Archives:Clarence E. Larson Collection: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:08, 7 May 2013

Welcome to the Clarence E. Larson Collection, a collection of video oral histories with noted Physicists.

Clarence E. Larson

Clarence E. Larson (1909-1999) was an important pioneer in the field of atomic energy. After serving on the Manhattan Project during World War II, Larson became director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he served from 1950 to 1955. He was an executive at Union Carbide. from 1955-1969 where he headed up the Nuclear Energy Division. From 1969-1974 Dr. Larson was Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. He was the recipient of many awards and honors.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, after his retirement, Dr. Larson conducted video interviews with over five dozen of his fellow pioneers in atomic energy and tangential fields, which were taped by his wife Jane Larson. The Larsons made the acquaintance of István Hargittai, University Professor of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, when he interviewed Clarence Larson for one of his own oral history projects. Professor Hargittai published several of the Larson interviews in a now defunct journal. Subsequently Clarence Larson passed away, and Jane Larson donated the video tapes to Hargittai and encouraged their continued publication (copies of many of the tapes are also known to have been donated to George Mason University and a few to the University of Maryland as well). Extracts of nine of the interviews were published in a book by Hargittai and his son Balazs, also a scientist (Candid Science V: Conversations with Famous Scientists, Imperial College Press, London, 2005) that also included Hargittai’s interview of Clarence Larson.

The collection had not been further utilized, although Hargittai has felt that it would be important to do so. Clarence Larson’s son Robert is a past president of IEEE, and brought to the attention of the IEEE Foundation the existence of the Clarence E. Larson Collection and the need to disseminate it. Since atomic energy is a field of interest to at least two of IEEE’s technical divisions—the Power Engineering Society and the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society—IEEE has an interest in seeing the contents of these tapes more broadly disseminated (moreover, some of the non-atomic energy interviews are of interest to other IEEE technical divisions, including the IEEE Computer Society). Therefore, the IEEE History Center is partnering with Prof. Hargittai and the Larson family to make the videos available on-line.

Clarence E. Larson Collection Interviewees

Produced Segments

Science Stories A - Interviews with David Packard and Linus Pauling

Science Stories B - Interviews with Robert Larson, Glenn Seaborg, Roger Egeberg, and Luis Alvarez

