History of Science Oral History Collection, 2009-2023

Predominant Dates: 2011-2023

The History of Science Oral History Collection consists primarily of interviews with scientists, with special emphasis placed on individuals who knew and worked with Linus Pauling. Also included are interviews with members of the Pauling family as well as interviews with family members of other scientists. Born digital and digitized audio recordings are available upon patron request. Many of the interviews are also available online.

Access to the Cheryl Pauling Interview #1 is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. Permission for access may be granted only by Cheryl Pauling. For more information about access to restricted materials, please see our Guide to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

Creators

ID: OH 017

Extent: 196.7 gigabytes

More Extent Information

Scope and Content Notes

Biographical / Historical Notes

Dan Arp (b. 1954) is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Botany and Plant Pathology who conducted significant work in the area of nitrification. Arp is also a past Dean of both the OSU Honors College and the College of Agricultural Science.

Mina Carson (b. 1953) is an Associate Professor of History at Oregon State University and the author of Ava Helen Pauling: Partner, Activist, Visionary (Oregon State University Press, 2013).

Stella Coakley (b. 1948) is a plant pathologist who has conducted influential work on the connection between climate variability and plant disease epidemics. Coakley also served as chair of the Botanty and Plant Pathology department at OSU from 1988-2004, and as associate dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences from 2004 to her retirement in 2015.

Jack Corliss (b. 1936) was a geologist and faculty member in Oceanography at OSU from 1970 to 1981, during which time he served as Chief Scientist for the team that first discovered hydrothermal ocean vents and the life forms that live in their proximity.

Hillary Egna (b. 1958) is a professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences at OSU, and director of the Aquafish Innovation Laboratory.

Michael Goldman (b. 1954) is a professor of Biology at San Francisco State University and a former colleague and friend of Crellin Pauling, the youngest son of Linus and Ava Helen Pauling.

Anita Guerrini (b. 1953) is a historian of science who served as Horning Endowed Chair at Oregon State University from 2008-2018. Guerrini's research interests include the history of animals, the history of food, and the history of animal and human anatomy. Her 2015 book, The Courtiers' Anatomists: Animals and Humans in Louis XIV's Paris, received the Pfizer Award, offered annually by the History of Science Society in recognition of outstanding scholarship in the field.

Kenneth Hedberg (b. 1920) is a graduate of Oregon State College (BS, 1943) and the California Institute of Technology (Ph D., 1948), having studied chemistry at both institutions. While at Caltech, Hedberg studied under Verner Schomaker and interacted frequently with Linus Pauling. In 1956 Hedberg returned to Oregon State College where he joined the faculty of the chemistry department. Primarily a physical chemist, Hedberg, often aided by his wife Lise, has focused his research primarily upon the use of electron diffraction to determine the structures of gas phase molecules. Having formally retired from the department in 1987, Hedberg maintains an active research program as Professor Emeritus.

Rick Hicks (b. 1935) left a successful career in the financial services industry to work for the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine as an administrator and fundraiser. Hired in 1977, he left LPISM in 1992 and continued on for another nineteen years as a fundraiser for the Institute for Molecular Medicine.

Matthew Kaiser is an OSU undergraduate in microbiology (class of 2015) who has conducted research on the treatment of cancer using intravenous vitamin C.

Martin Karplus (b. 1930) is a graduate of Harvard University (BA, 1950) and the California Institute of Technology (Ph D., 1953). For the majority of his graduate studies at Caltech, Karplus worked under the direction of Linus Pauling. He has since made significant contributions to many fields of physical chemistry. Since 1979 he has served as Theodore Williams Richards Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University.

Ken Krane (b. 1944) was a member of the Physics faculty at Oregon State from 1974-2003, chairing the department from 1984-1998.

Jim Krueger (b. 1936) is an award-winning teacher who served on the OSU Chemistry faculty from 1961 to his retirement in 1998.

Albert Kordesch (b. 1949) is the second of four children born to Karl and Erna Kordesch. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Kordesch has enjoyed a thirty-year career in the electronics industry, focusing on the manufacture of silicon semiconductors.

Erna Kordesch (1922-2013), born Erna Böhm, was the widow of Karl Kordesch (1922-2011). A native of Austria, Erna moved to the United States with her husband and two children in 1953, when Karl Kordesch was invited to join the U.S. Signal Corps under the auspices of Operation Paperclip. Once in the U.S., Erna gave birth to two more children. After her children were raised, Erna worked as an occupational therapist in an Ohio hospital before retiring to travel with her husband and support his scientific research.

Hisako Kurotaki (b. 1948) is a Japanese national who emigrated to Canada in the 1970s. A close friend of Teresa and Ralph Spitzer, Kurotaki served as co-executor of Teresa Spitzer's estate upon her death in 1998. In 1999 Kurotaki married Ralph Spitzer.

