History of Physicists in Industry final report

The final report of the History Center’s five-year Study of the History of Physicists in Industry. The project is the first systematic study of the work that physicists do in a cross section of America’s largest high-tech companies and how their work is organized and documented. The findings are based on interviews with over 130 staff—science managers, bench physicists, and information specialists—at 15 companies, comparative surveys of industrial archives in Germany and the U.K., and other research. The report includes a description of the organization and funding of research and development at each of the companies and provides guidelines and best practices for identifying and preserving historically valuable records. Major Findings: 1. The funding and organizational structures of R&D have undergone radical changes since the 1980s. 2. Companies haven’t achieved a consensus on how to conduct research. They’re struggling to find the best mix of longer-term research to develop new technologies, versus shorter-term programs tied to product improvements. 3. Many of the companies rely on external sources, especially physicist entrepreneurs and physics start-ups, for innovative technology. 4. No standard arrangement exists for preserving the records of corporate R&D, and historically valuable records are being lost as a result., The History of Physicists project is the first systematic study of the organizational structure, communications patterns, and archival records of industrial physicists in the U.S., and it provides general guidelines for understanding and documenting their work. The study confirms that the organization and management of industrial R&D is volatile, changing in response to economic cycles, new managers and management philosophies, and a variety of other factors. It also confirms that historically valuable records that document R&D are at risk and, in fact, are often scattered and lost., In English.
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Abstract/Description: The final report of the History Center’s five-year Study of the History of Physicists in Industry. The project is the first systematic study of the work that physicists do in a cross section of America’s largest high-tech companies and how their work is organized and documented. The findings are based on interviews with over 130 staff—science managers, bench physicists, and information specialists—at 15 companies, comparative surveys of industrial archives in Germany and the U.K., and other research. The report includes a description of the organization and funding of research and development at each of the companies and provides guidelines and best practices for identifying and preserving historically valuable records. Major Findings: 1. The funding and organizational structures of R&D have undergone radical changes since the 1980s. 2. Companies haven’t achieved a consensus on how to conduct research. They’re struggling to find the best mix of longer-term research to develop new technologies, versus shorter-term programs tied to product improvements. 3. Many of the companies rely on external sources, especially physicist entrepreneurs and physics start-ups, for innovative technology. 4. No standard arrangement exists for preserving the records of corporate R&D, and historically valuable records are being lost as a result.
Subject(s): Physics -- Industrial applications
Research, Industrial
Date Issued: 2003
Title: History of Physicists in Industry final report.
Name(s): Center for History of Physics (American Institute of Physics)
Anderson, R. Joseph
Butler, Orville R., 1952-
Type of Resource: mixed material
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2003
Abstract/Description: The final report of the History Center’s five-year Study of the History of Physicists in Industry. The project is the first systematic study of the work that physicists do in a cross section of America’s largest high-tech companies and how their work is organized and documented. The findings are based on interviews with over 130 staff—science managers, bench physicists, and information specialists—at 15 companies, comparative surveys of industrial archives in Germany and the U.K., and other research. The report includes a description of the organization and funding of research and development at each of the companies and provides guidelines and best practices for identifying and preserving historically valuable records. Major Findings: 1. The funding and organizational structures of R&D have undergone radical changes since the 1980s. 2. Companies haven’t achieved a consensus on how to conduct research. They’re struggling to find the best mix of longer-term research to develop new technologies, versus shorter-term programs tied to product improvements. 3. Many of the companies rely on external sources, especially physicist entrepreneurs and physics start-ups, for innovative technology. 4. No standard arrangement exists for preserving the records of corporate R&D, and historically valuable records are being lost as a result.
Note(s):

The History of Physicists project is the first systematic study of the organizational structure, communications patterns, and archival records of industrial physicists in the U.S., and it provides general guidelines for understanding and documenting their work. The study confirms that the organization and management of industrial R&D is volatile, changing in response to economic cycles, new managers and management philosophies, and a variety of other factors. It also confirms that historically valuable records that document R&D are at risk and, in fact, are often scattered and lost.

In English.
Subject(s): Physics -- Industrial applications
Research, Industrial
Library Classification: AR 2011-1062
Held by: American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
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