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Oral History

Oral History interviews with SLAC staff and users have been conducted at SLAC and at other institutions by SLAC Archives and History Office staff and by others interested in the history of physics and computing.  
 

Information collected in these interviews supplements original correspondence and other primary source materials collected by the Archives and History Office.

SLAC Interviews

Interviews have been conducted by SLAC staff on an irregular basis, as resources have permitted. The Archives and History Office staff are currently working on a project to identify all past interview subjects, locate interview tapes and permission forms, and create interview transcripts. Our holdings contain tapes or transcripts of interviews with the following staff members and users:

Note: Some links on this page open pdf files, which require the free Acrobat Reader.

  • Ballam, Joseph. Interviewed by Bill Kirk and Natalie Roe. SLAC. November 5 and November 13, 1987.
  • Boeheim, Charles. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. September 24, 2008.
  • Breidenbach, Martin. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. October 10, 2018, April 9, 2019, and July 18, 2019 (review of 2001 SLD History presentation).
  • Brown, Karl. Interviewed by Roxanne Nilan and William Kirk. SLAC. February 1, 1990.
  • Caryotakis, George. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. August 31, 2006.
  • Collett, Gerard J. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. November 6, 2006.
  • Cottrell, Roger L. Interviewed by Jean Deken and Randy Melen. SLAC. July 29, 2010.
  • Feldman, Gary. Interviewed by Roxanne Nilan and William Kirk. SLAC. August 10, 1990.
  • Fischer, Gerhard E. Interviewed by Roxanne Nilan and William Kirk. SLAC. March 1 and March 9, 1990.
  • Garwin, Ed. Interviewed by Roxanne Nilan. SLAC. November 20, 1989. Subject: E-122, Parity Violation Experiment.
  • Gould, Bob. Interviewed by William Kirk. SLAC. May 17, 1988.
  • Gowans, Mil (VanDyke). Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. July 29, 2010.
  • Hodgson, Keith O. Interviewed by Glennda Chui. SLAC. July 29, 2021.
  • Jarvis, Helen. Interviewed by Robin Chandler. SLAC. August 6, 1992.
  • Jensen, Sharon. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. June 28, 2006.
  • Jobe, Jerry. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. February 28, 2007.
  • Kinst, William. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. June 17 and 24, 2010.
  • LeCount, Arla. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. May 30, 2008.
  • Loew, Gregory. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. November 15, 2019; November 22, 2019; November 26, 2019;
  • Logg, Connie. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. December 8, 2006.
  • Nygren, David. Interviewed by Robin Chandler. LBNL. December 3, 1990.
  • Perl, Martin. Interviewed by Bill Kirk and Natalie Roe. SLAC. February 2 and June 9, 1988.
  • Richter, Burton. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC September 6, 2006.
  • Ross, Marc. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. September 6, 2006.
  • Sinclair, Charles. Interviewed by Bill Kirk and Natalie Roe. SLAC. September 15, 1987.
  • Troxel, Teresa. Interviewed by Jean Deken. SLAC. February 8, 2007.
  • Zdarko, Richard. Interviewed by Robin Chandler. SLAC. June 11, 1991.

AIP Interviews of SLAC staff and affiliates

Interviews taped with the following individuals and groups have been deposited with the American Institute of Physics Center for the History of Physics. Transcripts may be obtained from the AIP, subject to restrictions imposed by the AIP, the interviewer or the subject. Typical AIP restrictions include allowing reading of interview transcripts by any researcher with an approved access application on file, but copies (usually of excerpts only) and quotes may not be made without permission from the individual who was interviewed. Use the Center's International Catalog of Sources to locate more information about these oral histories. This list is by no means comprehensive.