Stephen Lawson (b. 1951) is Administrative Officer at the Linus Pauling Institute. A Stanford University graduate (BS, 1973), Lawson was hired in 1977 to serve as a research assistant at what was then known as the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine, located near the Stanford campus. Over the next twenty years, Lawson came to assume increasing amounts of responsibility and was named Chief Executive Officer of LPISM in the early 1990s. In 1996 Lawson was among a small handful of LPISM employees to move with the organization to its new location on the campus of Oregon State University.

Judy Li (b. 1945) was a faculty member in the Oregon State University Fisheries and Wildlife department from 1991-2006, during which time she conducted research on aquatic invertebrates and created an early distance learning and Difference, Power and Discrimination course titled "Multicultural Perspectives in Natural Resources." She is also the co-author of three nature-focused children's books -- Ellie's Log, Ricky's Atlas and Ellie's Strand -- published by the Oregon State University Press.

Christopher Mathews (b. 1937) is an Oregon State University Emeritus Professor of biochemistry. Educated at Reed College (BS Chemistry, 1958) and the University of Washington (Ph D. Biochemistry, 1962), Mathews served on the faculty of Yale University and the University of Arizona before accepting the chairmanship of the OSU Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics in 1978. Respected for his research in enzymology and virology, Mathews helped to found the OSU Center for Gene Research and co-authored, with Kensal van Holde, the successful textbook Biochemistry. Mathews retired from OSU in 2002.

Clifford Mead (b. 1947) served as Head of Special Collections in the Oregon State University Libraries from 1987-2010. During his tenure at OSU he was primarily responsible for the accessioning, processing and preservation of the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers, as well as related outreach activities.

Robert Newburgh (b. 1922) was a member of the Oregon State faculty from 1953-1981. The first chair of the OSU Biochemistry and Biophysics department, Newburgh also served as director of the Science Research Institute from 1971-1974, and as dean of the Graduate School from 1976-1979.

Bob Nye (b. 1942) is a historian of ideas who has written on the history of sociology, the history of medicine and the history of sexuality, specializing in modern Europe. From 1994-2007 he served as Horning Professor of the Humanities - a chair that he shared with his wife, Mary Jo - in the OSU History of Science program.

Cheryl Pauling (b. 1957) is the first born child of Edward Crellin Pauling and Lucy Neilan Mills Pauling. A resident of Vancouver, Washington, she is one of Linus and Ava Helen Pauling's fifteen grandchildren.

David Pauling (b. 1973) is the only child of Crellin and Kay Pauling, and a grandson of Linus and Ava Helen Pauling. Beginning in 2011 he began work at Sutro Biopharma in South San Francisco, California, where he serves as Executive Director of Legal Affairs.

Kay Pauling, born Kay Cole in 1940, is a retired professor of biology who taught at Foothill College for eighteen years. The second wife and widow of Edward Crellin Pauling, Kay gave birth to the couple's child, David, in 1973.

Linus Pauling, Jr. (b. 1925) is the eldest of Linus and Ava Helen Pauling's four children. A graduate of Harvard Medical School (M.D., 1952) Pauling enjoyed a long career in psychiatry both in private practice and in the administration of psychiatric services at The Queen's Hospital, Honolulu, Hawaii. In the early 1990s, Pauling was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine. In this capacity, Pauling helped the Institute to avoid financial insolvency and participated in its relocation to the campus of Oregon State University.

Stephanie Pauling, born Stephanie Onishi in 1946, was married to Linus Pauling, Jr. for nearly thirty years. A lifelong resident of Oahu, Stephanie is the mother of one daughter, Carrie.

Chris Petersen (b. 1976) is a Senior Faculty Research Assistant in the Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center, and the founder, editor and publisher of the Pauling Blog.

Robert Richter (b. 1929) is a documentary film maker responsible for many titles, including the Nova production "Linus Pauling: Crusading Scientist" (1977), the first major documentary film devoted to Pauling's life and work.

Dick Scanlan (b. 1937) is an OSU Professor Emeritus of Food Science and Technology, and a past OSU Dean of Research.

Eloise Spitzer (b. 1952) is the daughter of Ralph and Teresa Spitzer. Now retired, Eloise Spitzer spent many years practicing law in Canada with a particular focus on the protection and rights of Canada's indigenous populations.

Ralph Spitzer (b. 1918) was a graduate student of Linus Pauling's and promising academic who joined the Oregon State College chemistry department in 1946. Promoted to Assistant Professor in 1947, Spitzer was nonetheless fired from the OSC faculty in 1949 by President August L. Strand, almost certainly because of progressive political views espoused by Spitzer and his wife Teresa. Spitzer eventually matriculated to Canada where he earned an M.D. specializing in chemical pathology and co-founded a successful diagnostic laboratory firm, C.J. Coady Associates.

Richard van Breemen (b. 1958) is a chemist and pharmacologist who has made important advancements in the use of mass spectrometry to study botanical dietary supplements, among other compounds. In 2018 he began a tenure as director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.

