Goodstein (Judith R.) Papers, 1940 - 2022, bulk 1968 - 2009
Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Judith R. Goodstein Papers
- Dates:
- 1940 - 2022, bulk 1968 - 2009
- Extent:
- 3.34 linear feet (8 archival boxes and audiovisual materials)
- Language:
- English , Italian
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Judith R. Goodstein papers illustrate Goodstein's contributions to historical research, the history of science, and her role as the first University Archivist at Caltech. The collection consists of correspondence, research notes, lectures, and writings. The papers cover some of her early career, but the collection is primarily comprised of her work at Caltech, research, and her publications.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Judith Ronnie Goodstein (née Koral), born 1939, is an American historian of science, historian of mathematics, archivist, and author. She is University Archivist Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Goodstein was born on July 8, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York. She attended Erasmus Hall High School and graduated from Brooklyn College in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in history. Her interest in the history of science began as an undergraduate when she attended a graduate-level class taught by Carl Benjamin Boyer. Judith's other faculty mentor at Brooklyn College was John Hope Franklin.
She and her fiancé, David Goodstein, applied to graduate schools around the country—she in history of science and he in physics. At Boyer's suggestion, she went to the University of Washington, where Harry Woolf hired her as an assistant. Judith successfully defended her Ph.D. in 1968; her dissertation, "Chemical Theory and the Nature of Matter," concerned chemist Humphry Davy. Her doctoral advisor was Thomas Hankins.
In 1966, she and her husband moved to Caltech. She worked as a teacher while completing her dissertation and spent a year in Rome for her husband's post-doctorate. In 1968, Caltech historian of science, Daniel Kevles hired Judith as Caltech's Institute Archivist. Her role was to create, administer, and organize the personal records and manuscripts of the faculty and administration. The archives would grow to document Caltech's culture and student life.
During her time at Caltech, Judith was a faculty associate and lecturer, often sharing the fascinating history of Caltech and its people. From 1969 to 1973, she taught the history of science at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and later at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Caltech. From 1989 to 2003, Goodstein served as Caltech's Registrar and remained the archivist, becoming the University Archivist in 1995.
Goodstein has also lectured at several institutions worldwide, including the American Philosophical Society, Harvard University and San Francisco State University, National Academy of the Lincei, University of Rome (La Sapienza), University of Turin, and Japan's University of Tokyo.
In addition to authoring numerous articles, oral histories, and book reviews on many subjects, in particular the history of chemistry and mathematics in Italy and science in America, Goodstein also created, wrote, and narrated historical vignettes on "Airtalk: The Caltech Edition," broadcast monthly on KPCC. Goodstein's books include Einstein's Italian Mathematicians: Ricci, Levi-Civita, and the Birth of General Relativity (2018), The Volterra Chronicles (2007), Millikan's School: A History of the California Institute of Technology (2006) and Feynman's Lost Lecture, with her husband David Goodstein (1996), translated into several foreign languages.
Judith retired as University Archivist Emeritus in 2009.
For more information on Judith Goodstein, see the transcript of her 2014 oral history interview with Sara Lippincott at Caltech Oral Histories.
- Processing information:
-
Jo Krajeski processed the collection between July and August 2024.
Duplicate reprints and documents were removed and recycled. VHS tapes removed: (See Caltech record) Watson Lecture: Memories of Caltech Past (VHS); Video Only, Watson Lecture (VHS); AirTalk recorded 1989 May 24, on file at Caltech
- Arrangement:
-
The Judith R. Goodstein papers are stored in eight archival boxes. The papers have been arranged in six series, with two containing sub-series arrangements.
Series 1: Correspondence is arranged into two sub-series. Sub-series 1: Correspondence, General is organized alphabetically by individual or entity names. For general correspondence folders, contents are arranged by the corresponding first letter of the correspondent's surname; if unavailable, then first letter of given name. Sub-series 2: Research Correspondence, arranged alphabetically by subject or original file name, includes research correspondence pertaining to subjects of interest for later publications. Subjects include Levi-Civita, Volterra, Enriques, and Segre.
Series 2: Research is arranged alphabetically by subject or original file name. Research, arranged alphabetically by subject or original file name, includes original research and research notes.
