet. It will be our first return to Mercury in over 30 years! The Mariner 10 spacecraft flew past Mer- cury three times in 1974 and 1975 and collected information on less than half the planet. MESSENGER will provide the first global map of Mercury, in addition to detailed information on the composition and structure of Mercury’s crust, its geologic history, the nature of Mercury’s thin exosphere and dynamic magnetosphere, and the makeup of its core and polar materials. MERCURY:A PLACE OF EXTREMES Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, has a highly elliptical orbit such that its distance from the Sun ranges from 46 million kilometers (29 million miles) to 70 million kilometers (43 million miles). Because of its slow rotation, Mercury’s day (sunrise to sunrise) actually lasts two Mercury years (88 Earth days of dark and 88 Earth days of daylight). -
Table of Contents
AAS Newsletter September/October 2012, Issue 166 - Published for the Members of the American Astronomical Society Table of Contents 2 President’s Column 17 Committee on the Status of Women in 4 From the Executive Office Astronomy 5 What Makes an Astronomy Story 18 News from NSF Division of Astronomical Newsworthy? Sciences (AST) 6 Journals Update 20 JWST Update 9 Secretary's Corner 21 HAD News 9 Council Actions 21 Honored Elsewhere 10 The AAS Heeds the Call of the Wild 22 Announcements 16 Committee on Employment 23 Calendar of Events 25 Washington News A A S American Astronomical Society AAS Officers President's Column David J. Helfand, President Debra M. Elmegreen, Past President David J. Helfand, [email protected] Nicholas B. Suntzeff, Vice-President Edward B. Churchwell, Vice-President Paula Szkody, Vice-President Hervey (Peter) Stockman, Treasurer G. Fritz Benedict, Secretary Anne P. Cowley, Publications Board Chair Edward E. Prather, Education Officer At 1:32AM Eastern time on 6 Councilors August, the Mars Science Laboratory Bruce Balick Nancy S. Brickhouse and its charmingly named rover, Eileen D. Friel Curiosity, executed a perfect landing Edward F. Guinan Todd J. Henry in Gale Crater. President Obama Steven D. Kawaler called the highly complex landing Patricia Knezek Robert Mathieu procedure “an unprecedented feat of Angela Speck technology that will stand as a point Executive Office Staff of pride far into the future.” While Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer we certainly hope Curiosity’s lifetime Tracy Beale, Registrar & Meeting Coordinator Chris Biemesderfer, Director of Publishing on Mars is a long one, we must all Sherri Brown, Membership Services continue to make the case that we Coordinator Kelly E. -
The Struve Family in Europe and Texas
THE STRUVE FAMILY IN EUROPE AND TEXAS An 1843 publication by Amand von Struve (1798-1867), a brother of Heinrich Struve (1812- 1898) was the source of information for a re-publication in 1881 by Heinrich von Struve (1840-??), a professor in Warsaw, Poland and a nephew of Heinrich Struve (1812-1898), the man who came to Texas. It is now offered [in an abridged form] by Arno Struve of Abernathy, Texas, great-grandson of Heinrich Struve (1812-1898). The reader is referred to a further explanation of this book at the conclusion of Lebensbild/Memories of My Life. (Title page lettered by D. Z. Ward and manuscript typed by Sandy Struve.) Sandy is a daughter-in-law of Arno Struve. You have in hand the story of a family named Struve. Once it was von Struve. Some individuals still retain the von. The earlier use of the “von” in our name is evidence that someone back there somewhere was honored for service rendered his king. The von is roughly equivalent to knighthood in the English world in which the title “Sir” was conferred by the king. In the English world, however, the title is not inherited whereas in the German practice it is. The importance of the title “von” is difficult for Americans to grasp but Germans fully understand its weight. One of my cousins insisted that I should use the von at least while traveling in Europe, but my egalitarian upbringing would not allow me to feel comfortable doing it. The “von” was dropped from the name when certain family members who were promoting democracy in Germany felt it unbecoming to use an unearned title. -
Newsletter 110 ª June 2002 NEWSLETTER
Newsletter 110 ª June 2002 NEWSLETTER The American Astronomical Societys2000 Florida Avenue, NW, Suite 400sWashington, DC [email protected] AAS NEWS PRESIDENT’S COLUMN Wallerstein is Anneila I. Sargent, Caltech, [email protected] My term as President of the American Astronomical Society Russell Lecturer will end with our meeting in Albuquerque in June 2002. Usually This year, the AAS this letter would be the appropriate place to consider my bestows its highest honor, expectations and goals when I took up the gavel and compare the Henry Norris Russell these with what actually happened. Lectureship on George The events of 11 September 2001 caused me to write that kind Wallerstein, Professor of reflective letter in the December issue of this Newsletter.I Emeritus of Astronomy at won’t repeat myself here except to note that at that time there the University of seemed to be less enthusiasm to fund research in the physical Washington. Wallerstein is sciences than we had grown to expect when I took office. recognized in the award citation for “...his As I write this column, the prospects look much less bleak. In contributions to our another part of this Newsletter, Kevin Marvel discusses how understanding of the astronomy fared in the President’s FY ’03 budget request. George Wallerstein of the University of NASA’s Office of Space Science is doing very well indeed. In Washington will deliver his Russell Lecture abundances of the at the Seattle Meeting in January 2003. elements in stars and fact, the OSS budget has been increasing steadily since 1996 and clusters. -
