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Records of the Gordon Research Conferences
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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
The Gordon Research Conferences (GRC) is a non-profit educational organization that arranges scientific conferences. Dedicated to building communities that advance the frontiers of science, the GRC brings together global networks of scientists to discuss the latest pre-publication research in their fields. In order to foster free and frank exchanges of ideas, note taking is discouraged and no formal records of the conferences are published.
The origins of the GRC date back to the late 1920s, when Johns Hopkins University's Department of Chemistry began an intermittent series of summer meetings to present new findings in chemistry and related fields. Neil E. Gordon, the Chair of Chemical Education at Johns Hopkins, soon took charge of organizing these meetings. Prominent academics from across the United States appealed to Gordon for permission to attend these meetings.
The organization that became the Gordon Research Conferences was founded in 1931, when Neil E. Gordon began organizing formal summer meetings held on an annual basis. The initial meetings were held under the auspices of Johns Hopkins University. Seeking a more remote location, Gordon moved the meetings to Gibson Island, Maryland in 1934, where they became known as the Gibson Island Conferences. In 1938, he persuaded the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to take a formal role in organizing the conferences, with himself serving as Director. Under the AAAS' auspices, the number of conferences grew. From 1938 to 1941, these conferences were known as the Special Research Conferences on Chemistry. In 1942, they were renamed the AAAS-Gibson Island Research Conferences.
In 1945, Gordon relinquished control of the conferences to his assistant, polymer chemist Sumner B. Twiss. In 1947, the conferences were moved to Colby Junior College (now known as Colby-Sawyer College) in New London, New Hampshire and renamed the Chemical Research Conferences. That same year, W. George Parks, a Professor of Chemistry at the Rhode Island State College (now known as the University of Rhode Island), was appointed Director. In 1948, in honor of founder Neil E. Gordon, the organization was renamed the Gordon Research Conferences.
Under W. George Parks' leadership (1947-1968), the GRC experienced significant growth. Parks moved Its headquarters to Rhode Island State College's campus in Kingston, Rhode Island. By 1956, the organization was holding thirty-six conferences with nearly four thousand participants from forty-six countries. That same year, the GRC was formally incorporated as a non-profit organization. Also under Parks' directorship, new conference sites were added in New England and the West Coast.
In 1968, Alexander M. Cruickshank, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Rhode Island and W. George Parks' longtime assistant, was appointed Director of the GRC. Under Cruickshank's directorship (1968-1993), the GRC continued to grow rapidly. Additional conference sites in New England were added and the organization held its first overseas conferences in Italy (1990) and Germany (1991). The number of conferences and attendees also grew.
Carlyle B. Storm, previously Chief Scientist for the Energetic Materials and Testing Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, was appointed Director of the GRC in 1993. Under Storm's directorship (1993-2003), the GRC continued to experience rapid expansion. New international conference sites were added in Europe and Asia, including those in Switzerland, England, Hong Kong, and Japan. The GRC's headquarters were moved to a new building in West Kingston, Rhode Island in 2002. Storm retired as Director in 2003 and was succeeded by current President and CEO Nancy Ryan Gray (2003-Present).
The GRC currently organizes over 395 Gordon Research Conferences and Gordon Research Seminars per year in a wide range of scientific fields. It continues to maintain its policies of encouraging the informal free exchange of ideas and not publishing formal records of its conferences.
Sources
Gordon Research Conferences 75th Anniversary Website – https://www.frontiersofscience.org
Gordon Research Conferences Website – https://www.grc.org
Records of the Gordon Research Conferences, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Records of the Gordon Research Conferences contain the organizational records of the Gordon Research Conferences (GRC), which mainly cover the period from 1927 to 2002. The records are arranged into the following twelve series:
- Neil E. Gordon and The Gibson Island Conferences
- Administrative Records - Minutes of Meetings
- Director's Files
- Attendee Lists
- Programs
- Conference Evaluations
- Host Institutions
- Addendum - Biographical
- Addendum - American Association for the Advancement of Science and Johns Hopkins University Materials
- Addendum - Paul D. Boyer Notes
- Addendum - Miscellaneous
- Addendum - Reproductive Tract Biology Conference
The Records of the Gordon Research Conferences were donated to the Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation) by the Gordon Research Conferences in 2002 and 2004.
