Guide to Wolfgang Kurt Hermann Panofsky Papers, 1932-2008

Title: Guide to Wolfgang Kurt Hermann Panofsky Papers, 1932-2008

Dates: 1932-2008

Collection Number: SLAC003

Creator/Collector: Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. (Wolfgang Kurt Hermann), 1919-2007

Extent: 220 cubic feet

Repository: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (Archives, History and Records Office)

Abstract: The W. K. H. Panofsky Papers consist of extensive administrative and professional correspondence and memoranda, subject files, minutes and reports, and other materials relating to Dr. Panofsky's responsibilities as Director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) and as an advisor to government and academia regarding high energy physics and arms control. Official records also include experiment proposals, contracts, budgets, and personnel materials. The collection also includes files from Dr. Panofsky's early years as a student, research physicist and professor of physics at Caltech, the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University.

Language of Material: English

The US government materials are restricted until they are 30 years old; Stanford administrative records are restricted until 20 years old. Portions of this collection are open for research; materials must be requested at least 5 working days in advance of intended use. Unprocessed records are open only to the records creators. Other restrictions on access may apply to records of a sensitive or confidential nature, or to records relating to ongoing research programs and activities.

All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Archivist, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road MS97, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Consent is given on behalf of the SLAC Archives, History & Records Office as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner, if the material is copyrighted. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://www.slac.stanford.edu/history/rules.shtml and also http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-our-collections/permission-publish.

Guide to Wolfgang Kurt Hermann Panofsky Papers, 1932-2008. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (Archives, History and Records Office)

Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky was a widely respected physicist, science advisor, Stanford University professor, and founding director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. This energetic, unusually accessible scientist and administrator combined knowledge of high energy physics with detailed, first hand understanding of the technology of accelerators. In 1984, SLAC paid tribute to its retiring director with a two day "Pief-Fest." The diversity of participants from all ranks of university, laboratory and scientific life was emblematic of the range of Panofsky's contributions and reflected great affection for a man whose life had been so closely tied to the evolution of SLAC. Additional biographical information and resources can be found at: https://www.slac.stanford.edu/history/bios/panofsky_pief.shtml

The bulk of the Panofsky collection consists of files regarding Dr. Panofsky's responsibilities as professor of physics, laboratory director, and advisor to government and academia on high energy physics, accelerator development, and arms control. A major portion of the collection consists of extensive administrative and professional correspondence and memoranda, subject files, minutes and reports, and other materials relating to the development and evolution of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Official laboratory records also include experiment proposals, contracts, budgets, and personnel materials. Among the records of the Director's Office is material regarding relations with other high energy physics laboratories and the development of accelerators world-wide. In addition to materials regarding arms control, the collection includes files regarding Panofsky's activities as President of the American Physical Society, chairman of the Board of Overseers of the Superconducting Super Collider, and member of the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) and of the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP) of the U.S. Department of Energy. Also included in the collection are research materials from Panofsky's years as a student (1935-1942), research physicist (1942-1946) and physics professor (1946-1989, emeritus) in his specialty fields of X-rays and natural constants, accelerator design, nuclear research, and high energy particle physics.