Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Langer, James S.
- Abstract:
- Papers of James Langer, American professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. These papers include research files and publications, correspondence, clippings, handwritten lecture notes and calculations, and photographs from his academic career as a graduate student while earning his PhD at the University of Birmingham, England, to his professional career as a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon Institute, and as Director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics from 1985 to 1995. Materials also cover his time as President of the American Physical Society in 2000 and Vice President of the National Academy of Sciences from 2001-2005.
- Extent:
- 12.92 linear feet (10 cartons, 2 document boxes, 2 half document boxes, and 1 flat box)
- Language:
- English and This collection is predominately in English, with some French and Russian.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], James Langer papers, UArch FacP 69. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains files generated by James Langer throughout his academic career as a graduate student to his professional career as a physicist, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1970-1990. Materials include correspondence, research drafts and publications and office files related to Langer's academic research. In addition, the collection includes Langer's academic lecture notes and class curriculum, photographs, and newspaper clippings on his academic and professional achievements.
- Biographical / historical:
-
"James S. Langer is Professor of Physics at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1934, Langer graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in 1951. He attended Carnegie Institute of Technology and the University of Birmingham, earning a B.A. in physics from the former in 1955 and a Ph.D. in mathematical physics from the latter in 1958. A Marshall Scholar at Birmingham, his thesis advisor was Rudolf Peierls. After receiving his doctorate, he began his career in the Physics Department at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (which later became Carnegie Mellon University), where he would stay until 1982. He then joined UCSB's Institute for Theoretical Physics as professor. Between 1989 and 1995, he served as its director. According to his profile at UCSB, Langer's research focuses on theories of nonequilibrium phenomena, including the kinetics of phase transitions, pattern formation in crystal growth, the dynamics of earthquakes, and deformation and failure in noncrystalline solids. Langer served as President of the American Physical Society in 2000 and as Vice President of the United States National Academy of Sciences from 2001 to 2005. His awards include the APS's Oliver Buckley Prize in 1997." Wikipedia. 2019. "James S. Langer" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_S._Langer. Accessed on 11 December 2019.
- Acquisition information:
- Donated by James Langer, 2018.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection has been organized into the following series: 1. Correspondence, 2. Research, 3. Professional Involvement, 4. Lecture and Teaching Notes, 5. Publicity.
- Physical location:
- Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
This collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research 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.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], James Langer papers, UArch FacP 69. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Location of this collection:
-
UC Santa Barbara LibrarySanta Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
- Contact:
- (805) 893-3062