The Records of the Gordon Research Conferences were processed by Andrew Mangravite in July 2002.
People
Organization
Subject
- Science -- Congresses
- Cancer -- Congresses
- Catalysis--Congresses
- Corrosion and anti-corrosives -- Congresses
- Food -- Congresses
- Nutrition -- Congresses
- Scientific apparatus and instruments -- Congresses
- Pharmaceutical chemistry -- Congresses
- Vitamins -- Congresses
- Congresses and conventions
- Reproduction -- Congresses
- Publisher
- Science History Institute Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid created by Andrew Mangravite and encoded into EAD by Kenton G. Jaehnig.
- Finding Aid Date
- 2002
- Access Restrictions
-
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes and the collection is open to the public.
- Use Restrictions
-
The Science History Institute holds copyright to the Records of the Gordon Research Conferences. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
Collection Inventory
Arranged in its original order, this series contains the GRC's Neil E. Gordon and Gibson Island Conferences files. This series contains files pertaining to the life and career of the GRC's founder Neil E. Gordon. It also contains files documenting the early activities of the GRC, dating back to when the conferences were known as the Gibson Island Research Conferences.
Files concerning Neil E. Gordon and the GRC itself make up the largest components of this series. A handful of files regarding the Kresge-Hooker Library, which document its purchase from Samuel C. Hooker and its residence at Central College in Fayette, Missouri, then Wayne University in Detroit, Michigan, are also present in this series. Two files regarding Neil E. Gordon's involvement with the National Fellowship Plan are also preserved here.
The contents of the Neil E. Gordon and The Gibson Island Conferences files consist of a variety of materials. Correspondence and publications are the most common materials found in these files. Smaller, but noticeable, amounts of article and paper manuscripts and articles are also present in these files. Small amounts of other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, minutes, legal documents, and periodicals are preserved here as wel
Note - Some of the earlier materials in this series were water damaged at some point and now suffer from dormant mold.
Contains a reprint of an article by Dr. Hooker setting forth the rationale behind his collection (Annotated, possibly by Neal E. Gordon). Also contains the typescript of an article by Neal E. Gordon detailing the negotiations leading to the sale of the library to Central College and an issue of The Record of Chemical Progress devoted to the installation of the collection at Wayne University.)
Includes the following documents: - "The Value of a Science Club in Secondary Schools" (A first glimmering of the Conferences
idea?), 1917 - "The Solubility of Liquids in Liquids," (Norman E. Gordon 's Dissertation), 1917 - "When Will Teaching Chemistry Become A Science?", 1921 - "Application of Educational Psychology to Chemical Education", 1921 - "Influence of Soil Colloids on Availability of Salts," Neil E. Gordon and E. B. Starkey, 1921
(Discarded due to mold damage.) - Publications of Neil E. Gordon (Comprehensive), 1917-1933
Includes the following documents: - "Influence of Soil Colloids on Availability of Salts." Neil E. Gordon and E. B. Starkey, 1921
(Discarded due to mold damage.) - "The Solubility of Liquids in Liquids. The Partition of the Lower Acids, Particularly Formic,
Between Water and Various Organic Solvents." Neil E. Gordon and E. Emmet Reid, 1922 (Discarded due to mold damage.) - "Adsorption of Plant Food by Colloidal Silica." R. C. Wiley and Neil E. Gordon, 1922 - "Influence of Hydrogen-Ion Concentration on Adsorption of Plant Food by Soil Colloids." E. B.
Starkey and Neil E. Gordon, 1922 (Discarded due to mold.)
Includes the following documents: - "Adsorption and Replacement of Plant Food in Colloidal Oxides of Iron and Aluminum." D. C.