Dale Weber (b. 1929), professor emeritus of Animal Sciences, was on faculty at OSU from 1976 to his retirement in 1999. Born into an agricultural family, Weber worked as a farmer until entering graduate school in his late 30s. He began his first faculty position at age 45 and focused primarily on instruction during his years at Oregon State.

Conrad J. "Bud" Weiser (b. 1935) earned a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Oregon State College in 1960, and later served as head of the OSU Horticulture department from 1973-1991, and as Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences from 1991 to his retirement in 1993. Weiser's research interests focused on cold hardiness in plants. Administratively, Weiser was central to a process that redefined definitions of scholarship at OSU.

Author: Chris Petersen

Statement on Access: Access to the Cheryl Pauling Interview #1 is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. Permission for access may be granted only by Cheryl Pauling. All other materials in this collection are open for research. For more information about access to restricted materials, please see our Guide to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

Statement on Description: Arrangement and description by Chris Petersen.

Arrangement

Preferred Citation: History of Science Oral History Collection (OH 017), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Acquisition Note: All interviews were conducted by OSU Libraries Special Collections & Archives Research Center staff, sometimes in concert with other colleagues as indicated.

Acquired: Future additions to this collection are anticipated.

Languages of Materials

English

Other

Container List

Series 1: Interview, 2009 Add to Shelf

Reference access to the interview file in this series is available upon patron request.

Extent: 1 sound file; 1 video file

Digital File 1: Hedberg, Kenneth, May 12, 2009 Add to Shelf: Hedberg discusses his time as a graduate and post-doctoral student at the California Institute of Technology, making particular mention of his interactions with notable figures working in chemistry and physics at Caltech in the 1940s and 1950s. [Interview conducted by Cliff Mead. Interview originally videotaped, later transferred to audio wav format.]; Extent: 34:27

Series 2: Interviews, 2011 Add to Shelf

Transcribed audio recordings from many of the interviews in this series are available online at the links povided. Reference access to the other interviews is available upon request.

