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Guide to the Alan J. Heeger Papers
UArch FacP 39
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Table of contents
Title: Alan J. Heeger Papers
Dates: ca. 1952-2003
Bulk Dates: 1980-2000
Collection number: UArch FacP 39
Creator:
Heeger, Alan J.
Collection Size:
23.4 linear feet
(58 document boxes and 1 half-sized document box).
Repository:
University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Dept. of Special Collections
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Abstract: The Alan J. Heeger papers contain a large number of drafts, manuscripts, and correspondence relating to journal articles,
conference papers, and patent applications, including files on his Nobel Prize-winning work. Also included are some materials
from Heeger's college days and his work as an instructor at UCSB.
Physical location: Del Sur, University Archives, 29B.
Languages:
English
None.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given
on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
Alan J. Papers. UArch FacP 39. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Undetermined.
Alan J. Heeger is currently a Professor of Physics and the Director of the Institute for Polymers and Organic Solids at the
University of California, Santa Barbara. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000 along with his colleagues Alan
MacDiarmid and Hideki Shirakawa for their work in the field of conductive polymers.
Heeger was born on January 22, 1936 in Sioux City, Iowa. He received a dual bachelor's degree in Physics and Mathematics from
the University of Nebraska in 1957. In 1961, he received his PhD in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley while
working for Lockheed Space and Missile Division. He joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania the following year,
where he remained for twenty years. In 1975, Heeger met Alan MacDiarmid and together they began work in the field of metallic
polymers. On a visit to Japan, MacDiarmid met Hideki Shirakawa, who came to the University of Pennsylvania as a Visiting Scientist.
Heeger left the University of Pennsylvania for UC Santa Barbara in 1982 and became part of the new Physics Department. Several
years later, he assisted in developing the Macromolecular division of the new Materials Department. In 1986, Heeger and his
colleagues encouraged Paul Smith of DuPont Central Research to join him at UC Santa Barbara and in 1990, they founded the
UNIAX Corporation to develop commercial products from polymer materials, which was later acquired by DuPont.
Heeger's research at UC Santa Barbara covers the fields of conducting and semiconducting polymers, including research in polymer
light-emitting diodes, light-emitting electrochemical cells and lasers, photoluminescent and electroluminescent studies, photoconductivity,
and spectroscopic studies.
Heeger has been married to his wife Ruth for over forty years. His two sons also work in the sciences: David Heeger is a neuroscientist
and Peter Heeger is an immunologist.
For more biographical information see also the following:
- Official Nobel Prize website at http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2000/index.html
- Institute for Polymers and Organic Solids page for Alan Heeger at http://www.ipos.ucsb.edu/ajh.html
- Office of Public Information biographical files, UArch 11, in University Archives
Scope and Content of Collection
The Alan J. Heeger papers contain a large number of drafts, manuscripts, and correspondence relating to journal articles,
conference papers, and patent applications, including files on his Nobel Prize-winning work. Also included are some materials
from Heeger's college days and his work as an instructor at UCSB.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series I, Manuscripts, includes drafts, final copies, figures, and correspondence relating to articles published by Heeger and his colleagues. Not all articles are authored by Heeger. Arranged alphabetically (as received) by article title.
- Series II, Conferences, includes drafts of papers submitted to conferences by Heeger and his colleagues, correspondence relating to conferences, and copies of conference publications. Arranged chronologically by conference date.
- Series III, Patent Documentation, includes drafts of and amendments to patent applications by Heeger and his colleagues, as well as correspondence relating to the patents. Arranged chronologically according to date filed with the University of California and/or US Patent Office.
- Series IV, Overheads, contains overheads from course and conferences presentations, arranged alphabetically by subject title.
- Series V, Notebooks, contains early class notes and papers from Heeger's college career.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Heeger, Alan J. -- Archives.
University of California, Santa Barbara. Dept. of Physics.
University of California, Santa Barbara -- Faculty.
Nobel Prize-winning scientists.
Conducting polymers.
Other UCSB Nobel Laureates in University Archives Faculty Papers:
- Walter Kohn, Professor Emeritus of Physics and founding director of the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics, recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. FacP 34.
- Herbert Kroemer, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Materials, recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Physics. FacP 42.
Related collections in University Archives:
- Office of Public Information biographical files, UArch 11
Resources in the Main Library:
- Nonlinear optical properties of polymers: symposium held December 1-3, 1987, Boston, Massachussetts, U.S.A., eds. Alan J. Heeger, Joseph Orenstein, Donald R. Ulrich. Sciences Engineering Library QD381.9.O66 N66 1988.
Articles by Heeger may also be found in databases such as Web of Science, accessible through the library website.