Lichtenwalner, A. L. Flenner and Neil E. Gordon, 1923 (Discarded due to mold.) - "Availability of Adsorbed Phosphorus." R. C. Wiley and Neil E. Gordon, 1923 (Discarded due to
mold.) - "Effect of Hydrogen Ion Concentration on Adsorption of Dyes by Wools and Mordants."
(Preliminary Paper) O. Reinmuth and Neil E. Gordon, 1923 - "Availability of Potash in Mixed Fertilizers", undated
Includes the following documents: - "Editor's Outlook," Journal of Chemical Education, 1924 January, 1924 October - "Effects of Hydrogen-Ion Concentration on Compound Formation and Adsorption of Dyes by
Mordants." R. E. Marker and Neil E. Gordon, 1924 (Discarded due to mold.) - "Proposed Research Institute for Chemical Education." (Another Gordon Research Conferences pre-
view?), 1924
Includes the following documents: - "Editor's Outlook," Journal of Chemical Education, 1925 March - "Theory of Adsorption and Soil Gels", 1925 - "Correlation of High School & College Chemistry" (Report of committee chaired by Neil E.
Gordon.), 1927 - "Poland - A Country with a Chemical Future", 1927 (Discarded due to mold.)
Includes the following documents: - "The Role of Phosphates on the Taking Up of Dyes by Mordants." Charles E. White and Neil E.
Gordon, 1928 (Discarded due to mold.) - "A Study of the Emulsifying Properties of Certain Salts of Arabic Acid." John C. Krantz, Jr.,
and Neil E. Gordon, 1929 - "The Chair of Chemical Education at the John Hopkins "Nature of Interactions Between Hydrous
Oxides and Mordant Dyes." Otto Reinmuth and Neil E. Gordon, 1930
Includes the following documents: - "Journal of Chemical Education (Announcing retirement of Neil E. Gordon as Editor of the
journal.), 1933 January (Discarded.) - "The Dissociation Constants of Some Chlorophenols." John W. Murray and Neil E. Gordon, 1938
(Discarded.) - "The Reduction of the Uranyl Ion in the Uranyl Oxalate Actinometer." E. C. Pitzer, N. E. Gordon
and D. A. Wilson, 1938 (Discarded.) - U.S. Patent 2,176,495: "Method of Producing Cadmium Selenide." Neil E. Gordon and Edgar C.
Pitzer, 1939 - "Hydrolytic Precipitation of Cadmium selenide from Selenosulfate Solutions." E. C. Pitzer and N.
E. Gordon, 1938 (Discarded.) - "The Section, Division, and Journal of Chemical Education" (A retrospective account by Norman E.
Gordon.), 1943
Photographs removed and refiled. Other contents include a 1981 booklet prepared in honor of the Gordon Research Conferences' 50th Anniversary, a 1958 account of a "typical" Gordon Research Conference by James C. Cleveland, a 1956 account of the conferences by W. George Parks, and an anonymous 1950 brief history of the Gordon Research Conferences.
Arranged chronologically by date, this series contains an incomplete run of the GRC's Minutes of Meetings, dating from 1946 to 1983 and then the year 1986. The minutes cover meetings of the GRC's Board of Trustees, Advisory Board, Council, Budget and Finance Committee, and Scheduling and Selection Committee. Matters discussed include, but are not limited to, policy changes, finances, long-range planning and the setting up of individual conferences. These Minutes of Meetings begin late in the directorship of Sumner B. Twiss, cover the entire tenure of the GRC's third Director, W. George Parks, and most of the tenure of Parks' successor, Alexander M. Cruickshank.