  • Abbadessa, John. Interviewed by Elizabeth Paris. August 23, 1996.
  • Allen, Matt. Interviewed by David Zierler. May 19, 2020.
  • Appelquist, Thomas. Interviewed by David Zierler. August 28, 2020.
  • Baker, Marshall. Interviewed by David Zierler. August 21, 2020.
  • Baltay, Charles. Oral history interview with Charles Baltay, 2020 June 16.
  • Beerbohm, Marybeth. Interviewed by David Zierler. April 27, 2020.
  • Bienenstock, Arthur. Interviewed by David Zierler. April 22, 2020.
  • Bjorken, James D. "BJ" Interviewed by David Zierler. April 1, 2020.
  • Blandford, Roger. Interviewed by David Zierler, April 29, 2021.
  • Blankenbecler, Richard. Interviewed by Finn Aaserud. May 5, 1987.
  • Bloom, Elliott. Interviewed by David Zierler. October 29, 2020
  • Bowden, Gordon. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 5, 2021.
  • Brau, James E. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 11, 2021.
  • Brennan, Sean. Interviewed by Jon Phillips, May 10, 2021.
  • Brodsky, Stanley. Interviewed by David Zierler, April 22, 2021.
  • Caryotakis, George. Interviewed by David Zierler. May 27, 2020
  • Chao, Alex. Interviewed by David Zierler. October 8, 2020
  • Cottrell, Les. Interviewed by David Zierler, April 28, 2021.
  • Coward, David. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 6, 2020.
  • Creutz, Michael. Interviewed by David Zierler. June 2, 2021.
  • Dine, Michael. Interviewed by David Zierler, April 14, 2021.
  • Drell, Persis. Interviewed by David Zierler. May 4, 2020
  • Drell, Sidney D. Interviewed by Elizabeth Paris. August 1, 1996.
  • Drell, Sidney D. Interviewed by Finn Aaserud. July 1, 1986.
  • Ellis, John. Interviewed by David Zierler. May 6, 2021.
  • Emma, Paul. Interviewed by David Zierler. September 7, 2020
  • Feldman, Gary. Interviewed by David Zierler, June 19, 2020.
  • Feynman, Richard, Session V. Interviewed by Charles Weiner. February 4, 1973.
  • Flatté Stanley Martin. Interviewed by Finn Aaserud. July 21, 1986.
  • Franklin, Melissa. Interviewed by David Zierler. August 7, 2020
  • Friedman, Jerome. Interviewed by David Zierler, August 12, 2020.
  • Frieman, Joshua. Interviewed by David Zierler. October 6, 2020.
  • Fryberger, David. Interviewed by David Zierler. May 13, 2021
  • Galayda, John. Interviewed by David Zierler. April 14, 2020
  • Galison, Peter. Interviewed by David Zierler. June 22, 2020.
  • Geesaman, Donald. Interviewed by Catherine Westfall. July 15, 2013.
  • Gilchriese, Murdock (Gil). Interviewed by David Zierler. April 5, 2021.
  • Gilman, Fred. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 20 and June 10, 2020.
  • Gittelman, Bernard. Interviewed by Elizabeth Paris. August 21, 1996.
  • Goldhaber, Gerson. Session I, Session II, Session III, Session IV, Session V, Session VI. Interviewed by Ursula Pavlish.
  • Guth, Alan. Session I, Session II. Interviewed by Alan Lightman.
  • Haber, Carl. Interviewed by David Zierler. April 13, 2021
  • Herrmannsfeldt, William. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 14, 2021.
  • Hitlin, David. Interviewed by David Zierler. May 6 & 25, 2021.
  • Holt, R. J. Interviewed by Catherine Westfall. July 16, 2013.
  • Jaffe, Robert. April 24, 2020.
  • Kamae, Tsuneyoshi. Interviewed by David Zierler, April 4, 2021.
  • Kaplan, David E. Interviewed by David Zierler. July 13, 2020.
  • Kendall, Henry Way. Interviewed by Finn Aaserud. November 25 and 26, 1986.
  • Kistiakowsky, Vera. Interviewed by Shirlee Sherkow. April 27 to September 1, 1976.
  • Klaisner, Lowell. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 18, 2020
  • Larsen, Ray. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 4, 2020
  • Lepage, Peter. Interviewed by David Zierler. January 19, 2021.
  • Lüth, Vera. Interviewed by David Zierler, September 17, 2020.
  • Lynch, Harvey. Interviewed by David Zierler. September 24, 2020
  • Mount, Richard. Interviewed by David Zierler. November 9, 2020
  • Nelson, Ralph. Interviewed by David Zierler. July 3, 2020
  • Oddone, Pier. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 5, 2020
  • Odian, Allen. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 12, 2021.
  • Panofsky, Wolfgang Kurt Hermann. Interviewed by Charles Weiner. May 15, 1973 to June 3, 1974.
  • Panofsky, Wolfgang Kurt Hermann. Interviewed by Elizabeth Paris, July 11, 1996
