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Albert Gordon Hill papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MC-0365

Scope and Contents of the Collection

As Vice President for Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1970-1975, Albert Hill had overall responsibility for laboratories conducting sponsored research as well as the off campus Lincoln Laboratory. The collection documents the divestment of the Instrumentation Laboratory which transitioned to an independent Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in 1973. Correspondence, memoranda, and reports document his administrative involvement in the Energy Laboratory, the Research Laboratory of Electronics, the Instrumentation Laboratory, Lincoln Laboratory, the Laboratory for Nuclear Science, and the Plasma Fusion Center.

The collection also documents Hill's early career as a staff member of the war time Radiation Laboratory, and his teaching and research activities at MIT in the Department of Physics.

Albert Hill's involvement with government security and military organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Institute for Defense Analyses, the National Security Agency, and the United States Air Force are documented in this collection. Also included is correspondence with professional organizations including the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the American Institute of Physics, and the American Physical Society. Finally, correspondence and reports document Hill's involvement with outside corporations including Bowmar Instrumentation Corporation, General Atronics, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, General Dynamics, and International Business Machines.

Dates

  • Creation: 1943 - 1981

Creator

Conditions Governing Access note

Portions of this collection must be reviewed to identify any restricted material before access can be granted. Please submit your requests at least ten business days before your desired visit to allow time for this review. An archivist will respond within five business days to let you know whether your requested material is open. For complete information on this policy, see our Statement on Accessing Institute Records. Restrictions and materials requiring review are noted in the finding aid.

Conditions Governing Use

Access to collections in the Department of Distinctive Collections is not authorization to publish. Please see the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy for permission information. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the donor of the collection or MIT.

Biography

Albert Gordon Hill, BS, 1930, MS 1934, Washington University; PhD in physics, 1937, University of Rochester, was professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He also held administrative positions as the director of several research laboratories at MIT, and was chair of the Board of Directors, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., 1973-1982. At MIT, Hill chaired the committee that proposed and organized the Office for Minority Education.

Biographical / Historical

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1937
Instructor (Department of Physics)
1946
Associate Professor (Department of Physics)
1947
Professor (Department of Physics)
1975
Professor Emeritus
1946 to 1949
Associate Director of the Research Laboratory of Electronics
1949 to 1952
Director of the Research Laboratory of Electronics
1951 to 1952
Assistant Director of Lincoln Laboratory
1952 to 1955
Director of Lincoln Laboratory
1970 to 1975
Vice President for Research
1976 to 1978
Director of the MIT Plasma Fusion Center

Extent

17.6 Cubic Feet (53 manuscript boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection documents the career of Albert Gordon Hill, who was professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1947 to 1955. Hill also held administrative positions as the director of several research laboratories at MIT. The collection contains records of his tenure as vice president for research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1970-1975, and includes material documenting the divestment of the Instrumentation Laboratory at MIT, which became the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. in 1973.

Location

Materials are stored off-site. Advance notice is required for use.

Processing information note

This collection was processed by Anne Ward in January 1994. Description was revised in 2009.

Processing Information note

Collection description reviewed in 2009. Some MIT materials were listed in series 2, and were moved in component list to series 1. Materials kept physically in their original boxes. Noted that boxes 54-57 contained salary information and other non-permanent records and these were withdrawn in 2009.

Related Names

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Papers of Albert Gordon Hill
Status
Completed
Date
Published in 1994, revised 2009
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded by the Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics, as part of a collaborative project supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency.

Revision Statements

  • 2023 February 16: Revised by processing archivist Chris Tanguay to update access notes, extents, and normalize dates.

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository

https://libraries.mit.edu/distinctive-collections/
Contact:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
Building 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02139-4307 US

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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