Extent: 14 sound files

Digital File 2: Lawson, Stephen, August 26, 2011 Add to Shelf: Lawson discusses his background before his employment with the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine; his hiring and initial role at LPISM; his early interactions with Linus Pauling and the evolution of their relationship over time, including scientific collaborations; Pauling's personality and work style; and memories of Ava Helen Pauling. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 1:30:40
Digital File 3: Mathews, Christopher, September 2, 2011 Add to Shelf: Mathews discusses his personal interests and professional pursuits as a biochemist and textbook author. Major themes discussed include Mathews' childhood; his education at Reed College and the University of Washington; his interactions with Linus Pauling and the Pauling family; the evolution of his research interests; his relationship with Seymour Cohen, an important mentor; serving on the faculty at Yale University and the University of Arizona; the decision to move to Oregon State University; administrative responsibilities at OSU; co-authoring the textbook Biochemistry with Kensal van Holde; points of pride; and his interest in the practice of medicine. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 1:59:05
Digital File 4: Hedberg, Kenneth, September 9, 2011 Add to Shelf: Hedberg discusses his youth in southern Oregon and Washington, including life during the Great Depression; his early interest in science; and his beginning college years at Southern Oregon College. He then details his undergraduate experience at Oregon State College including social life, academics, mentors and undergraduate research. From there he discusses his draft deferment during World War II; war work that he conducted for Shell Development Company; and his arrival for graduate studies at the California Institute of Technology. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 1:30:11
Digital File 5: Lawson, Stephen, September 19, 2011 Add to Shelf: Lawson shares his memories of interactions with members of Linus Pauling's family; the donation of Pauling's papers to Oregon State University; the Pauling home at Deer Flat Ranch; thoughts on specific aspects of Pauling's personality; opinions on biographies written about Pauling; and Pauling's final illness, death and memorial. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 54:35
Digital File 6: Hedberg, Kenneth, September 20, 2011 Add to Shelf: Hedberg discusses his graduate and post-doctoral research at Caltech; his Guggenheim Fellowship to Norway; life in Norway; meeting and marrying Lise Smedvik; relationships built at Caltech including interactions with Verner Schomaker and Linus Pauling; memories of other Caltech colleagues; and recollections of the Pauling household. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 1:28:48
Digital File 7: Pauling, Linus, Jr., September 23, 2011 Add to Shelf: Pauling discusses memories of his parents, with a particular focus on his mother, Ava Helen Pauling. Subjects touched upon include Ava Helen's civic engagement; the family's interest in cars; Linus Jr.'s military service; Pauling family dynamics including relationships between siblings and between children and parents; family habits and customs; the relationship shared by Linus Jr.'s parents; his parents' social lives; their attitudes toward money; Peter Pauling and his family; and Linus Pauling's resignation from Caltech in 1963. [Interview conducted by Mina Carson and Chris Petersen]; Extent: 1:47:45
Digital File 8: Hedberg, Kenneth, September 29, 2011 Add to Shelf: Hedberg discusses memories of Ava Helen Pauling; his acceptance of a job offer from Oregon State College; his return to Corvallis; setting up a research program at OSC; building an electron diffraction apparatus; techniques used to study molecules over the years; interesting molecules studied; teaching at OSU; Lise Hedberg's work at OSU; the evolution of computer use in the OSU Chemistry Department; and the "final folders" produced as a function of his work. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 1:31:04
Digital File 9: Hedberg, Kenneth, October 20, 2011 Add to Shelf: Hedberg discusses the history of the Pauling Papers and Oregon State University; hosting the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling in Corvallis; memories of other OSU friends and colleagues; his connection to Norway and his interactions with Norwegian scientists; individuals important to the history of chemistry at OSU; memorable interactions with graduate and post-doctoral students; a unique trip to Japan; and points of pride looking back on a long life. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 1:52:45
Digital File 10: Lawson, Stephen, November 8, 2011 Add to Shelf: Lawson discusses his employment interview with the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine; the LPISM facility; and the personal and professional characteristics of certain of its critical employees. Among those discussed are Arthur Robinson, Emile Zuckerkandl, Ewan Cameron and Frank Catchpool. Lawson also discusses the Mayo Clinic controversy; the funding model utilized by LPISM; the Institute's move to a new facility in 1980; and various research programs and funding initiatives undertaken by the Institute during the 1980s. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 1:15:56
Digital File 11: Lawson, Stephen, November 11, 2011 Add to Shelf: Lawson discusses the response of the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine to the Mayo Clinic controversy; research conducted by Ewan Cameron at LPISM; response to Linus Pauling's book How to Live Longer and Feel Better; research on vitamin C and AIDS conducted by Cameron and Raxit Jariwalla; the personal and professional characteristics of Matthias Rath; LPISM's response to a rezoning effort initiated by the city of Palo Alto; the departures of Emile Zuckerkandl and Rick Hicks from LPISM; the death of Ewan Cameron; the departure of Matthias Rath and subsequent litigation; the role assumed by Linus Pauling Jr. in administering LPISM; important financial donations to LPISM; the Institute's relationship with the Elizabeth Arden company; and the impact on LPISM of Linus Pauling's death. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 1:33:09
Digital File 12: Lawson, Stephen, November 14, 2011 Add to Shelf: Lawson discusses his assumption of the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine; the Linus Pauling Heart Foundation; the process by which it was decided that LPISM would move from Palo Alto, California to the campus of Oregon State University; negotiating the move to Oregon; early allies at OSU; important hires made once at OSU; changing the Institute's name to the Linus Pauling Institute; lingering litigation; the creation of the Micronutrient Information Center; research on intravenous vitamin C; the LPI Prize for Health Research; the Linus Pauling Science Center and future endeavors for LPI. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 1:25:24
Digital File 13: Lawson, Stephen, December 15, 2011 Add to Shelf: Lawson shares his memories of many individuals who either worked at or were otherwise affiliated with the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine. Notable figures include Zelek Herman, Dorothy Munro, Richard Hicks, Raxit Jariwalla, Constance Tsao, Akira Murata, Fukumi Morishige, William Aberth, Wolcott Dunham, Irwin Stone, Bruce Ames, Lester Packer and Mark Levine. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed audio available online]; Extent: 1:28:21
Digital File 14: Kordesch, Erna, December 28, 2011 Add to Shelf: Kordesch shares her memories of life in Europe and the United States including her childhood interests and family background; meeting and marrying Karl Kordesch; Karl's military service; life in Vienna during World War II; the family's move to the U.S. under the auspices of Operation Paperclip; life as an immigrant in the U.S.; Karl's research interests; and travels in the U.S. and abroad. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen and Trevor Sandgathe]; Extent: 33:31
Digital File 15: Kordesch, Albert, December 28, 2011 Add to Shelf: Kordesch shares his memories of growing up as an immigrant child in New Jersey. He also discusses his father Karl's personality and work habits; stories that Karl told about his childhood; the significance of Karl's battery innovations; Karl's interest in electric cars and his hydrogen-powered car; Karl's business relationships; and the importance of Karl's "Box Zero." [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen and Trevor Sandgathe]; Extent: 53:02

Series 3: Interviews, 2012 Add to Shelf

Reference access to Digital Files 16, and 18-26 is available upon patron request. Access to Digital File 17 is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. Access can only be granted by Cheryl Pauling. For more information about access to restricted materials, please see our Guide to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

Extent: 11 sound files; 1 set of video files

Digital File 16: Pauling, Linus, Jr., February 28, 2012 Add to Shelf

Deposited here is a recording of an oral history interview that was conducted before an audience of students and faculty at Linus Pauling Middle School, (Corvallis, OR) held in commemoration of the 111th anniversary of Linus Pauling's birth. The interview consisted primarily of Linus Pauling Jr.'s remarks on various photographs from his childhood that were projected onto a screen for all to view. Once the photographs had been reviewed, the audience was invited to ask their own questions. The event was moderated by Mina Carson and Chris Petersen, and was recorded for both video and audio.

