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Norman A. Baily
MSS 0233
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Creator:
Baily, Norman A., 1915-1992
Title: Norman A. Baily,
Date (inclusive): 1947 - 1992
Extent:
7.00 linear feet
(17 archives boxes)
Abstract: Norman Arthur Baily (1915-1992),medical physicist,completed a B.S. in science at St.John's University in 1941, an M.A. in
education at New York University in 1943, and a Ph.D. in physics at Columbia University in 1952. Baily devoted his career
to radiological physics and engineering, focusing on medical imaging, experimental and theoretical work in dosimetry, and
therapeutic uses of radiology. He was also a teacher, consultant, and expert medical and legal witness. He helped found
the Southern California Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and was an associate editor of Medical
Physics from its founding in 1976 until his death.
Although the papers span 1947-1992, the bulk of the collection was created in the 1980s. The collection is comprised of memos
and correspondence relating largely to his extensive activities in medical physics organizations and his editorial work for
Medical Physics, lecture notes for his teaching at UCSD, and drafts and reprints. The collection is arranged in six series:
1. Biographical, 2. Correspondence, 3. Writings and Research, 4. Teaching, 5. Organizations, and 6. Consulting.
Repository:
University of California, San Diego. Geisel Library. Mandeville Special Collections Library.
La Jolla, California 92093-0175
Collection number: MSS 0233
Language of Material:
Collection materials in English
Collection is open for research.
Not Available
Norman A. Baily, MSS 0233. Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Norman Arthur Baily (July 2, 1915-October 7, 1992), was born in New York. He completed a B.A. in science at St. John's University
in 1941, an M.A. in education at New York University in 1943, and a Ph.D. in physics at Columbia University in 1952. Baily
devoted his career to radiological physics and engineering. He was recognized as having made equally strong contributions
to research, teaching, and the medical physics profession. His research focused on the use of diagnostic tools for obtaining
images of organs and their functions, particularly those using ultrasound which avoided the use of ionizing radiation, and
for improving the safety of techniques that did require ionizing radiation.
His first academic appointment was at the University of Buffalo where he was an associate of the Radiology Department (1954-1959)
and assistant research professor of biophysics (1957-1959). He was also chief physicist and principal cancer research scientist
in the Radiation Therapy Department of Buffalo's Roswell Park Memorial Institute (1954-1995). In addition, Baily was lecturer
in the Chemistry Department at Canisius College during this same period (1957-1995).
He left Buffalo for Los Angeles to become manager of the Space Sciences Department, Hughes Research Laboratories (1959-1967),
becoming concurrently employed from 1964-1968 in UCLA's Radiology Department as clinical professor and professor-in-residence.
He spent 1967 at Emory University as professor of physics and radiology.
In 1968, Baily came to UCSD and served as Professor of Radiology and Chief of the Division of Radiological Physics and Engineering
until 1988 when he retired with the distinction of emeritus professor. His research was supported by grants from the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (1968-1973; 1973-1975), the Atomic Energy Commission (1974-1975), and the National Institutes
of Health (1975-1978). Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Baily held several visiting professorships of nuclear research and
oncology.
Baily made considerable contributions to the professional community of medical physics, most notably by his participation
in the American College of Radiology and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), to which he was elected
a fellow in 1988. He helped found the AAPM's Southern California Chapter and was acknowledged for his contributions in 1986
with the creation of the Norman A. Baily Student Research Award. Perhaps more profound and far reaching were his efforts
in establishing standards for state licensing of medical physicists, the development of quality assurance for use of radiological
equipment, and the training of medical physicists.
Baily was an associate editor of Medical Physics from its inception in 1976 until his death. He served on at least 70 committees
related to both education and safety in radiation physics. He published more than 200 articles on nuclear medicine, radiation
oncology, and diagnostic imaging between 1947 and 1992.
Scope and Content of Collection
Correspondence, notes and calculations, reprints, lectures, manuscript reviews and documentation of Baily's involvement in
professional medical physics societies, covering the years 1946-1992 and occupying 7.0 linear feet. The collection is arranged
in six series: 1. Biographical, 2. Correspondence, 3. Writings and Research, 4. Teaching, 5. Organizations, and 6. Consulting.
The ORGANIZATIONS series is one of the larger series in the collection. Documents in this series provide an excellent view
of the influence Baily had on the organizations in which he actively participated and of how that influence ultimately shaped
the organization's structure. Baily also devoted considerable time to refereeing and editing journal articles as documented
in the Reviews subseries, which includes correspondence, minutes of editorial boards, telephone/fax listings, and several
of Baily's manuscript reviews/comments of articles for the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ROENTGENOLOGY, NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY, and MEDICAL
PHYSICS, the last of which he was an associate editor. There is little documentation of Baily's work at Columbia and Emory
universities, of his military employment with NASA and Hughes Aircraft, or of his involvement in the Medical Physics Program
at UCLA (1952 - 1967). The collection does provide thorough documentation of Baily's career at UCSD, beginning in 1968 when
he accepted the position of Professor of Radoiology and Chief of Radiological Physics and Engineering at the UCSD School of
Medicine, and ending with his death in 1992.
