Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Dr. Richard Zallen Papers, Ms2008-069, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Dr. Richard Zallen Papers were donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 2007.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement and description of the Dr. Richard Zallen Papers commenced in August 2008 and was completed in October 2008.

Biographical Note

Richard Henry Zallen was born in New York City in 1937. After receiving his bachelors of science in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1957, Zallen continued his education at Harvard University‐eventually receiving his Ph.D. in Applied Physics in 1964. From 1966 to 1983, Dr. Zallen worked at the Xerox Research Laboratories in Rochester, New York. While working at Xerox, he was part of a team that patented Spin Coated Photoconductor Films.

After his research at Xerox, Dr. Zallen served as a professor of physics at Virginia Tech. In 1976 Dr. Zallen became a fellow of the American Physical Society. During his sabbaticals, Dr. Zallen held several visiting appointments. From 1971 to 1972 he acted as the visiting associate professor of physics at the Technion, The Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa; in the summer of 1979 he was the visiting professor at the Université de Paris VI; from 1990 to 1991 he was the SERC senior research fellow at Imperial College in London; and in 1998 he served as the visiting professor at Imperial College in London.

Dr. Zallen's primary research interest lies in experimental studies of the optical properties of solids. In pursuance of his interests, Dr. Zallen has published more than one hundred articles and a widely cited book, The Physics of Amorphous Solids .

In 2006, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors honored Dr. Zallen with the title "professor emeritus. "

Scope and Contents

The Dr. Richard Zallen Papers document the research and professional development of a physics professor at Virginia Tech, specializing in condensed matter research, largely during the second half of the twentieth century. The papers include information concerning Zallen's study at Harvard and his work at Xerox; research notes; professional correspondence; Virginia Tech lectures; drafts of published works; and materials concerning trips, sabbaticals, and conferences. The corporate and governmental institutions with which Zallen worked include: the Office of Naval Research, Raytheon Manufacturing Company, Texas Instruments, and IBM. Examples of mentioned geographical locations are Israel, Belgium, China, England, France, Canada, Italy, and a host of cities in the United States. Materials include hand-written documents, published material, flat plate drawings, photographs, a sample of "melt-spun amorphous, " and stamps from various countries. Expanatory notes made by Zallen in 2006 annotate many documents. Some significant documents include supporting patent materials for Spin Coated Photoconductor Films, letters concerning the protest by industrial scientists at Xerox over the escalation of the war in Indo-China, and copies of APS Solid State Correspondence discussing the formation of Solid-State Physics.

( Please note: Many of the folders in this collection contain two sets of dates. Dates within parentheses designate the date originally provided by the creator and usually indicate when an event/research occurred. Dates outside of parentheses indicate the chronological range of materials found within the collection. )

Arrangement

The collection maintains original order. Papers are organized by topic and generally appear in reverse chronological order. Correspondence appears alphabetically.

Related Material

Also available from VT Special Collections and University Archives and Newman Library is a book by Dr. Richard Zallen: The Physics of Amorphous Solids . New York: Wiley, c1983. Call number: QC176.8.A44 Z34 1983. Request via the library catalog online.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Faculty and staff
• Physicists
• Physics
• Science and Technology
• Students and alumni
• University History
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. College of Arts and Sciences (1970-2003)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. College of Science (2003-)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Physics Department

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Dr. Richard Zallen Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).