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 == Welcome to the Clarence E. Larson Collection, a collection of video oral histories with noted Physicists.  ==
-<br>
+[[Image:Celarson.jpg|thumb|right|Clarence E. Larson]]
-[[Image:Celarson.jpg]]<br>Clarence E. Larson<br>1901 - 1999
+Clarence E. Larson (1909-1999) was an important pioneer in the field of atomic energy. After serving on the [[Manhattan Project|Manhattan Project]] during World War II, Larson became director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he served from 1950 to 1955. He was an executive at Union Carbide. from 1955-1969 where he headed up the Nuclear Energy Division. From 1969-1974 Dr. Larson was Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. He was the recipient of many awards and honors.
-<br>
+In the 1980s and early 1990s, after his retirement, Dr. Larson conducted video interviews with over five dozen of his fellow pioneers in atomic energy and tangential fields, which were taped by his wife Jane Larson. The Larsons made the acquaintance of István Hargittai, University Professor of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, when he interviewed Clarence Larson for one of his own oral history projects. Professor Hargittai published several of the Larson interviews in a now defunct journal. Subsequently Clarence Larson passed away, and Jane Larson donated the video tapes to Hargittai and encouraged their continued publication (copies of many of the tapes are also known to have been donated to George Mason University and a few to the University of Maryland as well). Extracts of nine of the interviews were published in a book by Hargittai and his son Balazs, also a scientist (Candid Science V: Conversations with Famous Scientists, Imperial College Press, London, 2005) that also included Hargittai’s interview of Clarence Larson.
-Clarence E. Larson (1909-1999) was an important pioneer in the field of atomic energy. After serving on the Manhattan Project during World War II, Larson became director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he served from 1950 to 1955. He was an executive at Union Carbide. from 1955-1969 where he headed up the Nuclear Energy Division. From 1969-1974 Dr. Larson was Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. He was the recipient of many awards and honors.
+The collection had not been further utilized, although Hargittai has felt that it would be important to do so. Clarence Larson’s son [[Robert Larson|Robert]] is a [[Presidents of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)|past president of IEEE]], and brought to the attention of the IEEE Foundation the existence of the Clarence E. Larson Collection and the need to disseminate it. Since atomic energy is a field of interest to at least two of IEEE’s technical divisions—the Power Engineering Society and the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society—IEEE has an interest in seeing the contents of these tapes more broadly disseminated (moreover, some of the non-atomic energy interviews are of interest to other IEEE technical divisions, including the IEEE Computer Society). Therefore, the IEEE History Center is partnering with Prof. Hargittai and the Larson family to make the videos available on-line.
-In the 1980s and early 1990s, after his retirement, Dr. Larson conducted video interviews with some four dozen of his fellow pioneers in atomic energy and tangential fields, which were taped by his wife Jane Larson. The Larsons made the acquaintance of István Hargittai, University Professor of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, when he interviewed Clarence Larson for one of his own oral history projects. Professor Hargittai published several of the Larson interviews in a local journal. Subsequently Clarence Larson passed away, and Jane Larson donated the video tapes to Hargittai and encouraged their continued publication (copies of the tapes are also known to have been donated to George Mason University and the University of Maryland, and were perhaps donated to other universities as well). Extracts of nine of the interviews were published in a book by Hargittai and his son Balazs, also a scientist (Candid Science V: Conversations with Famous Scientists, Imperial College Press, London, 2005) that also included Hargittai’s interview of Clarence Larson.
+== Clarence E. Larson Collection Interviewees  ==
-The collection had not been further utilized, although Hargittai has felt that it would be important to do so. Clarence Larson’s son Robert is a past president of IEEE, and brought to the attention of the IEEE Foundation the existence of the Clarence E. Larson Collection and the need to disseminate it. Since atomic energy is a field of interest to at least two of IEEE’s technical divisions—the Power Engineering Society and the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society—IEEE has an interest in seeing the contents of these tapes more broadly disseminated (moreover, some of the non-atomic energy interviews are of interest to other IEEE technical divisions, including the IEEE Computer Society). Therefore, the IEEE History Center is partnering with Prof.. Hargittai and the Larson family to make the videos available on-line. Subsequently there are plans for another book, and for an IEEE.tv documentary based on this important historical material.
+*[[Philip Abelson|Philip Abelson]]
+*[[Harold Agnew|Harold Agnew]]
+*[[Luis Walter Alvarez|Luis Walter Alvarez]]
+*[[John V. Atanasoff|John V. Atanasoff]]
+*[[Robert Bacher|Robert Bacher]]
+*[[John Backus|John Backus]]
+*[[Stephen Bechtel, Sr.|Stephen Bechtel, Sr.]]
+*[[William Brobeck|William Brobeck]]
+*[[Melvin Calvin|Melvin Calvin]]
+*[[Ken Davis|Ken Davis]]
+*[[Dantas De Brito|Dantas De Brito]]
+*[[Carl Djerassi|Carl Djerassi]]
+*[[Harold E. Edgerton|Harold E. Edgerton]]
+*[[William Alfred Fowler|William Alfred Fowler]]
+*[[Robert Frase|Robert Frase]]
+*[[Keith Glennan|Keith Glennan]]
+*[[Bertrand Goldschmidt]]