Linking for Learning. a New Course for Education. INSTITUTION Congress of the U.S., Washington, D.C
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 310 765 IR 014 250 TITLE Linking for Learning. A New Course for Education. INSTITUTION Congress of the U.S., Washington, D.C. Office of Technology Assessment. REPORT NO OTA-SET-430 PUB DATE Nov 89 NOTE 191p.; For related documents, see IR 014 251-252. AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Golernment Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 (GPO 052-003-01170-1, $9.00). PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) -- Reports - Research /Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCo8 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Administrators; Computer Assisted Instruction; *Distance Education; Educational Innovation; *Educational Planning; *Educational Technology; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Aid; Federal Regulation; Higher Education; Instructional Effectiveness; Program Descriptions; State Action; State Surveys; Teacher Education; Teacher Role; Technology Transfer; *Telecommunications IDENTIFIERS *Office of Technology Assessment ABSTRACT The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) of the U.S. Congress was asted to analyze various technological options for distance education, examine current developments, and identify how Federal, State, and local policies could encourage more efficient and effective use of technology in education. This report complements OTAs assessment of use of computers in elementary and secondary education; "Power (.4n! New Tools for Teaching and Learning." Findings of the study include:(1) use of distance education in elementary and secondary education has increased dramatically over the past 5 years, but many students -
A Brief History of Magnetospheric Physics Before the Spaceflight Era
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS BEFORE THE SPACEFLIGHT ERA David P. Stern Laboratoryfor ExtraterrestrialPhysics NASAGoddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt,Maryland Abstract.This review traces early resea/ch on the Earth's aurora, plasma cloud particles required some way of magneticenvironment, covering the period when only penetratingthe "Chapman-Ferrarocavity": Alfv•n (1939) ground:based0bservationswerepossible. Observations of invoked an eleCtric field, but his ideas met resistance. The magneticstorms (1724) and of perturbationsassociated picture grew more complicated with observationsof with the aurora (1741) suggestedthat those phenomena comets(1943, 1951) which suggesteda fast "solarwind" originatedoutside the Earth; correlationof the solarcycle emanatingfrom the Sun's coronaat all times. This flow (1851)with magnetic activity (1852) pointed to theSun's was explainedby Parker's theory (1958), and the perma- involvement.The discovei-yof •solarflares (1859) and nent cavity which it producedaround the Earth was later growingevidence for their associationwith large storms named the "magnetosphere"(1959). As early as 1905, led Birkeland (1900) to proposesolar electronstreams as Birkeland had proposedthat the large magneticperturba- thecause. Though laboratory experiments provided some tions of the polar aurora refleCteda "polar" type of support;the idea ran into theoreticaldifficulties and was magneticstorm whose electric currents descended into the replacedby Chapmanand Ferraro's notion of solarplasma upper atmosphere;that idea, however, was resisted for clouds (1930). Magnetic storms were first attributed more than 50 years. By the time of the International (1911)to a "ringcurrent" of high-energyparticles circling GeophysicalYear (1957-1958), when the first artificial the Earth, but later work (1957) reCOgnizedthat low- satelliteswere launched, most of the importantfeatures of energy particlesundergoing guiding center drifts could the magnetospherehad been glimpsed, but detailed have the same effect. -
Download This Article (Pdf)
244 Trimble, JAAVSO Volume 43, 2015 As International as They Would Let Us Be Virginia Trimble Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4575; [email protected] Received July 15, 2015; accepted August 28, 2015 Abstract Astronomy has always crossed borders, continents, and oceans. AAVSO itself has roughly half its membership residing outside the USA. In this excessively long paper, I look briefly at ancient and medieval beginnings and more extensively at the 18th and 19th centuries, plunge into the tragedies associated with World War I, and then try to say something relatively cheerful about subsequent events. Most of the people mentioned here you will have heard of before (Eratosthenes, Copernicus, Kepler, Olbers, Lockyer, Eddington…), others, just as important, perhaps not (von Zach, Gould, Argelander, Freundlich…). Division into heroes and villains is neither necessary nor possible, though some of the stories are tragic. In the end, all one can really say about astronomers’ efforts to keep open channels of communication that others wanted to choke off is, “the best we can do is the best we can do.” 1. Introduction astronomy (though some of the practitioners were actually Christian and Jewish) coincided with the largest extents of Astronomy has always been among the most international of regions governed by caliphates and other Moslem empire-like sciences. Some of the reasons are obvious. You cannot observe structures. In addition, Arabic astronomy also drew on earlier the whole sky continuously from any one place. Attempts to Greek, Persian, and Indian writings. measure geocentric parallax and to observe solar eclipses have In contrast, the Europe of the 16th century, across which required going to the ends (or anyhow the middles) of the earth.