Discusses research at RBL, and the merger of the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies (CBCES) with RBL to form SERC, including: changes in research at RBL Parklawn facility, increase in laboratory size, Carbon Dating Laboratory, layout of th...
Smithsonian Institution. Assistant Secretary for Science Search this
Extent:
26 cu. ft. (26 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Black-and-white photographs
Manuscripts
Audiotapes
Date:
1963-1973
Descriptive Entry:
The records are arranged in four alphabetic subject files, overlapping in dates and subject matter. The files were probably segments of one general file which was weeded
and separated as records became noncurrent.
Historical Note:
The first person named Assistant Secretary for Science was Thomas Dale Stewart in 1964, although many of the functions of the office had previously been handled by
one of the Assistant Secretaries. Sidney Roland Galler was named to the position in 1965, and in 1971 David Challinor became Assistant Secretary for Science.
The Assistant Secretary for Science served as the administrative link between the Secretary and the following Smithsonian bureaus: Center for the Study of Man, the Chesapeake
Bay Center for Environmental Studies, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Zoological Park, Office of Environmental Sciences, Radiation
Biology Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian Science Information Exchange, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Smithsonian Institution. Assistant Secretary for Science Search this
Extent:
76.5 cu. ft. (153 document boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Black-and-white photographs
Serials (publications)
Books
Manuscripts
Date:
1963-1978
Descriptive Entry:
These records consist of a correspondence register; files on bureaus administered by the office, including reorganization proposals for SSIE, 1972-1973, photographs
of the STRI facility at Barro Colorado Island, the Johnson-Sea-Link Accident, 1973, SAC's Multiple Mirror Telescope project, 1975-1976, and the Foreign Currency Program country
files, 1972-1978, including the Nepal Tiger Study Project, 1972-1977; general office files, including photographs of recipients of the Edward W. Browning Achievement Award,
and participants of the 1972 Galapagos Science Conference, Challinor's appointment books, and organizations concerned with endangered species, flora, and ecology; OIA materials
including information on the Sea Level Canal Study, 1970, the Mekong Basin Project, 1972, congressional bills pertaining to endangered species and flora, proposals for rules
and regulations by international conservation organizations, scientific research agreements between the United States and foreign countries, and the Foreign Currency Program
country files, 1965-1974; Research Awards Program award and program files, and proposals, 1966-1977; newspaper clippings and journal articles; and printed materials.
Historical Note:
These records pertain to the administration of the Assistant Secretary for Science, David Challinor, 1971- .
Bureaus whose actions are documented in these records are the Center for the Study of Man, Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies, Fort Pierce Bureau, National
Air and Space Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Zoological Park, Office of International Programs, Radiation Biological Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory (SAO), Smithsonian Science Information Exchange (SSIE), and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). These records also document offices that underwent
administrative changes during the period 1971-1976, including the Center for Natural Areas, Center for Short-Lived Phenomena, Office of Environmental Programs, Office of Environmental
Sciences, Office of International and Environmental Programs, and the Office of Oceanography and Limnology. In addition, there is material concerning the office's involvement
with federal and international agencies and private organizations regarding the preservation of endangered species and flora, conservation of the environment, and ecological
researches; and the Research Award Program that the office administered.
The pre-1971 material in these records includes that transferred by Challinor and one of his assistants, Michael R. Huxley, from their previous assignment at the Office
of International Activities (OIA), where Challinor served as director, 1968-1971, and Huxley served as assistant director, 1970-1971. The remainder of the pre-1971 material
was inherited by Challinor from his predecessor, Sidney Rolland Galler.
Smithsonian Institution. Assistant Secretary for Research Search this
Extent:
18.5 cu. ft. (18 record storage boxes) (1 document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Date:
1985-1987, with related records from 1974 to 1987
Descriptive Entry:
These records document the operation of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research, which is responsible for overseeing the Institution's research activities
in its various museums, the National Zoological Park, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the Smithsonian Environmental
Research Center. Records include budget and fiscal reports, research reports and research proposals from bureaus under the Office's jurisdiction.
The records also document the work of John H. Falk, a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Research, who also was on the staffs of the Chesapeake Bay Center
for Environmental Studies and the Smithsonian Office of Educational Research.
This record unit also documents the activities of the Neotropical Lowlands Research Program, known before 1981 as the Amazon Ecosystem Research Program, and its principal
investigators, Clifford Evans, Jr., and W. Ronald Heyer.
Note: From inception through FY 1981, this program was entitled "Amazon Ecosystem Research Program (AERP)." From FY 1982 -- present, the program was renamed "Neotropical
Lowlands Research Program (NLRP)."
Smithsonian Institution. Assistant Secretary for Research Search this
Extent:
114 cu. ft. (228 document boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Black-and-white photographs
Maps
Manuscripts
Place:
India
Egypt
Brazil
Aldabra Islands (Seychelles)
Date:
circa 1963-1986
Descriptive Entry:
These records document the administration, under David Challinor, of the science bureaus of the Smithsonian Institution, c. 1975-1985. Also included are a few records
from 1971-1974 and 1986.
