Spencer R. Weart (born 1942) is the former director of the Center for History of Physics of the

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

(AIP) from 1971 until his retirement in 2009.

Life

Originally trained as a physicist, he is now a historian of science. He earned his B.A. in Physics at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1963 and a Ph.D. in Physics and Astrophysics at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, Boulder, in 1968. He then did postdoctoral studies at the Hale Observatories and

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

, publishing papers on solar physics; from 1971 to 1974 he studied history of science in the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. While directing the AIP Center for History of Physics he taught courses at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Interviews

He conducted oral history interviews of many physical scientists, particularly astrophysicists such as

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (; 19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian Americans, Indian-American theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to the scientific knowledge about the structure of stars, stellar evolution and ...

(1977) and climate scientists such as Wallace Broecker (1997).

Works

He has produced numerous historical articles and two children's science books and written or co-edited eleven other books, including the following: *''Scientists in Power'' (1979). A history of the rise of nuclear science, weapons, and reactors in France. *as editor with Gertrud Weiss Szilard: ''Leo Szilard: His Version of the Facts'' (1978). Edited correspondence.
''Nuclear Fear: A History of Images''
(1989) *as editor with Lillian Hoddeson, Ernest Braun & Jürgen Teichmann

(1992). *'' Never at War: Why Democracies Will Not Fight One Another'' (1998). *'' The Discovery of Global Warming'' (2003, 2008)
Online extended version

''The Rise of Nuclear Fear''
(2012). While at AIP he also produced and edited an award-winning website with historical exhibits.

References

External links

Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics citationHistory of Physics website with exhibits edited by Spencer Weart
(laser history; text by Spencer Weart)

Archival collections

Spencer Weart research material for his book, Nuclear Fear: A History of Images, 1957-1987, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American physicists 1942 births Living people Nuclear weapons policy Nuclear history of the United States American historians of science Cornell University alumni University of Colorado Boulder alumni American male non-fiction writers {{US-sci-historian-stub