This series contains the GRC's Director's Files. The contents of the Director's Files are arranged into the following five sub-series:
- Sumner B. Twiss
- W. George Parks
- Alexander M. Cruikshank
- Miscellaneous Correspondence and Documents
- Carlyle B. Storm
Sumner B. Twiss was the second Director of the Gibson Island Research Conferences (1944-1947). A Professor of Chemistry at Wayne University (now known as Wayne State University), Twiss assisted Neil E. Gordon unofficially while Gordon's official assistant John C. Krantz, Jr. was involved in war work. Following Krantz's resignation from the Gibson Island project, Twiss took over officially as Gordon's assistant. When Gordon resigned from the directorship for health reasons in 1944, Twiss became his successor. Twiss served in this capacity for two years before leaving it and Wayne University for a job in industry. He was succeeded as Director of the newly renamed Gordon Research Conferences by Dr. W. George Parks in 1947.
Arranged alphabetically by subject, this sub-series contains the GRC's Sumner B. Twiss files. The files in this sub-series document Twiss' activities with the Gibson Island Research Conferences. The materials in this sub-series mainly document Twiss' tenure as Director. A small amount of materials covering his stint as assistant to Neil E. Gordon are also preserved here.
Correspondence makes up the bulk of the materials in the Sumner B. Twiss files. Other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, conference documents, attendee lists, financial documents, and surveys are preserved in this sub-series as well.
See also Box 15 Folders 4-5.
See also Box 3 Folder 6 and Box 3 Folder 9.
See also Box 4 Folders 1-6.
See also Box 4 Folders 1-6 and Box 12 Folder 5c.
See also Box 6 Folder 7 and Box 13 Folder 2a.
Wilbur George Parks was the second Director of the of the newly renamed Gordon Research Conferences (1947-1968). A Professor of Chemistry at Rhode Island State College (now known as the University of Rhode Island), Parks assumed the directorship in 1947. He presided over a period of expansion for the organization, during which the conferences moved from Gibson Island, Maryland to Colby Junior College in New London, New Hampshire, then to a consortium of colleges and spread beyond the bounds of New England to the West Coast. He was succeeded by his longtime assistant Dr. Alexander M. Cruickshank in 1968.
Arranged alphabetically by subject, this sub-series contains the GRC's W. George Parks files. The files in this sub-series document Parks' activities as Director. Small amounts of materials predating and postdating his tenure as Director are also present here.
Correspondence makes up the bulk of the materials in the W. George Parks files. Other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, minutes, conference schedules, speaker abstracts, attendee lists, financial documents, and newsletters are preserved in this sub-series as well.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science was the sponsor of the Gordon Research Conferences and had ultimate control over them. The Advisory Board oversaw the Gordon Research Conferences' operations until the GRC's incorporation in 1955. This correspondence concerns a variety of "bread-and-butter" topics and includes some conference documents.
Mold damage.
See also Box 44 Folder 2.
Working under the Board of Trustees, the Council was the governing body of the GRC. W. George Parks, in his capacity as Director of the GRC, was an ex officio member of Council. These files all contain correspondence relating to a variety of official matters. For the files of the Board of Trustees, see Box 20 Folder 11 through Box 22 Folder 2.
Alexander Cruickshank served as Deputy Director of the Conferences during W. George Parks' long tenure as Director. He succeeded to the Directorship following Parks' resignation. This file is a collection of miscellaneous documents and correspondence including "Proposal to Establish the GRC Fund" by Parks and a handwritten account of the Gordon Research Conferences by Cruickshank himself.
See also Box 36 and Box 37.
The Engineering Foundation Research Conferences (or EFRC) was an organization modeled upon the Gordon Research Conferences, but was principally concerned with the investigation of areas either outside of the GRC's purview or attempted but discarded by them. W. George Parks appears to have been fairly active in the EFRC's affairs.
See also Box 44 Folder 8.
Fisher was an official reviewer of the 1963 conferences. The Gordon Research Conferences relied upon such reviewers to provide impartial judgements and, by their very presence, to ensure a level of "quality control."
The Gordon Research Conferences established a fund to finance travel expenses for academics and overseas invitees. The file contains responses to requests for support of the fund.
The "General Correspondence" files in this sub-series deal with a variety of topics.
See also Box 11 Folder 1.
