Walter Kohn papers, approximately 1942-2014

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Summary

Creators:
Kohn, Walter
Abstract:
The Walter Kohn Papers contain materials related to the career of the Nobel Prize winning physicist Walter Kohn and is primarily comprised of physics-related research notes, professional travel files, and correspondence.
Extent:
133.37 Linear Feet; (104 document boxes; 90 cartons)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Walter Kohn papers, UArch FacP 34. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

The Walter Kohn Papers contain materials related to the career of the Nobel Prize winning physicist Walter Kohn and are primarily comprised of physics-related research notes, professional travel files, and correspondence. Also included are files related to Kohn's other professional interests, including Peace and Security Studies and Judaic Studies, as well as class notes from his student days and research-related reprints of articles written by other scientists.

Acquisition information:
Donations by W. Kohn, 2002; 2003; 2016.
Arrangement:

General

Autobiographical and bibliographical materials, including day planners from 1980-1984. (Box 1)

Correspondence (Arranged in loose chronological order)

Correspondence, incoming and outgoing combined, ca.1950-1996 (Boxes 1-14)

Primarily professional correspondence, including a substantial amount of interoffice mail, with some personal correspondence intermixed. Also includes drafts of public letters/statements as well as some clippings and miscellaneous ephemera related to correspondence. Some travel related materials are included as well in relation to correspondence. Some correspondence is also interspersed in professional files.

Letters of Recommendation, 1979-1998 (Boxes 15-21)

Letters and related documents primarily recommending students and colleagues for new positions. Closed pending review; contains confidential information.

Class Notes (Lecture notes)

Undergraduate, 1942-1944 (Box 22) Graduate, 1945-1950 (Box 23)

Research (includes some reprints of scientific articles by others)

Contracts and Grants, 1983-1998 (Boxes 24-28) General Research, ca. 1950s (Boxes 29-33) Bloch Electrons, 1958-1959 (Box 34) General Research, 1960-1972 (Boxes 35-39)

Professional Files (Arranged chronologically)

Files related to professional involvement in both the Physics Department and other departments on campus, as well as involvement in professional organizations

Professional Lecture Notes (See above for Class Notes) Taken, 1952-1960 (Box 41) Given, 1952-1959, 1976 (Box 42)

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 1968-1978 (Box 43)

Judaic Studies Files, 1972-1978 (Boxes 44-47) Files from the development of the Judaic Studies program at UCSD.

General Files, 1978-1986 (Boxes 48-51) Kohn's alphabetical file related to professional activities. Also includes related correspondence. Includes records from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and the National Academy of Sciences.

Global Peace and Security (GPS), 1984-1993 (Boxes 52-61) Includes information about Kohn's involvement as well as general program information.

Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC), 1983-1987. Part of the GPS Department. Also includes information from his participation in the chancellor search committee of 1986 which resulted in the hiring of Barbara Uehling.

General Files, 1987-1992 (Boxes 62-64)

Includes files on USA/USSR Faculty Exchange Program and Direct Relief International assistance in St. Petersburg that Kohn assisted in organizing.

Trip Files, 1984-1997 (Arranged chronologically. Records from older trips were not separated by Kohn and are interspersed in professional files.) (Boxes 65-98)

Includes correspondence, trip planning notes, meeting notes, itineraries, article reprints, written reports, expense reports and ephemera (postcards, university brochures, maps, etc.) primarily related to business travel locally, nationally, and internationally. Some photographs are included with post-visit correspondence. Some records also related to personal travel between business trips and on sabbaticals and on cancelled travel plans.

Writings by Others (Boxes 99-104)

Reprints of Articles (arranged alphabetically) Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Pamphlets, 1984-1992

Physical location:
A portion of the collection is located at the Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF).
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Letters of recommendation (Boxes 15-21) and Global Peace & Security student files (Box 56) contain confidential information and are closed pending staff review. A portion of the collection is stored offsite. Advance notice is required for retrieval.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.

All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Walter Kohn papers, UArch FacP 34. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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