Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, 1950-1993, Undated

Extent:
16.0 cubic ft.
Scope and content:

Schaefer's connection with the University at Albany began in 1959 when the school was still known as the New York State Teachers College, located in downtown Albany. When Schaefer began the highly successful Atmospheric Physics Program via the Loomis School in Connecticut, he attracted the attention of Dean Oscar Lanford and President Evan Collins of the New York State Teachers College. They asked Schaefer to come teach at their Albany school, and within his first year as a faculty member, the idea for the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) was born. Officially established in February 1961, it was originally located in the old General Electric hangar at Schenectady Airport. Although the former New York State Teachers College expanded to the current uptown Albany campus in the mid-1960s, officially becoming the University at Albany, State University of New York, the ASRC remained centered in Schenectady at that time. Meanwhile, the Atmospheric Physics Program that began at the Loomis School shifted to Albany to be under the sponsorship of the ASRC, where it became the Natural Sciences Institute (NSI). However, since the program's roots were not originally with the ASRC and University at Albany, those records comprise their own series within this collection (Series #5).

The ASRC was designed in memory of the atmosphere that Schaefer enjoyed at the General Electric Research Laboratory in the 1930s and 1940s, where scientists were allowed plenty of freedom to conduct their experiments and Director Willis Whitney asked each day if his researchers were having fun. Besides conducting their own original research, ASRC scientists were always in contact with other professionals around the United States and internationally, sharing their research and collaborating on new ideas. The Center was also an ideal location for budding scientists from the University at Albany to collaborate with professionals. Schaefer brought some of the best scientists of the day to the ASRC thanks to his contacts from General Electric and Munitalp. Ray Falconer, Bernard Vonnegut, and Duncan Blanchard all became part of the ASRC family as it grew from the G.E. airplane hangar, to a building at 100 Fuller Road by the SUNY Albany uptown campus (1978), and finally to 251 Fuller Road (1997) where it is part of the Center for Environmental Sciences and Technology Management (CESTM).

Although Schaefer was the principle founder of the ASRC, Dr. David Barry and Dr. Eugene McLaren were among the first directors while Schaefer was director of research (and chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee.) However, Schaefer became overall director in 1965, a position he held until his retirement from the ASRC and teaching in 1976. Given the title of Professor Emeritus, he remained an advisor to the ASRC for years after.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically, with the exception of the reports and publications which are chronological.

Contents

Using these materials

Access:
The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.
Collection restrictions:
Access to this record group is mainly unrestricted with the exception of fourteen folders in Series #5, the Natural Sciences Institute, and two folders in Series #6, the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center. Researchers with inquiries about this material should contact the head of archives.
Collection terms of access:
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

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