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Victor A. Madsen Papers, 1964-1998

By Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Nielsen.

Collection Overview

Title: Victor A. Madsen Papers, 1964-1998

ID: MSS Madsen

Primary Creator: Madsen, Victor A.

Extent: 1.8 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Victor A. Madsen Papers were generated or assembled by Madsen in the course of his research and teaching as a Physics Professor at Oregon State University. Madsen joined the faculty of Oregon State in 1963 and retired in 1997.

Scope and Content Notes

The Victor A. Madsen Papers consist of research and teaching materials created or assembled by Madsen as a faculty member at Oregon State University. The research materials include research notes, article reprints, conference papers and presentations, correspondence, reference materials, and research data and calculations. Research topics addressed include inelastic scattering, charge-exchange reactions, the Ramsauer Model for neutron total cross sections, and causality with noncausal optical potentials.

The teaching materials consist of lecture notes, problem sets, and exam questions for several physics courses, including Introductory Field Theory (PH 478), Methods in Mathematical Physics (PH 462), and Advanced Quantum Theory (PH 569 and PH 656).

Biographical / Historical Notes

Victor A. Madsen joined the Physics Department at Oregon State University (OSU) in 1963. As a theoretician in nuclear physics, he collaborated with a group of experimental nuclear physicists working on the OSU cyclotron. His most noteworthy research involved analysis of inelastic scattering and charge-exchange reactions. He frequently collaborated with scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and at the Kernforschungsanlage in Julich, Germany. In recognition of his research, Madsen was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. In 1985, he received the Milton Harris Award in Basic Research, OSU's highest honor for scientific research.

Madsen was a successful teacher of both undergraduate and graduate students. He pioneered the use of participatory student projects in his advanced undergraduate course in mathematical physics. He continued to teach after his retirement in 1997.

Victor Madsen earned his BS in physics from the University of Washington in 1953; he studied theoretical nuclear physics as a graduate student and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Washington in 1961. Madsen died in Corvallis in 2008.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 2 boxes

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The materials were donated to the Archives by Madsen's widow in 2009.

Related Materials: The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings include the Department of Physics Records (RG 037) and the papers of several physics faculty, including the Melvin Cutler Papers (MSS Cutler), Rubin H. Landau Papers (MSS Landau), David B. Nicodemus Papers (MSS Nicodemus), E. Dale Trout Papers (MSS Trout), and Willibald Weniger Papers (MSS Weniger).

Preferred Citation: Victor A. Madsen Papers (MSS Madsen), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information: This collection is not fully processed; this guide is preliminary.

Creators

Madsen, Victor A.
Oregon State University. Department of Physics

People, Places, and Topics

History of Science
Madsen, Victor A.
Mathematical physics.
Physics--Research--Oregon--Corvallis.
Physics--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.