Series 3: Writing, Talks, and Lectures is arranged into two sub-series. Sub-series 1: Writing, general, arranged alphabetically by subject, title, or original folder name, includes drafts, reprints, book reviews, proposals, Caltech publications, and oral histories. Sub-series 2: Talks and Lectures, arranged alphabetically by subject, title, or original folder name, includes lectures or talks given at various locations worldwide, and at Caltech.
Series 4: Subject Files are arranged alphabetically by subject or original file name, includes teaching notes, letters of recommendations, Caltech or archives administration, and professional associations.
Series 5: Personal and biographical, arranged alphabetically by individual, subjects, or original file name. Personal correspondence includes personal incoming and outgoing letters, sorted alphabetically by surname, if available. Personal ephemera includes newspaper clippings, press coverage, awards, images, CVs, and biographical write-ups.
Series 6: Audiovisual, includes VHS, Compact Disc, and DVD formats. Audiovisual contents include Goodstein recorded lectures, slideshows, appearances on AirTalk, and Caltech convocations.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Bibliography:
-
1965 A History of the Quest for Low Temperatures (LTP Research Seminar, University of Washington, October 1965)
1973 Levi-Civita, Albert Einstein and Relativity in Italy (Accademia Nazionale Dei Lincei 8, Dec 1973)
1975 Guide to the Robert Andrews Millikan Collection at the California Institute of Technology (with Albert F. Gunns, American Institute of Physics, 1975)
1980 The Scientific Method (with David Goodstein, E&S, Vol XLIV, No. 1, Oct 1980)
1982 Filming Seismograms and Related Materials at the California Institute of Technology (Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Dec 1982) (Multiple prints)
1983 The Italian Mathematicians of Relativity (Centaurus, Vol 26: pp 241-261, 1983)
*1983 Theodor Von Karman and Applied Mathematics in America (with John L. Greenburg, American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, Vol. 222, pp 1300-1304, 23 Dec 1983) (A Century of Mathematics in America Part II, American Mathematical Society)
1984 Atoms, Molecules, and Linus Pauling (Social Research, Vol 51, No. 3, Autumn 1984)
*1985 Filming Seismograms and Related Materials at the California Institute of Technology (with Paul Roberts, Eos, Vol. 66, No. 44, Page 737, 29 Oct 1985) (with Paul Roberts, Historical Seismograms & Earthquakes of the World, Academic Press, 1988)
1986 The Frank J. Malina Collection at the California Institute of Technology: Guide to a Microfiche Edition (with Carol H. Bugé, California Institute of Technology, 1986)
1991 Millikan's School: A History of the California Institute of Technology (W.W. Norton, 1991)
1996 Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of the Planets around the Sun (with David Goodstein, W.W. Norton, 1996)
2000 Richard Feynman and the History of Superconductivity (with David Goodstein, Physical Perspectives, Vol. 2, pp 30-47, 2000)
2004 A doctor on the front line: Enrico Pajes (with Carlotta Scaramuzzi, Journal of Medical Biography, Vol 12, No. 1, 172-82, Feb 2004)
2007 The Volterra Chronicles: The Life and Times of an Extraordinary Mathematician, 1860–1940 (American Mathematical Society and London Mathematical Society, 2007)
2009 Guido Castelnuovo and Francesco Severi: Two Personalities, Two Letters (with Donald Babbitt, Notices of the AMS, Vol. 56, No. 7 Aug 2009)
2011 Federigo Enriques's Quest to Prove the "Completeness Theorem" (with Donald Babbitt, Notices of the AMS, Vol. 58, No. 2, Feb 2011)
2012 A Fresh Look at Francesco Severi (with Donald Babbitt, Notices of the AMS, Vol. 59, No. 8, Sep 2012)
2013 E.T. Bell and Mathematics at Caltech between the Wars (with Donald Babbitt, Notices of the AMS, Vol. 60, No. 6, Jul 2013
2015 Recognizing Ricci (WSPC Proceedings, 21 Jun 2015)
2018 Einstein's Italian Mathematicians: Ricci, Levi-Civita, and the Birth of General Relativity (American Mathematical Society, 2018)
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-09-10 10:03:16 -0700 .
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
-
1200 E. California Blvd.MC B215-74Pasadena, CA 91125, US
- Contact:
- (626) 395-2704