  • Panofsky, Wolfgang Kurt Hermann. Interviewed by Harvey Lynch. April 11 and May 2, 1997.
  • Panofsky, Wolfgang Kurt Hermann. Interviewed by Jean Deken and Elizabeth Paris, April 7-9, and May 3 2004.
  • Panofsky, Wolfgang Kurt Hermann. Interviewed by Dan Ford. December 7, 2004.
  • Paterson, James Ewan. Interviewed by Elizabeth Paris. July 17, 1996.
  • Pellegrini, Claudio. Interviewed by David Zierler. April 2, 2020.
  • Peskin, Michael. Interviewed by David Zierler. April 27, 2021.
  • Phinney, Nan. Interviewed by David Zierler. July 16, 2020
  • Pianetta, Piero. Interviewed by David Zierler, October 2, 2020.
  • Piore, Emanuel Ruben. Interviewed by Bruce R. Wheaton. March 7, 1977.
  • Polchinski, Joseph. Interviewed by Dean Rickles.
  • Prescott, Charles. Interviewed by David Zierler, April 15, 2021.
  • Psi Discovery - SLAC-SP-017: An Experimental Survey of Positron-Electron Annihilation into Multi-Particle Final States in the S Range 27-74 GeV-Squared, 1991. Individuals interviewed include Adam Boyarski, William Chinowsky, David Fryberger, Gerson Goldhaber, W.K.H. Panofsky, Martin Perl, John Rees, Burton Richter, and Roy Schwitters.
  • Quinn, Helen. Interviewed by David Zierler. August 14, 2020
  • Ratcliff, Blair. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 17, 2021.
  • Richter, Burton. (link to catalog record) Interviewed by Elizabeth Paris. July 15, 1996.
  • Sadrozinski, Hartmut. Interviewed by Elizabeth Paris. July 10, 1996.
  • Sands, Matthew L. Interviewed by Elizabeth Paris. July 7, 1996.
  • Sands, Matthew L. Interviewed by Finn Aaserud. May 4 and 5, 1987.
  • Schwitters, Roy. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 8, 2020.
  • Seiden, Abraham. Interviewed by David Zierler, May 21, 2021.
  • SLAC-E-103: Search for Exotic Mesons Using the SLAC Two Meter Streamer Chamber. 1989 . Individuals interviewed include: Neil Baggett and Bennett Brabson.
  • SLAC-E-122. 1989. Individuals interviewed include: Vernon Hughes, Michael Lubell, Roger Miller and Charles Prescott.
  • SLAC-E-132: A Study of K-P Interactions Using LASS. 1990-1991. Individuals interviewed include: Robert Carnegie, Penny Estabrooks, David Leith, F. Gerald Oakham, Blair Ratcliff, and Stephen Shapiro.
  • SLAC-E-137: Search for Low Mass, Metastable Neutral Particles at SLAC. 1990-1991. Individuals interviewed include: James Bjorken, Stan Ecklund, Finn Halbo, Bin Lu, Luke Mo, and Walter Nelson.
  • SLAC-PEP-004-009: The Time Projection Chamber and 2-Gamma Detector at PEP. 1990-1991. Individuals interviewed include: Hiroaki Aihara, Elliott Bloom, Charles Buchanan, David O. Caldwell, Lina Galtieri, Tune Kamae, Jay Marx, David Nygren, Pier Oddone, Hans Paar, Michael Ronan, Marjorie Shapire and Benjamin Shen.
  • SLAC-PEP-006: The MAC Detector at PEP. 1990-1991. Individuals interviewed include: William Ford, Donald Groom, Brian Heltsley, I. Peruzzi, M. Piccolo, David Ritson, Leslie Rosenberg, Eberhard Von Goeler.
  • SLAC-SP-007B: Search for Asymmetry in E+ E- - MU+ MU- due to a Weak Neutral Current... 1990-1991.
  • SLAC-SP-024: A Proposal for a Large Solid Angle Neutral Detector for SPEAR 2 (The Crystal Ball). 1990-1991. Individuals interviewed include: Elliott Bloom, Fatin Bulos, Donald Coyne, Mark Oreglia, Charles Peck, Frank Porter, and Karl Strauch.
  • SLAC-SP-032: MARK-III at SPEAR. 1990-1991. Individuals interviewed include: Rose Mary Baltrusaitis, Victor Cook, David Hitlin, Robert Mozley, Abe Seiden, Rafe Schindler, Terry Schalk, Jon Thaler, Walter Toki, Albert Wattenberg, Dennis Wisinski, and William Wisniewski.
  • Stöhr, Joachim. Interviewed by Jon Phillips, April 28, 2021.
  • Trilling, George. Interviewed by Ursula Pavlish March 1, 2006.
  • Tye, Henry. Interviewed by David Zierler. February 26, 2021.
  • Wagner, Albrecht. Interviewed by David Zierler. January 6, 2021.
  • Wallenmeyer, William., Interviewed by Elizabeth Paris. August 22, 1996.
  • Weinstein, Marvin. Interviewed by David Zierler, April 11, 2021.
  • Williams, Steve. Interviewed by David Zierler. April 19, 2021.
  • Wise, Mark. Interviewed by David Zierler. February 18, 2021.
  • Wojcicki, Stanley G. Interviewed by David Zierler, February 11, 2021. Also interviewed as part of AIP study of experiment BNL-791 (Brookhaven experiment).
  • Women in High-Energy Physics. Interviewees include Pat Burchat and Vera Lüth. 1991.

