Papers of Harold Clayton Urey, Nobel Prize-winning chemist who contributed to significant advances in the fields of physical chemistry, geochemistry, lunar science, and astrochemistry. He received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1934 for his discovery of deuterium, and made key scientific contributions to the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. The papers span the years 1929 to 1981 and contain significant correspondence with Urey's fellow scientists, including Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, and Edward Teller.

Harold Clayton Urey was a scientist of considerable scope whose discovery of deuterium helped him win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1934. Urey also made fundamental contributions to the production of the atomic bomb through his development of the isotope separation processes for the Manhattan Project. In the period following World War II, Urey played an active part in advocating nuclear arms control, in promoting space exploration and in the development of the newly created campus of the University of California, San Diego.

90.3 Linear feet (157 archives boxes, 34 flat boxes, 5 card file boxes, 1 carton, and 9 art bin items)

Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.

Letters of recommendation and evaluations are restricted until 2031 in accordance with federal and state laws. Original audiovisual materials are restricted, and user copies may be requested. A selection of artifacts, such as awards and medals, are restricted and permission to consult these items is required from the director of Special Collections & Archives.