Series 1 consists of records of the offices reporting to the Assistant Secretary for Science, including the Center for the Study of Man and the National Anthropological
Film Center, the Chesapeake Bay Center for Biological Studies, the Office of Biological Conservation, the Office of Fellowships and Grants, the National Air and Space Museum,
the National Museum of Natural History, the National Zoological Park, the Radiation Biology Laboratory, the Fort Pierce Bureau, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory,
the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Changes which occurred during the period include the termination of the Office
of Biological Conservation and the Research Institute for Immigration and Ethnic Studies, the assignment of the Office of Fellowships and Grants to the Assistant Secretary
for Science, the combination of the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies and the Radiation Biology Laboratory into the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center,
and the renaming of the Ft. Pierce Bureau as the Marine Station at Link Port. Records pertaining to environmental and other activities in foreign countries have been brought
together in this series under the International Environmental Sciences Program and the Environmental Science Program; however, scientists from most of the other bureaus participated
in these programs.
Series 2 consists of administrative subject files. Budget and personnel records of the bureaus, particularly 1976, the "Transition Quarter, " and 1977 are particularly
well represented, as are collections management and collection inventories. Also found in this series are records dealing with the Endangered Species Scientific Authority,
the International Convention Advisory Commission, the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and
the Charles Darwin Research Station.
Due to the volume and the nature of the records, the goal of processing was to bring together many accessions for easier access rather than to perfect the arrangement.
Dates and folder titles were used as found and may contain inconsistencies. Certain documents, such as budget, personnel, and records relating to the environmental activities
of Smithsonian offices, are like to appear in both series.
Further material on the bureaus, programs, and projects covered in these records can be found in the records of the individual offices and museums which reported to the
Assistant Secretary for Science (now Research).
Historical Note:
David Challinor served as Assistant Secretary for Science from 1971 until 1988. In 1985 the name of the position was changed to Assistant Secretary for Research. Ross
B. Simons served as Program Manager, 1976-. The period documented in these records was one of expansion of facilities and extensive participation by the Smithsonian in local,
national, and international environmental activities. Smithsonian scientists played an active part in the environmental movement through such projects as the study of the
Rhode River ecosystem in Maryland, the coral reefs of Albadra in the Indian Ocean, and the soils of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. At the same time, many of the science bureaus
embarked on or completed ambitious projects in the museums.
The National Zoo completed the modernization of many of its animal quarters during this time, including the Great Ape House, the Lion-Tiger House, and the Monkey House.
Important expansion included the acquisition of land at Front Royal, Virginia, in 1975, which culminated in the completion of the Conservation Research Center in 1983, where
the Zoo can conserve and propagate exotic wildlife.
The National Museum of Natural History began the period with the establishment of a twenty-year plan for exhibitions. Projects completed included the Naturalist Center
in 1976, the exhibition of a living coral reef in 1980, the Evans Gallery in 1981, and Magnificent Voyagers, concerning the Wilkes Expedition of 1838, in 1985. An on-line
inventory of sixty million items in collections was completed in 1983 in connection with the opening of the Museum Support Center in Maryland. Other events included the initiation
of the Handbook of North American Indians in 1975, the establishment of the National Anthropological Film Center in 1976, and the 75th anniversary of the museum in 1985.
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory participated in such joint ventures as the building of the infra-red telescope, and the study of the 6,000 pound Old Woman Meteorite.
The Multiple Mirror Telescope was built at Mt. Hopkins, Arizona.
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) enjoyed a period of modernization of facilities and intense use by scientists under the Environmental Sciences Program
to measure climatic and biological changes on Barro Colorado Island and obtain baseline data for future studies. The signing of the Panama Canal Treaties in 1977 solidified
the position of the Institute.
The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) opened in 1976 and quickly became the most visited museum in the world. By 1984, the 75th millionth visitor had arrived. Projects
undertaken by NASM's scientists and historians included the Quetzalcoatlus Project, the Space Telescope History Project, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and a series on the history
of aviation. The annual Frisbee Festival began in 1977 and millions of visitors viewed the popular IMAX movies in the museum.
Other environmental activities included the Nepal Tiger Ecology Project, the Smithsonian Institution Peace Corps Environmental Program, the Coral Reef Symposium, and the
Brazil and Amazon Ecosystems Project.
Folder 5 Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies, 1977. Includes report "Environmental Information Transfer: A Model Approach for the Chesapeake Bay Region," by G. Marjorie Beane and J. Kevin Sullivan.
Collection Creator::
Smithsonian Institution. Assistant Secretary for Research Search this
Container:
Box 8 of 228
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 329, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary for Research, Records
Folder 1 Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies, 1981. Includes"Memorandum of Understanding Between the State of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution concerning the establishment and administration of the Chesapeake Bay Estuarine Sanctuary...
Collection Creator::
Smithsonian Institution. Assistant Secretary for Research Search this
Container:
Box 10 of 228
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 329, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary for Research, Records
![view Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Science, aerial view digital asset: Aerial view of the Rhode River and the site of the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies (CBCES), now known as the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), in Edgewater, Maryland, circa 1970s. [Image no. 2003-19524]](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=170&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/electronicresource.gif "Aerial view of the Rhode River and the site of the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies (CBCES), now known as the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), in Edgewater, Maryland, circa 1970s. [Image no. 2003-19524]")