+*[[Lawrence Hafstad|Lawrence Hafstad]]
+*[[Carl Hammer|Carl Hammer]]
+*[[Wesley T. Hanson]]
+*[[Ted Hoff|Ted Hoff]]
+*[[Chester E. Holifield|Chester E. Holifield]]
+*[[Alexander Hollaender|Alexander Hollaender]]
+*[[Cuthbert Hurd|Cuthbert Hurd]]
+*[[Thomas Jukes|Thomas Jukes]]
+*[[Martin Kamen|Martin Kamen]]
+*[[Clarence Larson|Clarence Larson]]
+*[[Robert Larson|Robert Larson]]
+*[[Horace Magoun|Horace Magoun]]
+*[[Edwin M. McMillan|Edwin M. McMillan]]
+*[[Kenneth Nichols|Kenneth D. Nichols]]
+*[[Mark Oliphant|Mark Oliphant]]
+*[[David Packard|David Packard]]
+*[[Linus Pauling|Linus Pauling]]
+*[[Rudolph Peierls|Rudolph Peierls]]
+*[[Arthur Rupp|Arthur Rupp]]
+*[[Arthur L. Schawlow|Arthur Schawlow]]
+*[[Glenn T. Seaborg|Glenn T. Seaborg]]
+*[[Robert C. Seamans|Robert C. Seamans]]
+*[[Emilio Segre|Emilio Segre]]
+*[[S. Fred Singer|S. Fred Singer]]
+*[[Chauncey Starr|Chauncey Starr]]
+*[[Kurt Stehling|Kurt Stehling]]
+*[[Gerald Tape|Gerald Tape]]
+*[[Lauriston Taylor|Lauriston Taylor]]
+*[[Edward Teller|Edward Teller]]
+*[[John Totter|John Totter]]
+*[[Charles Townes|Charles Townes]]
+*[[Dean Warren|Dean Warren]]
+*[[Alvin Weinberg|Alvin Weinberg]]
+*[[Herb York|Herb York]]
-[[Image:Hoff640x480.flv|left|High-definition Hoff video]]
+== Produced Segments  ==
-== [[Image:HoffStandard.flv|right|Standard Hoff video]]  ==
+[[Archives:Science Stories A|Science Stories A]] - Interviews with [[David Packard]] and [[Linus Pauling]]
-==  ==
+[[Archives:Science Stories B|Science Stories B]] - Interviews with [[Robert Larson|Robert Larson]], [[Glenn T. Seaborg|Glenn Seaborg]], Roger Egeberg, and [[Luis Walter Alvarez|Luis Alvarez]]
-==  ==
+[[Category:People and organizations|Larson]] [[Category:Scientists|Larson]] [[Category:Engineers|Larson]] [[Category:Nuclear and plasma sciences|Larson]] [[Category:Nuclear physics|Larson]]
-[[Luis_Walter_Alvarez|Luis Walter Alvarez]]
-<br><br>
-== David Packard<br>  ==
-David Packard was a native of Colorado, having been born in Pueblo on 7 September 1912. He attended public schools there, and then entered Stanford University in 1930. He had a distinguished academic career at Stanford, attaining membership in Phi Beta Kappa, and also earned letters in football and basketball.
-After receiving his A.B. degree in Electrical Engineering in 1934, he briefly pursued graduate study at the University of Colorado and then went to work for General Electric in Schenectady, New York. In 1938 he received an assistantship at Stanford and a year later received the degree of Engineer . In returning to Palo Alto he rejoined his old friend and classmate, William R. Hewlett, and the two fulfilled. a long-standing ambition - to go into business for themselves.
-When they formed the Hewlett-Packard Company in 1939, their first employee was a young woman whom David Packard had married the previous year. She was the former Lucile Salter, a Stanford graduate who served as a very capable office manager for the busy entrepreneurs.
-Even in the early days of the company it was apparent that Mr. Packard was a gifted administrator as well as a highly competent engineer. Under his war-time management, Hewlett-Packard was awarded the government's "E" for Efficiency honors on four different occasions, an outstanding production record. In 1947, when the firm was incorporated, he was elected president and served as chief executive officer until January, 1969, when he received a Presidential appointment as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense. In this capacity he made notable contributions to the nation's security and to the attainment of greater efficiency and economy in the defense establishment.
-Upon his return to Hewlett-Packard as board chairman in January, 1972, Mr. Packard resumed an extremely active career highlighted by service to various business, professional and charitable organizations. He was chairman of The Business Council, and a director of Standard Oil Company of California, Caterpillar Tractor Co., Trans World Airlines and the California State Chamber of Commerce. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and an honorary lifetime member of the Instrument Society of America.
-Mr. Packard's broad interest in education manifested itself in many constructive ways. Early in his career he served as president of the Palo Alto School Board and then later became president of the Board of Trustees of Stanford. He also served as a trustee of Colorado College and received an honorary degree from that institution in 1964. Similar degrees have been conferred upon him by Catholic University and the University of California.
-In recognition of his outstanding public service, Mr. Packard received many national awards. These include the Herbert Hoover Medal, the highest honor awarded by the Stanford Alumni Association; the James Forrestal Memorial Award, presented by the National Security Industrial Association; the Silver Quill Award, from the American Business Press, Inc.; and the Award for Very Distinguished Public Service, presented by the Federal City Club of Washington, D. C.
-Mr. Packard, like his partner, Mr. Hewlett, held several patents in the fields of electronics and scientific measurement. He also shared with Mr. Hewlett a keen interest in outdoor hobbies and activities. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, and spent much of his free time on their jointly-owned ranch properties.
-Mr. Packard was co-recipient, along with Mr. Hewlett of the 1973 IEEE Founders Medal "For leadership in the development of electronic instruments, for creative management of an industrial activity, and for their unselfish public service." <br><br>
-<rating comment="false">
-Well Written?
-(No)
-(Yes)
-</rating> <rating comment="false">
-Informative?
-(No)
-(Yes)
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-Accurate?
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-[[Category:People_and_organizations]] [[Category:Scientists]] [[Category:Oral_Histories]]