Extent: 1:00:19

Digital File 17: RESTRICTED: Pauling, Cheryl, March 9, 2012 Add to Shelf

Pauling discusses her upbringing and her memories of interactions with her grandparents, Linus and Ava Helen Pauling. [Interview conducted by Mina Carson and Chris Petersen]

Extent: 1:41:01

Digital File 18: Pauling, Cheryl, March 9, 2012 Add to Shelf

Pauling shares memories of her father, Edward Crellin Pauling. Subjects discussed include Crellin's recollections of his own childhood and his relationship with his siblings; Lucy Neilan Mills, Crellin's first wife and Cheryl's mother; Crellin's personal and professional interests; his personality and sense of humor; trips to see Linus and Ava Helen Pauling at Deer Flat Ranch; interactions with Crellin's second wife, Kay Pauling; and Crellin's final illness and death. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]

Extent: 53:20

Digital File 19: Pauling, Kay, March 13, 2012 Add to Shelf

Pauling principally discusses her relationship with her second husband, Edward Crellin Pauling, and with her mother-in-law, Ava Helen Pauling. Specific topics discussed include Kay's professional background; Crellin's professional background and research interests; his memories of his childhood; Pauling family dynamics including relationships with parents and between siblings; Crellin's personality; Kay's first meeting Crellin, the blossoming of their relationship and their wedding; specific interactions with Ava Helen; interactions with the Miller family; interactions with Linus Pauling; Ava Helen and Linus Pauling as grandparents; Ava Helen's final illness and death; the Pauling family and Unitarianism; Crellin, Kay and their family's move from Riverside, California to Portola Valley, California; Linus Pauling's final illness and death; and Crellin's executorship of the Pauling estate amidst his own final illness. [Interview conducted by Mina Carson and Chris Petersen]

Extent: 1:38:29

Digital File 20: Pauling, Linus, Jr., June 3, 2012 Add to Shelf

Pauling discusses his childhood including his having been left with relatives during his parents' Guggenheim trip to Europe in 1926; visits to and playing at the Caltech campus; Linus Jr.'s youthful interest in reading; his experience of grammar school and high school; childhood friends including friendships with Caltech graduate students; the neighborhoods of his youth; family pets; chores and childhood jobs; the family's interests in music; youthful impressions of his parents' relationship; memories of Pasadena; and memories of the births of Peter and Linda Pauling. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]

Extent: 1:39:35

Digital File 21: Pauling, Linus, Jr., June 4, 2012 Add to Shelf

Pauling discusses his memories of his brother Edward Crellin Pauling on the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of Crellin's birth. He then shares more recollections from his own early years including family camping trips to the desert; his father's nephritis diagnosis and subsequent treatment; Linus Jr.'s brief undergraduate stint at UC-Berkeley; his military experience and international travel during World War II; attending Cal Poly Pomona on the GI Bill; meeting and marrying Anita Oser; Anita's family background and the impact of her family's wealth on Linus Jr.'s circumstances; a brief meeting with Frank Lloyd Wright; Anita's relationship with Linus and Ava Helen Pauling; and Pauling family Christmas traditions. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]

Extent: 1:55:18

Digital File 22: Pauling, Stephanie, June 5, 2012 Add to Shelf

Pauling discusses her life as a Japanese-American native of Hawaii and her nearly thirty years of marriage to Linus Pauling, Jr. Subjects discussed include the cultural norms specific to her experience as the child of Japanese immigrants living on Oahu; her first interactions with and marriage to Linus Pauling, Jr.; her interactions and relationship with Ava Helen Pauling, Linus Pauling and their children; visits to the Pauling homes at Deer Flat Ranch, Pasadena and Portola Valley; Linus Pauling's final illness and death; Linus Pauling, Jr.'s involvement with the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine; and her experience of living with Linus Jr. in an architecturally significant home overlooking Honolulu. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]

Extent: 1:41:16

Digital File 23: Pauling, Linus, Jr., June 5, 2012 Add to Shelf

Pauling continues sharing his life history, first recounting and commenting on his time as a medical student at Harvard University. Other subjects discussed include his choice of psychiatry as a profession; his move to Hawaii in 1952; the building of his home, designed by Vladimir Ossipoff; his relationship with Ossipoff; becoming involved in the community of Honolulu; his father's interest in orthomolecular psychiatry; the beginnings and evolution of his involvement with the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine; LPISM's move to Oregon State University; personal reflections on specific staff members at LPISM; and the family's Nobel trips to Sweden (1954) and Norway (1963). [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]

Extent: 1:47:16

Digital File 24: Pauling, Linus, Jr., June 6, 2012 Add to Shelf

Pauling shares his recollections of a number of subjects related to his life and the lives of his family members. Topics discussed include his travel; Hawaiian statehood; the dissolution of his marriage to Anita Oser; the lives of his five children; his activities following his divorce including his participation in the march on Selma; his father's peace activism; his father's interactions with the University of Hawaii and Hawaiian colleagues; meeting Stephanie Onishi and his relationship with Stephanie's daughter, Carrie; the transfer of the Pauling Papers to Oregon State University; Pauling-related events including the Pauling Legacy Award; the financial impact of General Chemistry; and the family's long interest in cars, especially Porsches. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]

