Finding Aid to the Papers of Lewis E. Snyder, 1979-1983
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Location of collection: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Archives, 520 Edgemont Rd., Charlottesville, VA. Phone: 1-434-296-0203, email: archivist at nrao.edu Title and dates of the collection: Papers of Lewis E. Snyder, 1979-1983 Size of the collection: 0.25 linear feet. Papers/Records created by: Snyder, Lewis E. (1939-2021) Short description of collection: The collection includes papers related to Snyder's tenure on the National Science Foundation Astronomy Advisory Committee's 1982 Subcommittee on Millimeter- and Submillimeter-Wavelength Astronomy.
Biography: Born in 1939, Lewis E. Snyder received his PhD in physics in 1967 from University of Michigan. During his nearly 40 year career in radio astronomy, he held positions at National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the University of Virginia and University of Colorado, the Max Planck Institut für Radioastronomie, and for over 30 years was a professor at the University of Illinois. In 1969, as an NRAO scientist and using the 140-Foot Telescope in Green Bank, Snyder led a research team that discovered the formaldehyde molecule (H2CO) in the interstellar medium. It was the first polyatomic molecule detected in space that contained more than a single heavy atom, and demonstrated that complex molecules could form and persist in space. Snyder was a 1982-1983 member of the National Science Foundation's Astronomy Advisory Committee, Subcommittee on Millimeter- and Submillimeter-Wavelength Astronomy, chaired by Prof. Alan Barrett. The Subcommittee recommended the construction of a U.S. national millimeter/submillimeter array; the recommendation was adopted as NRAO's Millimeter Array project, which eventually evolved to become the international Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. [Biographical note written by Ellen N. Bouton. For a fuller biography of Snyder, see the Biographical Memoir of Lewis E. Snyder by Anthony Remijan and Philip R. Jewell.] Accession history: Material was donated by Snyder to the NRAO/AUI Archives in 2016. Access to collection: No restrictions. The Archives are open part-time; contact the Archivist for appointment. Restrictions on use of collection: None. Publication rights: Copyright has been assigned to the NRAO/AUI Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archivist. Preferred citation: National Radio Astronomy Observatory/Associated Universities, Inc. Archives, Papers of Lewis E. Snyder, <series/unit/subunit/box #>. After the initial citation, abbreviations may be used: NRAO/AUI Archives, Snyder Papers, <series/unit/subunit/box #>. Processing notes: Initial inventory of this collection was done in 2016 by Ellen N. Bouton. Final arrangement, description, indexing, foldering and boxing of this material was completed in 2021. During the processing, fasteners were removed and duplicates were discarded. Subcommittee on Millimeter- and Submillimeter-Wavelength Astronomy Series: This series includes background documents dated 1979, and correspondence and reports dated 1982-1983 related to Snyder's tenure on the National Science Foundation Astronomy Advisory Committee's 1982 Subcommittee on Millimeter- and Submillimeter-Wavelength Astronomy, also known as the Barrett Committee. For a digitized copy of the April 1983 Committee report, see here. Size: 0.25 linear feet. |