S. S. Penner Papers
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Copyright 2005
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
spcoll@ucsd.edu
Descriptive Summary
Languages:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: S. S. Penner Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0457
Physical Description:
3.1 Linear feet
(7 archives boxes and 3 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1938-2000
Abstract: Papers of Stanford Solomon Penner, professor of engineering physics and director of the Center for Energy and Combustion Research
at the University of California, San Diego.
Scope and Contents of Collection
Papers of Stanford Solomon Penner, professor of engineering physics and director of the Center for Energy and Combustion Research
at the University of California, San Diego. Penner is known for his research in combustion and energy, applied spectroscopy,
and thermophysics. The papers document Penner's research and many awards and honors, and include manuscripts, correspondence,
published works, photographs, certificates, realia, clippings, and ephemera.
Arranged in three series: 1) MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS, 2) WRITINGS, and 3) CORRESPONDENCE. The papers document Penner's research
and many awards and honors; they include little correspondence and few early drafts of his writings.
SERIES 1: MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS
The MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS series is arranged in four subseries: A) Biographical Materials, B) Awards, C) Memorabilia, and
D) Miscellaneous.
A) This subseries, arranged in alphabetical order, contains a chronology of Penner's life, clippings and press releases related
to his activities and materials relating to his education. It also contains one folder of photographs and one folder of photocopies
of photographs. Most of the photos are of Penner with his colleagues.
B) The materials in this subseries, which is arranged chronologically, contains certificates and plaques, as well as correspondence
and clippings related to Penner's awards and honors. Also included are materials related to the creation of a UCSD lecture
series, named in honor of Penner.
C) The Memorabilia subseries, which is also arranged chronologically, contains presentation copies of books, a scrapbook
containing dozens of letters and photographs presented to Penner on his 65th birthday, and other memorabilia.
D) Four folders, arranged alphabetically, make up the Miscellaneous subseries: Conferences and Meeting Materials; Ogden Corporation,
on whose Board of Directors Penner served from 1985 to 1998; the Report of the Energy Center Review Committee for 1985; and
a folder dedicated to materials on Theodore Von Karman, the noted scientist with whom Penner worked in the 1950s and 1960s
(see Series 1 for photographs of Penner with Von Karman).
SERIES 2: WRITINGS
The WRITINGS of S.S. Penner are arranged in alphabetical order. A set of four bound volumes, presented "To Sol Penner from
his colleagues in appreciation," contains Penner's collected publications from 1946 to 1968. Also present are two versions
of Penner's Ph.D. thesis, one containing the text of his confidential National Defense Research Council project, and one with
that section omitted. Penner sometimes stapled correspondence and other materials to his copies of his articles; where this
is the case, the other materials have been kept with the writings.
SERIES 3: CORRESPONDENCE
The CORRESPONDENCE series has been arranged in chronological order. Penner sometimes stapled together letters from different
correspondents on the same subject; the date on the earliest dated letter among each stapled group of letters is used for
purposes of arrangement. Often included with the letters are clippings, copies of articles by authors other than Penner, and
other enclosures.
Biography
Born in Unna, Germany, on July 5, 1921, Stanford Solomon Penner (often known as "Sol") came to the United States in 1936,
and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943. He attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, where he earned a B.S.
in chemistry (1942), and the University of Wisconsin, where he earned an M.S. (1943) and a Ph.D. (1946) in physical chemistry.
Penner's graduate work was interrupted for a time in 1944-45 when he went to work full time in rocket research at Allegany
Ballistics Laboratory as part of the war effort.
From 1947 to 1964, S. S. Penner worked at the California Institute of Technology, first as a senior research assistant in
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, then as a professor of jet propulsion. During a leave of absence from 1962 to 1964, Penner
served as the director of the Research and Engineering Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses in Washington, D.C.
In 1964 Penner began his association with the University of California, San Diego, where he was founding chair of the Department
of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Sciences (AMES). At UCSD, Penner was a professor of engineering physics until his
retirement in 1991, as well as Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs (1968-69), director of the Institute for Pure and Applied
Physical Sciences (1968-71) and director of the Center for Energy and Combustion Research (1974-90). His major areas of research
were combustion and energy, applied spectroscopy, and thermophysics.