Extent: 1:55:41

Digital File 25: Pauling, Linus, Jr., June 7, 2012 Add to Shelf

Pauling shares recollections mostly related to his parents including his father's work with Harvey Itano on sickle cell anemia; the "race" to discover the structure of DNA; his parents' world tour following the Nobel Chemistry Prize; allegations of his father's ethnic prejudices; the purchase and development of Deer Flat Ranch, including the construction of China Camp; the United Nations bomb test petition; his father's "cliff incident"; his father's tenures at institutions following Caltech including the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions and Stanford University; his father's colleagues in health and nutrition research; Ava Helen's declining health and death; aspects of his father's life alone; and aspects of his father's personality. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]

Extent: 1:55:53

Digital File 26: Pauling, Linus, Jr., June 8, 2012 Add to Shelf

Pauling discusses his memories and interactions with a number of individuals including his siblings Peter and Linda, and their families. He also discusses his parents' childhoods and their wedding; his father's relationship with Lloyd Jeffress; his father's various offices; his father's various biographers; Pauline and Lucile Pauling; Sidney Weinbaum; A. A. Noyes; spending summers with Albert Tyler and the Tyler family; the opening of the Linus Pauling Science Center at Oregon State University; and what it has meant to him to be a Pauling. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]

Extent: 2:02:30

Series 4: Interviews, 2013 Add to Shelf

Reference access to the interview files in this series is available upon patron request. A slightly edited version of the transcript of Digital File 27 is available online.

Extent: 11 sound files

Digital File 27: Carson, Mina, May 20, 2013 Add to Shelf: Carson discusses her process in writing the biography of Ava Helen Pauling and also shares her insights into Ava Helen's activities and personality. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen. A slightly edited version of the transcript to this interview was published on the Pauling Blog in two parts: Part 1; Part 2.]; Extent: 36:08
Digital File 28: Karplus, Martin, July 23, 2013 Add to Shelf: Karplus discusses his association with E. Bright Wilson, Jr.; his editorial work on a revised version of Pauling and Wilson's textbook Introduction to Quantum Mechanics; his years as a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology; and his associations with Linus Pauling and others on the Caltech campus in the early 1950s. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 1:10:20
Digital File 29: Mead, Clifford, July 24, 2013 Add to Shelf: Mead discusses his background prior to assuming the position of Head of Special Collections in the Oregon State University Libraries; the early years of Special Collections and the Pauling Papers at OSU; his interactions with Linus Pauling; individuals at OSU instrumental to the operations of Special Collections in its earliest years; and early projects related to the Pauling Papers. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 55:29
Digital File 30: Mead, Clifford, July 25, 2013 Add to Shelf: Mead discusses an early Special Collections digitization project using Laserfiche; interactions with Tom Hager and Hager's research process as a Pauling biographer; the resolution of the Pauling estate following Linus Pauling's death; the arrival of the full Pauling Papers in Corvallis; interactions with the Pauling family; fundraising for and construction of a new Special Collections facility. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 1:07:24
Digital File 31: Mead, Clifford, August 7, 2013 Add to Shelf: Mead discusses his interactions with library donors; Special Collections collaborations with Soka Gakkai International including a world-wide traveling exhibit; interactions with the Linus Pauling Institute; the creation of the "Linus Pauling and the Race for DNA" documentary history website; the creation of the "Linus Pauling Day-by-Day" website; the Pauling Centenary Conference and centenary volume, "Linus Pauling: Scientist and Peacemaker." [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 58:26
Digital File 32: Spitzer, Ralph, September 18, 2013 Add to Shelf: Spitzer discusses his childhood and family growing up in Brooklyn, New York; his high school experience and undergraduate days at Cornell University; his graduate schooling at the California Institute of Technology; his scientific war work, including research on underwater explosives in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; a post-doctoral fellowship with Kenneth Pitzer at the University of California, Berkeley; and the earlier chapters of his relationship with Teresa Spitzer. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 1:04:23
Digital File 33: Spitzer, Ralph, September 19, 2013 Add to Shelf: Spitzer discusses his years as a faculty member at Oregon State College including his firing by OSC President August Strand; traveling in Europe and being imprisoned; his short tenure at the University of Kansas City; appearing for the Senate Internal Subcommittee on Subversive Influences in Higher Education; moving his family to Winnipeg and beginning medical school; traveling around the world including a school year in New Zealand; relocating to Vancouver, BC and starting the firm C.J. Coady Associates; extracurricular interests including the construction and use of a large pipe organ; and thoughts on family including his two children, Teresa Spitzer and Hisako Kurotaki. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 1:41:43
Digital File 34: Kurotaki, Hisako, September 20, 2013 Add to Shelf: Kurotaki discusses her early years growing up in Japan; her emigration to and settling in Canada; meeting and befriending Teresa Spitzer; Teresa's death and marrying Ralph Spitzer; their travels together; and recollections of stories from various chapters in Ralph's life. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 1:18:37
Digital File 35: Spitzer, Ralph and Hisako Kurotaki, September 20, 2013 Add to Shelf: In this recording, Spitzer and Kurotaki review family photographs with the interviewer, noting specific details about a given photograph and relaying stories that come to mind. Of particular interest is Spitzer's recollection of an incident in which he broke his back cycling in France at the age of 70. Nine born digital photographs discussed in this recording are held on file. [Recording facilitated by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 13:06
Digital File 36: Richter, Robert, September 26, 2013 Add to Shelf: Richter recounts his experience of writing, producing and directing the Nova documentary "Linus Pauling: Crusading Scientist." In so doing he discusses the genesis of the project; his association with Nova; his memories of working with Linus and Ava Helen Pauling; the process of creating the film, including numerous location shots; early computer animations used in the production; the legacy of the film; and its impact on Richter. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 51:25
Digital File 37: Spitzer, Eloise, September 30, 2013 Add to Shelf: Spitzer discusses her educational and professional background; her memories of growing up in the Spitzer's Vancouver household; her parents' personalities and parenting styles; a year spent traveling around the world, including nine months in New Zealand; her parents' careers and volunteer work; the genesis and shape of their political interests and activism; her parents social lives and extracurricular pursuits; her brother Matthew's battles with mental illness and her parents' advocacy for the mentally ill; her mother's death and her father's marriage to Hisako Kurotaki; and her recollections of stories from various chapters in her father's life. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 1:36:48