"Post-it" notes and documents on brittle and highly acidic paper have been photocopied for preservation purposes. Thermograph,
FAX (facsimile), and "post-it" paper have been photocopied and the originals have been discarded. Reprints by other authors
have also been discarded.
1. BIOGRAPHICAL
1947-1992
This series contains Baily's applications for passports and personal statements that are rich in familial as well as personal
data. His folders entitled "Personal" and "Salary Plan" include his bibliography, awards and honors he received over the years,
and his personnel file from UCSD.
2. CORRESPONDENCE
1965-1992
The correspondence in this collection roughly dates from the mid-1960s to 1992, with the heaviest concentration of letters
dating from the early 1980s. The correspondence in this series represents Baily's work at UCSD as a professor and as an editor/referee
to numerous professional journals. The letters in this collection are arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent.
Baily's outgoing correspondence has been separated and is filed in chronological order.
3. WRITINGS AND RESEARCH
The WRITINGS AND RESEARCH series is the largest of the six series and is divided into six subseries: 3A) Notes, 3B) Laboratory
Notebooks (1958-1978), 3C) Proposals (1981-1984), 3D) Typescripts, Abstracts, and Background Material (1949-1992), 3E) Reprints
(1949-1992), and 3F) Reviews (1972-1992).
The first subseries consists of Baily's undated, handwritten calculations and notes. These files were originally found throughout
the collection. The second subseries consists of four of Baily's laboratory notebooks with various notes, diagrams, and calculations.
Included in the third subseries are grant applications, proposal abstracts, and correspondence. Baily worked with other UCSD
medical physicists on proposals for grants to investigate such topics as diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radiation, medical
imaging, and calibration of instruments.
Material in the fourth subseries is arranged chronologically. The subseries includes original typescripts of Baily's papers,
abstracts for Baily articles, and handwritten and research notes by Baily, which served as background material in writing
his papers. Materials in the fifth subseries are arranged chronologically and include most of Baily's known publications.
The material in subseries six is arranged alphabetically by journal title. Baily served as a referee for many journals.
He was an Associate Editor of MEDICAL PHYSICS from its inception and was the only editor to have served over the entire period
of its existence. Other journals Baily served as reviewer for were the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ROENTGENOLOGY, IEEE TRANSACTIONS
ON BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL IMAGING, NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY, and S.P.I.E. The material includes Baily's
comments concerning manuscripts, MEDICAL PHYSICS editorial board meeting minutes, and correspondence, but very few manuscripts.
4. TEACHING
1968-1992
The TEACHING series focuses on Baily's twenty-four years of teaching at UCSD. There is little documentation of Baily's teaching
at UCLA. The TEACHING series is divided into four subseries, 4A) Lectures and Notes, 4B) Programs and Seminars, 4C) Academic
Senate, and 4D) Student Files.
5. ORGANIZATIONS
1975-1992
The ORGANIZATIONS series is the second largest series of the collection. It is arranged alphabetically by the name of the
organization. Baily played an active role in both national and international organiztions and worked intensively with many
of these. Highlights of his organizational involvement include documentation of his work with The American College of Radiology,
including attending its conferences and serving on committees sponsored by the ACR to investigate such topics as the "ACR
Position on the Chernobyl Incident, 1986" and "Proposed Patient Exposure Average" at a Conference of Radiation Control Program
Directors. Baily was actively involved in the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and became a staunch supporter
of the Southern California Chapter of the AAPM. Included in this material are original meeting minutes from the first meeting
by the SCC-AAPM, as well as a copy of rough drafts of the SCC constitution and by laws. There is also extensive documentation,
including correspondence, published announcements, lists of speakers, and notes pertaining to the annual SCC AAPM Spring Seminars
(1986-1990), which Baily was responsible for organizing.
6. CONSULTING
1982-1992
Baily acted as a medical expert witness for medical and legal cases. Materials in this series include correspondence, medical
briefs, and court case pleadings. Arranged alphabetically by folder title, this series also includes documentation entitled
"State Licensure" which discusses Baily's involvement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to pass laws that would require
medical use licensees to establish and implement a basic quailty assurance program. Baily worked on gathering support for
the licensure of medical physicists in the State of California. The Quality Assurance material focuses on establishing radiation
level standards / guidelines for hospitals, clinics, medical centers, and the medical equipment found within these institutions,
as well as lecture notes for courses teaching methods of quality assurance.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Baily, Norman A., 1915-1992 -- Archives
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
American Association of Physicists in Medicine. -- Southern California chapter
University of California, San Diego. -- Faculty -- Archives
University of California, San Diego. -- Medical Center -- Faculty -- Archives
Medical physics -- Study and teaching
Radiology, medical -- Study and teaching
Diagnostic imaging
Radiation dosimetry
Radiotherapy
Echocardiography
Oncology
Quality Assurance