Industrial Science as History

The Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics is launching a $600 000, three-year project designed to create a national documentation strategy for identifying and saving records of physicists who work in industry. The idea for the project grew out of earlier efforts that created documentation strategies for government contract laboratories and multi-institutional research collaborations, said Joe Anderson, associate director of the history center.

The task may prove daunting because, although European industries have a long tradition of archiving documents, very few American corporations maintain in-house archives to document their own R&D, Anderson said. A background document for the project noted that “American archivists lack both the financial resources and conceptual framework to preserve the history of industrial R&D. The resulting dearth of significant and readily accessible documentary sources has limited the ability of historians, policymakers, and other scholars to explore in detail one of the most vital and productive sectors of America’s industrial economy.”

The center is in the process of selecting 15 companies that are among the largest employers of physicists for the study. NSF, the Avenir Foundation, and Research Corporation are providing the lead funding for the project, and negotiations are under way with other potential supporters.