Series 5: Interview, 2015 Add to Shelf

Excerpts from the interview in this series are available online. Reference access to the entire interview is available upon patron request.

Extent: 1 sound file

Digital File 38: Kaiser, Matthew, February 26, 2015 Add to Shelf: Kaiser discusses his research on the treatment of colon cancer with intravenous vitamin C; his experience of conducting and communicating high-level research as an undergraduate; the working environment at the Linus Pauling Institute; his delivery of a TEDx talk on innovations in science and technology that fundamentally change human nature; and his own ambitions for the future. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; excerpts available online]; Extent: 0:44:34

Series 6: Interviews, 2017 Add to Shelf

Reference access to Digital File 39 is available upon patron request. Digital File 40 is avilable online.

Extent: 2 sets of video files

Digital File 39: Corliss, Jack, March 3, 2017 Add to Shelf: Corliss shares his memories of the discovery of hydrothermal vents in 1977. This interview was video recorded by the OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences on the occasion of the fourtieth anniversary of the discovery. [Interview conducted by Abby Metzger]; Extent: 1:00:45
Digital File 40: Newburgh, Robert, October 13, 2017 Add to Shelf: Newburgh reflects on his career as a scientist at Oregon State, including his years leading the Biochemistry and Biophysics department as well as his directorship of the Science Research Institute. [Interview conducted by Mike Dicianna; raw video available online]; Extent: 0:50:30

Series 7: Interviews, 2018 Add to Shelf

The interviews in this series are available online.

Extent: 1 set of video files, 1 sound file

Digital File 41: Petersen, Chris, March 8, 2018 Add to Shelf: Petersen reflects on the history of the Pauling Blog, which was founded in March 2008. The history of the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers as well as Petersen's perspective on Pauling's life and legacy are included as secondary topics. [Interview conducted by Tiah Edmunson-Morton; transcribed video available online.]; Extent: 1:45:23
Digital File 42: Van Breemen, Richard, September 11, 2018 Add to Shelf: Van Breemen provides an overview of his scientific evolution and details his goals for the Linus Pauling Institute as its director. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; excerpts available online.]; Extent: 1:05:40

Series 8: Interviews, 2019 Add to Shelf

The interviews in this series are available online.