See also Box 1 Folder 8.
Gordon Research Conferences solicited contributions from its corporate supporters to sponsor the attendance of deserving graduate students at GRC sessions. These are letters that accompanied the checks and acknowledgements of same.
In 1964, this conference voted to "secede" from the GRC and operate under ISA governance.
This conference "floated" between being a self-governing organization and being a part of the GRC group.
Alec Jordan Associates was the Gordon Research Conferences' first public relations consultant firm. Alex Jordan was also a chemist and a long-time Gordon Research Conferences member.
Most of these files relate directly to Jordan's efforts to publicize the work of the Gordon Research Conferences.
See also Box 26 Folder 4.
In 1965, this conference was discontinued due to low attendance.
Box 43 contains files relating to the Selection and Scheduling Committee of the Gordon Research Conferences. The Selection and Scheduling Committee held great power which it could exercise in several ways. First, it decided which conferences would be scheduled and where they would be held. Second, when controlled by "activist" members, it could alter the entire thrust of Gordon Research Conferences by voting to drop outmoded conferences and replace them with conferences devoted to more cutting edge topics. (To chart the subsequent growth of the conferences, see Series IV. Attendee Lists.) Lastly, as a result of the Selection and Scheduling Committee's deliberations, individual conferences could, and did, secede from Gordon Research Conferences supervision to set up shop on their own or under rival groups.)
Includes memorial tribute to John R. Bowman, a Gordon Research Conferences official who was a "regular" at these Sessions.
See also Box 28 Folder 2.
The file on the 1960 session of this conference contains excellent letters from Conference Chairman David W. Fassett demonstrating the mechanics of putting together a Gordon Research Conference.
Includes information on the "mechanics" of the move from Gibson Island, Maryland to Colby Junior College in New London, New Hampshire.
Alexander M. Cruickshank was the third Director of the Gordon Research Conferences (1968-1993.) A Professor of Chemistry at the University of Rhode Island, Cruikshank served as W. George Park's assistant during the latter's tenure as Director and succeeded him in this position following his resignation in 1968. Cruickshank was succeeded as Director by his assistant, Dr. Carlyle B. Storm in 1993.
Arranged alphabetically by subject, this sub-series contains the GRC's Alexander M. Cruikshank files. The files in this sub-series document Cruikshank's activities as Director. Small amounts of materials predating his tenure as Director are also present here.
Correspondence makes up the bulk of the materials in the Alexander M. Cruikshank files. Significant amounts of proposal and programs are also found in this sub-series. Small amounts of other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, attendee lists, agendas, reports, and minutes are preserved here as well.
See also "Thin Films," Box 58 Folder 4.
This sub-series consists mostly of correspondence files containing material that escaped being filed in the appropriate conference or topic folders. Accordingly, these files have been left in "as is" condition to suggest the volume and varieties of correspondence received by the various directors of the GRC.
Correspondence makes up the bulk of the materials in this sub-series. Small amounts of other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, articles, news releases, and reports, are preserved here as well.
Carlyle B. Storm was the fourth Director of the Gordon Research Conferences (1993-2003). Storm succeeded Alexander M. Cruikshank as Director in 1993. Prior to assuming the directorship, he was Chief Scientist for the Energetic Materials and Testing Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Under Storm's leadership, the GRC experienced a great deal of growth, expanding both nationally and internationally. Storm was succeeded as Director by Nancy Ryan Gray in 2003.
Arranged chronologically by year and alphabetically by subject, this sub-series contains the GRC's Carlyle B. Storm files. The files in this sub-series document Carlyle B. Storm's activities as Director between 1996 and 1999. Due to the GRC's expansion into an international organization during Storm's tenure, some materials that were once collected under Series IV (Attendee Lists) and Series V (Programs) are now included as part of Carlyle B. Storm's director's files.
Correspondence makes up the bulk of the materials in this sub-series. Other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, booklets, abstracts, attendee lists, and programs are preserved here as well.