Collections

The Vincent J. Schaefer Papers represent the professional accomplishments and personal interests of the scientist who discovered cloud seeding. Schaefer spent more than 20 years with General Electric in Schenectady, New York, working his way up from apprentice, to research assistant, to research associate. In those years he was mentored by Irving Langmuir, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry. The work Schaefer did at General Electric laid the foundation for further success as he became director of research for the Munitalp Foundation, began a highly successful summer science program for high school students, acted as an independent consultant, and founded the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center at the State University of New York at Albany. This collection contains research data, notes, correspondence, publications, and photographs that showcase Schaefer's long, industrious scientific career as well as highlighting his many hobbies in local history and environmentalism.

The Violet and Irwin F. Bender, Sr. Papers document the Pennsylvania couple's shortwave radio monitoring and subsequent correspondence about prisoners of war during World War II. The papers also contain correspondence about Axis Sally, an American radio broadcaster who was working for the Third Reich during the war and was later tried and convicted of treason in the United States.

This collection contains materials used by Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP) in its efforts to end capital punishment in Virginia.

This collection consists of the papers of Dr. Vivian Constance Hopkins, documenting both her career in academia and her personal correspondence.

Volker Mohnen joined the faculty at the State University of New York at Albany in 1967 and later served as director of the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) from 1975-1985. He later became a full professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science and currently is professor emeritus. This collection primarily documents his research activities and university duties from the late 1960s through the 1980s. It includes research materials, correspondence, newspaper clippings and files discussing professional activities such as meetings/conferences and testimonies.

The Walter A. Friedländer (Friedlander) Papers consist of 45 archival boxes of materials, dating primarily from 1932 to 1984, with the bulk of material comprising Friedländer's voluminous correspondence (30 boxes). The collection also contains biographical materials, manuscripts and publications by Friedländer, as well as course materials and materials pertaining to national and international social welfare conferences, publications by other scholars, and materials collected by Friedländer on topics of interest, particularly social welfare topics.

This collection is primarily composed of copies of materials documenting Walter Stettner's and his parents' efforts to obtain safe passage for the parents from Nazi-occupied Europe.

The Walter Maria Kotschnig Papers, 1920-1984, focus on two major aspects of Kotschnig's life, his early career with the International Student Service, 1936-1944, and his diplomatic career with the United States Department of State and the United Nations, 1945-1971, in particular his representation on the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

The collection contains seven plays in English on theater, dance, and German literature.

This collection documents gay and lesbian publications with a particular emphasis on the Capital Region and Upstate New York. Material from New York City and neighboring states is also included.