Extent: 7 sets of video files

Digital File 43: Scanlan, Dick, March 5, 2019 Add to Shelf: Scanlan discusses his upbringing, education in Dairy Science and Food Science, and his years as a student and faculty member at Oregon State University in the Food Science and Technology department. Of particular note are Scanlan's memories of his research on nitrosimine compounds, his tenure as OSU's Dean of Research, and the key role that he played in the establishment of the Linus Pauling Institute on the OSU campus. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed video available online]; Extent: 2:31:44
Digital File 44: Krane, Ken, April 12, 2019 Add to Shelf: Krane recounts his years as a member of the Physics faculty at Oregon State, including his fourteen-year tenure as department chair. In this, Krane provides details on his research in nuclear and low-temperature physics, shares his thoughts on teaching physics effectively, and provides insight into the processes that he used to write three successful physics textbooks. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed video available online.]; Extent: 1:44:25
Digital File 45: Nye, Bob, May 16, 2019 Add to Shelf: Nye reflects on his career as a historian of ideas, focusing on the history of medicine and the history of sexuality in particular. Nye also recalls his graduate experience at the University of Wisconsin, his tenure as a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma, and his years as Horning Professor of the Humanities at OSU, a chair that he shared with his wife, Mary Jo Nye. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed video available online.]; Extent: 2:07:10
Digital File 46: Coakley, Stella, May 20, 2019 Add to Shelf: Coakley provides an overview of her scientific work in plant pathology and shares her memories of her administrative career as a department chair and associate dean at OSU. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed video available online]; Extent: 2:07:34
Digital File 47: Li, Judy, May 24, 2019 Add to Shelf: Among other topics, Li recalls her research on aquatic invertebrates; her creation and teaching of a Difference, Power and Discrimination class titled "Multicultural Perspectives in Natural Resources; and her co-authorship of three natural resources-focused childrens books published by the OSU Press. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed video available online]; Extent: 1:59:47
Digital File 48: Krueger, Jim, May 30, 2019 Add to Shelf: Krueger discusses his path through academia, his career in research and instruction, and his memories of the Chemistry department over nearly five decades of affiliation. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed video available online]; Extent: 2:32:12
Digital File 49: Weber, Dale, August 23, 2019 Add to Shelf: Weber discusses his life in farming and in academia, reflecting on his upbringing in Illinois, his education in Iowa, and his years as a member of the Animal Sciences faculty at Oregon State. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed video available online]; Extent: 1:49:43
Digital File 50: Arp, Dan, October 3, 2019 Add to Shelf: In this, the first of two interviews, Arp reflects on his upbringing in Nebraska, his undergraduate and graduate education, and the main themes of both his scientific work and his approach to teaching. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed video available online]; Extent: 1:37:43
Digital File 51: Arp, Dan, October 10, 2019 Add to Shelf: In interview 2, Arp shares his memories of his administrative work at OSU, commenting in particular as his tenures as Dean of the Honors College and Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen; transcribed video available online]; Extent: 1:51:39

Series 9: Interview, 2020 Add to Shelf

Reference access to the interview in this series is available upon patron request.

Extent: 1 set of video files

Digital File 52: Egna, Hillary, January 13, 2020 Add to Shelf: Egna discusses her years on faculty at Oregon State University, including her long tenure as director of the Aquafish Innovation Laboratory and some challenges that she experienced as a woman working in the sciences. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 2:10:36

Series 10: Interviews, 2023 Add to Shelf

Reference access to the interviews in this series is available upon patron request.

Extent: 6 sets of video files and 1 audio file

Digital File 53: Pauling, David, March 10, 2023 Add to Shelf: David Pauling provides an overview of his life; discusses his memories of his grandparents, Linus and Ava Helen Pauling; and shares insight into the lives of his parents - Crellin and Kay Pauling - and the extended Pauling family. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 2:29:02
Digital File 54: Hicks, Rick, April 18, 2023 Add to Shelf: Rick Hicks discusses his lengthy tenure as a fundraiser for the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine, and his memories of many others who worked there, including Linus Pauling. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 1:05:31
Digital File 55: Goldman, Michael, April 19, 2023 Add to Shelf: Goldman shares his memories of Crellin Pauling during Crellin's years as a faculty member and administrator at San Francisco State University. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 1:20:27
Digital File 56: Guerrini, Anita, October 18, 2023 Add to Shelf: Guerrini recounts her career as a historian of science, including her ten years as Horning Endowed Chair at Oregon State University. Guerrini also discusses her path through academia, which included post-baccalaureate studies at Oxford and doctoral work at Indiana University as well as two faculty appointments prior to OSU. She likewise details aspects of her research on the history of animals, the history of food, and the history of animal and human anatomy, and obstacles that she and her husband - historian of science Michael Osborne - encountered navigating a difficult job market. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 2:01:00
Digital File 57: Weiser, Conrad J. "Bud", October 27, 2023 Add to Shelf: Weiser discusses his family background and upbringing, his undergraduate studies at North Dakota State College, his graduate experience at OSC, and aspects of his years on faculty at the University of Minnesota, where he established and managed the Cold Hardiness Laboratory. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 2:36:14
Digital File 58: Weiser, Conrad J. "Bud", November 6, 2023 Add to Shelf: Weiser describes his return to OSU as a faculty member in 1973; his shift from a teaching/research portfolio to administrative work; his contributions to the creation of the USDA competitive grant program and the National Agricultural Science Team; his establishment of the United Oregon Horticulture Industry Advisory Board, the tri-state cooperative agreement, and the Northwest Center for Small Fruit Research; and the culture of the OSU campus during the Vietnam War era. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 2:04:54
Digital File 59: Weiser, Conrad J. "Bud", December 1, 2023 Add to Shelf: Weiser reflects in depth on his activities as an administrator, including his work to broaden definitions of scholarship at OSU. He also discusses his activities in retirement, including bonsai cultivation and stone carving, and shares the story of how his artistic work led to a close connection with Native American communities in the Upper Midwest. [Interview conducted by Chris Petersen]; Extent: 2:21:36

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