Over the course of his career, S. S. Penner collaborated with such scientists as Farrington Daniels and Theodore Von Karman,
received numerous awards and honors, founded and edited such journals as
The Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer and
Energy - The International Journal, and wrote or edited hundreds of articles and more than twenty books.
Publication Rights
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Preferred Citation
Stanford S. Penner Papers, MSS 457. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 1998.
OFF-SITE STORAGE
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Chemical engineering -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Technology -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Engineers -- Biography
Aerospace engineering -- United States
Power resources
University of California, San Diego. Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences
University of California, San Diego -- Faculty
Von Kármán, Theodore, 1881-1963
Box 1, Folder 1
Clippings and press releases
1979 - 1998
Box 1, Folder 2
Marcos, Ferdinand and Imelda - Photograph, invitations, etc.
1976
Box 1, Folder 3
Office of Scientific Research and Development - Certificates
undated
Box 1, Folder 4
Photocopies of photographs of Penner and others
1956 - 1963
Box 1, Folder 5
Photographs - Includes photos of Penner, Penner with others, and photos taken during Penner's 1976 visit to China
1960 - 1982
Box 1, Folder 6
S. S. Penner Biographical Data - Typescript & list of publications
1998
Box 1, Folder 7
Saratoga Springs High School - Diploma, certificates
1938
Box 1, Folder 8
State of California. State Board of Registration for Civil and Professional Engineers certificate
1948
Box 1, Folder 9
Tribute to S. S. Penner - Bound scrapbook containing letters, photographs, etc.
1986
Box 1, Folder 10
Union College - Diploma, transcript, etc.
1938 - 1942
Box 1, Folder 11
University of Wisconsin - Diplomas, transcript, certificates
1942 - 1946
Box 1, Folder 12
War Manpower Commission. Committee on Scientific Research Personnel - Letters, diplomas
1944
Box 1, Folder 13
Who's Who - Two proof sheets and one tear sheet from Who's Who biographies of Penner
1998 & undated
Box 1, Folder 14, Oversize FB-317-06
General awards and honors - Includes correspondence
1942 - 1998 & undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Plaques and medals
1955 - 1977
Oversize AB-12-D01
Gulf General Atomic Company - Nuclear Power Utilities HTGR Advanced Technology Training Program certificate
1973 October 31
Box 2, Folder 2
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) - Board of Directors
1964 - 1966
Box 2, Folder 3, Oversize FB-317-07
AIAA - G. Edward Pendray Award. Includes correspondence, clippings, photograph, etc.
1976
Box 2, Folder 4, Oversize FB-317-07
National Academy of Engineering
1977
Box 2, Folder 5, Oversize FB-317-07
Numa Manson Medal - Includes correspondence, photos
1979
Box 2, Folder 6, Oversize FB-317-07
Instituto Internazionale delle Comunicazioni - International Columbus Prize. Includes acceptance remarks, correspondence,
clippings
1981
Box 2, Folder 7
International Energy Agency - National Advisory Board. Correspondence, clippings
1981
Box 2, Folder 8
Rheinisch-Westfalischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen - Honorary doctorate. Includes correspondence, clippings, etc.
1981
Oversize AB-12-D04
Rheinisch-Westfalischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen - Honorary doctorate
1981
Box 2, Folder 9, Oversize FB-317-07
AIAA - Energy Systems Award. Includes correspondence, clippings
1983
Box 3, Folder 1
AIAA San Diego Section - Outstanding Contribution to the AIAA at the National Level. Includes correspondence, program
1983
Box 3, Folder 2, Oversize FB-317-07
AIAA - Thermophysics Award. Includes press release, clippings, etc.
1983
Oversize AB-12-D02
AIAA - Emblem, Space Shuttle Challenger, Mission 41-B
1984 February 3
Oversize AB-12-D03
United States Department of Energy - Distinguished Associate Award
1990 January
Box 3, Folder 3
Doctors for Disaster Preparedness - Edward Teller Award for the Defense of Freedom. Includes correspondence
1997
Box 3, Folder 4
S.S. Penner Distinguished Lectures in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering Sciences
1999 - 2000
Box 3, Folder 5, Oversize FB-317-08
California Institute of Technology album
1956 - 1957
Box 3, Folder 6
Institute for Defense Analyses, Research and Engineering Support Division - Cartoons, greeting card, etc.
