Call Number:

042.002

Repository:

Science History Institute Archives

Extent:

14 photographic prints (1 folder)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Photographs from the Papers of Michael P. Barnett, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, PA.

Date:

1945-1962 (inclusive) and 1950s (bulk)

Creator:

Barnett, Michael P. (1929-2012)

Form:

Photographs and Photograph collections

Abstract:

Print photographs documenting key highlights in the career of British theoretical chemist and computer scientist Michael P. Barnett.

Michael P. Barnett was born on March 24, 1929 and received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from King's College, London, in 1948. Studying under Charles Coulson, Barnett earned his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics in 1952 and, in his postdoctoral work, notably expanded on Coulson's application of mathematical and computational formulas to quantum chemical problems. Over the course of his career, Barnett participated in research groups at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the Institute of Computer Science at the University of London, as well as oversaw the installation of an IBM 709 in the Cooperative Computing Laboratory at MIT. Barnett also participated in the 1951 Shelter Island Conference on Quantum Mechanics in Valence Theory and was a colleague of Samuel Francis (Frank) Boys, Robert Mulliken, and John Clark Slater, among others. Michael P. Barnett died in Princeton, New Jersey on March 13, 2012.

This collection consists of black and white print photographs documenting key highlights in the career of Michael P. Barnett from 1945 to 1962. The collection includes photographs of Barnett and his colleagues at King's College and MIT, as well as group portraits from notable gatherings and conferences, such as the 1951 Shelter Island Conference on Quantum Mechanics in Valence Theory. Several photographs of Barnett's notable acquaintances, including Samuel Francis (Frank) Boys and Charles Coulson, as well as a screenshot of an early computational output, round out the collection.