Reminiscences of William A. Higinbotham, 1980-1983.

Biographical Note

Physicist.

Scope and Contents

William Alfred Higinbotham, 1910-1994. Childhood: family; Williams College 1928-1932, Cornell University 1932-1940, graduate research on surface ionization, technician, Cornell University Physics Dept., 1935-1940; radar research, Radiation Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of technology [MIT] 1941-1943: invention of Higinbotham scaler circuit; head of electronics division, Manhattan Project, Los Alamos 1944-1945: development of Naval Tactical Data System [NTDS]; chairman National Committee on Atomic Information [NCAI] 1945; Federation of Atomic Scientists [FAS], Washington 1946-1947: mechanisms of lobbying, funding, public relations; Brookhaven National Laboratory 1947- , associated head of the instrumentation division 1947-1951, head 1953-1968; loyalty and security investigations of scientific community; nuclear research: atomic bomb, radiation damage, fallout shelters, nuclear energy, legislation; arms control: safeguards; Rowan Gaither panel, nuclear test ban, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT], disarmament; President's Science Advisory Committee, National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy [SANE]; International Atomic Energy Association [IAEA], Atomic Energy Commission [AEC] and others; national and international cooperation: Pugwash-meetings, contacts with Soviet scientists; colleague reminiscences.

Subjects

• Anti-submarine warfare.
• Arms control.
• Brookhaven National Laboratory--Interviews.
• Federation of American Scientists--Interviews.
• Federation of Atomic Scientists--Interviews.
• Higinbotham, William A.--Interviews.
• International Atomic Energy Agency.
• Interviews.
• Los Alamos National Laboratory--Interviews.
• Manhattan Project (U.S.)--Interviews.
• National Committee on Atomic Information--Interviews.
• National security--United States--History--20th century.
• Naval Tactical Data System.
• Nuclear arms control.
• Nuclear energy.
• Nuclear engineering--Safety measures.
• Nuclear nonproliferation.
• Nuclear weapons.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Physicists--Interviews.
• Physics.
• Pugwash Conferences on Science & World Affairs.
• Radioactive waste disposal.
• Smith, P. K., interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr
• Space weapons.
• Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968 June 12)
• United States--Military policy--20th century.
• United States. President's Science Advisory Committee--Interviews.
• Weapons--Inspection.

Access Conditions

Copyright by The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 1998