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 statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

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: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, 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 or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, 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 land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

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

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

Interviews

He conducted oral history interviews of many physical scientists, particularly astrophysicists such as Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (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 ''Never at War: Why Democracies Will Not Fight One Another'' is a book by the historian and physicist Spencer R. Weart published by Yale University Press in 1998. It examines political and military conflicts throughout human history and finds no ...

: Why Democracies Will Not Fight One Another'' (1998). *''

The Discovery of Global Warming ''The Discovery of Global Warming'' is a book by physicist and historian Spencer R. Weart published in 2003; revised and updated edition, 2008. It traces the history of scientific discoveries that led to the current scientific opinion on climate ...

'' (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) 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