Other SLAC-Related Interviews

  • Arthur Bienenstock.   Interviewed by Allison Tracy, Stanford Historical Society, February 19, 2014-March 25, 2014; Interview Stanford Historical Society, 2010
  • Edward L. Ginzton.  Interviewed by A. Michal McMahon. November 26, 1984. IEEE History Center, Frederick E. Terman Associates Collection.
  • Growing Pains of Physics at Stanford: Stanford Historical Society Group interview with physicists, including SLAC's Sidney Drell, 2011 (video)
  • Edward L. Ginzton.   Interviewed by Joel Shirkin, Henry Lowood and Bruce Hevly. August 1987 to March 1988. Audio file and transcript available from Stanford University Special Collections (email: speccollref@stanford.edu)
  • How Particle Accelerators Came to Be. Knowable Magazine podcast, Season 2, Episode 5, March 29, 2022. Charlotte Stoddardt interviews Michael Peskin, Catherine Westfall, and Paul Collier.
  • Roger Kornberg. Nobel Organization video interview
  • Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka. Nobel Organization video interview
  • Robert Moulton 2007 Interview by Stanford Historical Society
  • Allen Odian April 4, 2016 IEEE Silicon Valley History Video Series panel interview.
  • Martin Perl. Nobel Organization video interview
  • Helen Quinn. 
    • Great Talks at the American Philosophical Society (Podcast: Season 2, Episode 1, 2020) --Helen Quinn on Doing and Teaching Science (Interview by Dr. Patrick Spero); 
    • Interview with Stanford Historical Society, 2014, Pioneering Women Faculty series
    • Interview with Mandula Waldron, Stanford Historical Society, 2014
  • Burton Richter. Nobel Organization video interview.    Stanford Historical Society 2014  audio interview
  • Roland Sharpe, engineer with John A. Blume firm (of ABA) and key figure in the engineering of the SLAC linac. 1989-1998 interviews by Stanley Scott published by Earthquake Engineering Research Institute in 2020 interview transcript (view only). Print format available for purchase from EERI?s Online Store.
  • Stanford Video. History of SPIRES 1970-1990. SPIRES: Retrospectives by the Original Developers. Interview subjects include: Louise Addis, Hank Epstein, Dick Guertin, Bill Kiefer, Tom Martin, Ed Parker, John Schroeder, Lennie Stovel, Allen Veaner. Produced and Directed by Bo Parker and Harley Goes. [1990?] Stanford Historical Society Oral History Project.
  • Richard E. Taylor. Nobel Organization video interview

Oral History Resources