1964
Box 3, Folder 7
Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer - Presentation copy of first issue, published in 1961, with six pages of signatures
1986
Box 3, Folder 8
Modern Developments in Energy, Combustion and Spectroscopy, in Honor of S. S. Penner - Presentation copy. Includes biography & list of publications by Penner
1993
Box 4, Folder 1
Conference and meeting materials - Includes correspondence, photographs, etc.
1960 - 2000
Box 4, Folder 2
Ogden Corporation - Annual report, correspondence, photographs, etc.
1985 - 1998
Box 4, Folder 3
Report of the Energy Center Review Committee - Photocopy of typescript
1985
Box 4, Folder 4
Von Karman, Theodore - Printed materials, clippings, etc.
1956 - 1994
Box 4, Folder 5
AGARD Propulsion and Energetics Panel: 1952-1977
1978
Box 4, Folder 6
Are We About to Run Out of Usable, Low-Cost Energy Supplies? - Includes correspondence and sample issue of
Prime Time Newsletter.
1998
Collected Papers of S. S. Penner [Bound volumes]
Box 6, Folder 2
Combustion and Propulsion Research - In
Chemical and Engineering News
January 14, 1963
Box 6, Folder 3
Comment on "Temperature Measurement and Relaxation Processes in Shock Tubes" by A.G. Gaydon
1966
Box 6, Folder 4
Comment on "Testimony on the California Nuclear Initiative by Harold C. Urey and Hannes Alfven" - Typescript
1998
Box 6, Folder 5
Comments on "Research Support for the Power Industry" by M. Granger Morgan and Susan F. Tierney - Includes typescript, correspondence,
and copy of Morgan and Tierney's article
1998
Box 6, Folder 6
Effect of Silica Gel Upon the Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide - Bound carbon copy typescript of master's thesis
1943
Box 6, Folder 7
Equilibrium Radiation Properties of Gases - Published in the
Handbook of Heat Transfer
1973
Box 6, Folder 8
First Decade (1964-74) of the AMES Department at UCSD - Typescript
1995
Box 6, Folder 9
Kinetics of Gelation; Resistance of Zirconia Gels During Setting - Includes handwritten notes and graphs
1942
Box 6, Folder 10
Long-Term Energy Supplies for the World. Typescript
ca. 1998
Box 6, Folder 11
National Defense Research Council Project (Confidential); Calculations on the Formation and Decomposition...
1946
General note
See: box 7, folder 6 for a copy including the confidential first section.
Box 6, Folder 12
Partial Solutions to Problems in THERMODYNAMICS by S. S. Penner, with S. S. McElmury - Includes photostat, handwritten notes,
etc.
ca. 1968
Box 7, Folder 1
Radiation Phenomena in Rockets - Photostat negative of declassified document
ca. 1940s
Box 7, Folder 2
Relationship Between Energy Conservation, GNP and Energy Consumption, with J. M. Bernard - Published in the 119th Anniversary
Number of
The Indian and Eastern Engineer
1977
Box 7, Folder 3-4
Report of the DOE Advanced Fuel-Cell Commercialization Working Group - Bound typescripts with corrections
1994
Box 7, Folder 5
Review of
Conservative Environmentalism - Reassessing the Means, Redefining the Ends, by Dunn and Kinney - Photocopy from
Energy, vol. 22, no. 6.
1997
Box 7, Folder 6
Studies on the Burning of Double Base Powders; Calculations on the Formation and Decomposition of Nitric... - Typescript of
Ph.D. thesis, including the confidential first section
1946
General note
See also: box 6, folder 11
Box 7, Folder 7
Theoretical Aspects of Nitrogen Fixation by the Wisconsin Process - Typescript carbon copy with blueprint graphs
undated
Box 7, Folder 8
United States Energy Supplies for the 21st Century - Offprint from
Energy vol. 23, no. 2. Includes correspondence
1998
Box 7, Folder 9
1962 - 1979 & undated
General note
Includes photographs, clippings, etc. Notable correspondents include the American Physical Society, Evelle J. Younger, Senator
Henry M. Jackson, Senator S.I. Hayakawa, the National Academy of Sciences, and Roger Hedgecock.
Box 7, Folder 10
1980 - 1998
General note
Includes copies of articles by authors other than Penner, and other enclosures. Notable correspondents include the National
Research Council, Robert Maxwell, the American Chemical Society, and William H. Avery.
