Dissertation Research: From Quantum Revolution to Institutional Transformation: Edward Condon and the Dynamics of Pure Science in America, 1928-1954

本论文的研究项目将侧重于现代物理学研究的内容和方法如何从学术界扩展到工业和政府机构。 这一过程将通过将爱德华·康登在普林斯顿大学作为领先的理论物理学家的早期经验与他随后在西屋电气和制造公司、国家标准局和康宁玻璃厂担任科学家和研究经理的角色联系起来来揭示。 考察康登在大萧条、第二次世界大战和冷战期间对工业和政府基础科研的内容、实践和组织进行改革的努力，将为研究个人主动性对二十世纪世纪美国制度变革的影响提供一个独特的机会。 这篇论文将特别感兴趣的科学和商业历史学家的历史学家寻求替代的共同持有的假设，即科学知识是在大学创造的，只是应用于工业。

This dissertation research project will focus on how the content and methods of modern physics research extended beyond academia into industrial and government institutions. This process will be revealed by linking Edward Condon's early experience as a leading theoretical physicist at Princeton University to his subsequent and largely unknown role as a scientist and research manager at the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, the National Bureau of Standards, and the Corning Glass Works. Examining Condon's efforts to reform the content, practice, and organization of basic scientific research in industry and government during the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War will provide a unique opportunity to study the impact of individual initiative on institutional change in twentieth century America. This dissertation will be of particular interest to historians of science and business historians seeking alternatives to the commonly held assumption that scientific knowledge is created in the university and simply applied to industry.