Astronomy During the Cold War: The Case of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (1955-1975)

冷战期间的天文学：史密森天体物理观测站案例（1955-1975）

• 批准号: 0323336
• 负责人: Spencer Weart
• 金额: $ 9.27万
• 依托单位: American Institute of Physics
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fixed Amount Award
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-01-01 至 2007-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0323336&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Astronomy; During; Cold; War; Case

The proposed research will focus on the history of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) between 1955 and 1980. A fundamental goal of the research is to examine the extent to which the SAO's activities and institutional development were products of Cold War interests and pressures. The research will be done at several different and interrelated levels of analysis including: Individual careers; Scientific research; Institutional; and Public involvement . The proposed research expands on and continues previous studies done by the PIs and is part of their broader research program. They expect to demonstrate the degree to which the newly recreated SAO was the embodiment of a Cold War scientific institution, designed by a small group of scientists with intimate knowledge of how Washington worked, how the military services operated, and how national security needs could be both translated seamlessly into and made synonymous with, scientific research agendas. This research will take advantage of a diverse array of available historical evidence. This includes material from the personal records of astronomers as well as materials located in federal and private archives. The PIs will also conduct targeted oral histories with selected individuals; these interviews along with documentary evidence the PIs collect will be donated to the Center for History of Physics and to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Archives to serve as a resource for other scholars. Previous studies have paid extensive attention to the relations between science, technology, and the state during the Cold War. Overviews of this research, however, have called for future studies to integrate material from studies done at different levels of analysis for a single institution. The research proposed here responds to these recommendations by studying several facets of SAO history. This work will highlight the experiences of the astronomy community by centering the study on one particular scientific institution and will contribute to new historiographical approaches to thinking about science and technology in the Cold War. The work proposed here will be disseminated to a larger audience in several ways. PIs will prepare articles and at least one book based on their research. Their work will be presented at conferences and public talks. The PIs intend to use examples from the proposed research in his teaching activities and the Co-PI will incorporate results in museum presentations and exhibits which reach all segments of the national population.

这项研究的重点是史密森天体物理天文台（SAO）在1955年至1980年之间的历史。研究的一个基本目标是审查SAO的活动和机构发展在多大程度上是冷战利益和压力的产物。研究将在几个不同和相互关联的分析层面进行，包括：个人职业;科学研究;机构;和公众参与。 拟议中的研究扩展并继续了PI以前的研究，是他们更广泛的研究计划的一部分。他们希望展示新重建的SAO在多大程度上是冷战时期科学机构的化身，由一小群科学家设计，他们对华盛顿如何运作、军事服务如何运作以及国家安全需求如何无缝地转化为科学研究议程并与之同义。 这项研究将利用各种现有的历史证据。这包括来自天文学家个人记录的材料以及位于联邦和私人档案馆的材料。PI还将与选定的个人进行有针对性的口述历史;这些访谈沿着PI收集的文件证据将捐赠给物理学历史中心和史密森国家航空航天博物馆档案馆，作为其他学者的资源。 以往的研究对冷战时期科学、技术与国家的关系给予了广泛的关注。然而，这项研究的概述，要求未来的研究整合材料从一个单一的机构在不同层次的分析所做的研究。这里提出的研究响应这些建议，通过研究SAO历史的几个方面。这项工作将突出天文学界的经验，将研究集中在一个特定的科学机构，并将有助于新的史学方法来思考冷战中的科学和技术。 将以几种方式向更多的受众传播这里提议的工作。PI将根据他们的研究准备文章和至少一本书。他们的工作将在会议和公开会谈中提出。主要研究者打算在其教学活动中使用拟议研究的实例，共同主要研究者将把研究结果纳入博物馆介绍和展览，使全国各阶层人口都能看到。