Description
The Leo Brewer papers, 1921-2004, comprise the correspondence, teaching materials,
laboratory notes, writings, and research files of renowned chemist Leo Brewer, universally regarded as one of
the founders of the field of modern high-temperature chemistry. Brewer served as Professor in the College of
Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1946-1989, and as Director of the Inorganic Materials
Research Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 1961-1975. The collection includes materials
documenting Brewer's doctoral research on Mesityl Oxide and his wartime research as a member of the Manhattan
Project, as well as his later research on high temperature thermodynamics, materials science, the study of
metallic phases, and the development of metallic bonding theory.
Background
Leo Brewer, American chemist, was born on June 13, 1919 in St. Louis, Missouri. Brewer received his
undergraduate degree from the California Institute of Technology in 1940 and his PhD from the University of
California, Berkeley, in 1942. He joined the Manhattan Project following his graduate work, and joined the
faculty at UC Berkeley in 1946. Leo Brewer married Rose Strugo (d. 1989) in 1945. They had three children, Beth
Gaydos, Roger Brewer, and Gail Brewer. Leo Brewer died on Feb. 22 2005, in Lafayette, California, at the age of
85.
Extent
Number of containers: 25 cartons, 2 boxes, 1 oversize folder
Linear feet: 34.25 linear ft.
Restrictions
Copyright has been assigned to The Bancroft Library. Materials in these collections are protected by the U.S.
Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) and may not be used without permission of The Bancroft Library. Use may be
restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, privacy and publicity rights,
licensing terms, and trademarks. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection
materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of
California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Availability
Collection is open for research.