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Joseph F. Bunnett Papers
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Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Science History Institute Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Joseph F. Bunnett was an American chemist and chemistry professor. Born in Portland, Oregon on November 26, 1921, Bunnett earned his bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Reed College (1942), and his Ph.D in Organic Chemistry from the University of Rochester (1945). After obtaining his doctorate, he initially worked as a Research Chemist for Western Pine Association (1945-1946), then moved to academia and taught chemistry at Reed College (1946-1952), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1952-1958), and Brown University (1958-1966).
In 1966, Bunnett joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the newly-established University of California, Santa Cruz, where he enjoyed a distinguished career. At UC Santa Cruz, he conducted research on the kinetics, equilibria, and mechanisms of organic chemical reactions, for which he was internationally respected. He also had a strong scientific interest in the detection and destruction of chemical warfare agents.
During his tenure at UC Santa Cruz, Bunnett served as Founding Editor of the scientific journal Accounts of Chemical Research. Founded in 1966, this journal featured short, concise, and critical articles that offered easy-to-read overviews of basic research in all areas of chemistry. Under Bunnett's editorship (1966-1986), Accounts of Chemical Research grew into a prestigious journal with a wide readership within the scientific community.
Bunnett retired from UC Santa Cruz as Professor Emeritus of Chemistry in 1991, but remained active in the scientific community for a number of years. During the 1990s, he turned his attention to the destruction of chemical weapons. From 1991 to 1995, Bunnett served as Chairman of the IUPAC Committee on Chemical Weapons Destruction Technologies. He also served on committees of a number of other national and international bodies concerned with this issue, including the United States Department of Defense and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Over the course of his scientific career, Bunnett received numerous honors for his contributions to chemistry, including two Fulbright Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the 1992 James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry.
Joseph F. Bunnett passed away on May 22, 2015.
Sources
Joseph F. Bunnett Papers, Chemical Heritage Foundation Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Joseph F. Bunnett Papers contain the professional files of American chemist and chemistry professor Joseph F. Bunnett. The materials preserved in this collection primarily document Bunnett's editorship of the scientific journal Accounts of Chemical Research. The collection is arranged into the following two series:
- Accounts of Chemical Research Files
- Miscellaneous
The Joseph F. Bunnett Papers were donated to the Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation) by Joseph F. Bunnett in two accessions: January 1997 and October 2001.
The Joseph F. Bunnett Papers were processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig in July 2015.
Subject
Place
Occupation
- Publisher
- Science History Institute Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid created and encoded into EAD by Kenton G. Jaehnig
- Finding Aid Date
- 2015
- Access Restrictions
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There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes and the collection is open to the public.
- Use Restrictions
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The Science History Institute holds copyright to the Joseph F. Bunnett Papers with the exception of the following item:
In Series II, Joseph F. Bunnett retains copyright for the Chemistry 8B class outline.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
Collection Inventory
This series contains files documenting Joseph F. Bunnett's editorship of Accounts of Chemical Research. The contents of the Accounts of Chemical Research Files are arranged into the following two sub-series:
- Published Articles Files
- Administrative Files
Arranged alphabetically by subject, this sub-series contains Joseph F. Bunnett's files concerning scientific articles published in Accounts of Chemical Research under his editorship. The materials in these files identify the authors whose articles were accepted for publication and which of their articles were actually published. They also provide detailed documentation of the process through which the journal's articles were submitted, peer reviewed, edited, and published. To a lesser extent, information regarding the scientific research documented in Accounts of Chemical Research's articles is also found here.
The contents of the Published Articles Files consist mainly of correspondence, reviewer reports, and manuscript transmittal sheets. Notes, copies of article abstract manuscripts, a few magazine clippings, and a handful of article manuscripts are found in these files as well.
Arranged alphabetically by subject, this sub-series consists of Joseph F. Bunnett's files documenting the administration of Accounts of Chemical Research under his editorship. A majority of the files in this sub-series regard author suggestions by Accounts of Chemical Research's Editorial Advisory Board and the solicitation (successful and unsuccessful) of articles from suggested authors. Files regarding the production of several special issues of Accounts of Chemical Research are also preserved here. Also found in this sub-series are several files pertaining to miscellaneous administrative matters, including, but not limited to policies and procedures, submission of articles, and acceptance/rejection of submitted articles. Four files regarding articles not accepted for publication are found in this sub-series as well.
The contents of the Administrative Files consist of a variety of materials. Correspondence, questionnaires, tabulation charts, and notes are found in these files. Flyers, forms, a few magazine clippings, a few brochures, and a handful of article manuscripts are found in this sub-series as well.
Arranged alphabetically by subject, this series contains publications collected by Joseph F. Bunnett. The contents of this series consist mainly of publications from various institutions visited by Bunnett during the 1970s and 1980s, including, but not limited to, the National University of Cordoba's School of Chemistry and the Polish Academy of Sciences. Also preserved in this series are two publications from the University of California, Santa Cruz: an overview of the university's graduate study program in Chemistry and Biochemistry, and an outline for a chemistry class taught by Bunnett during the 1991 winter term. An overview of the Argentine chemistry journal Chemia, and three publications from the Organic Natural Resources 3rd Symposium (held in Sendai, Japan) are found in this series as well.