History of Science at Williams

PREFACE TO A HISTORY OF SCIENCE AT WILLIAMS

PREFACE and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (to the first edition)

INTRODUCTION

• CHAPTER ONE: The Sciences and the Curriculum
  1. Science in the United States, 1789-1916
  2. Natural Philosophy – For the Greater Glory of God
  3. A Century of Curricular Change
  4. The Civil War
  5. Science and the Elective System
  6. Instruments and Laboratories
  7. Conclusion
• CHAPTER TWO: Weather, Stars, and Living Nature
  1. Introduction
  2. Early Meteorological Observations
  3. Astronomy and the Hopkins Observatory
  4. The Lyceum of Natural History
  5. Summing up: The First 100 Years
• CHAPTER THREE: Two Wars and a Depression
  1. From the Turn of the Century to World War I
  2. Laboratory Work at Williams
  3. Laboratory Facilities
  4. Graduation Destinations
  5. Darwinism at Williams
  6. Curricular Reform and the Sciences
  7. World War I
  8. Between the World Wars, 1918-1941
  1. Geology
  2. Physics
  3. Science for Non-Scientists
  4. Honors
  5. Williams/MIT Engineering Collaborative

• The Second World War
  • Curricular Changes
  • The V-1 Program
  • The V-5 Program
  • The V-12 Program
  • Other Curricular Changes
  • Physics at Williams and World War II
  • Wartime Faculty: Exodus, Reskilling, and Scavenging

• After the War: Recovery and Lull
  • Science and President Baxter
  • Graduate Education in the Sciences
  • The Science Club

• CHAPTER FOUR: The 1960’s, Turning Point for Science at Williams
  New Programs, Facilities, and Research

1. A Redefinition of Biology
2. New Curricular Concentrations

• Astrophysics
• Psychology as a Natural Science
• Environmental Studies at Williams
• History of Science and Non-majors Courses

3. New Facilities
4. Bronfman Science Center
5. Williams Enters the Computer Age
6. The Growth of Research

• CHAPTER FIVE: From Bronfman to the Unified Science Center
  1. The Integration of Research and Teaching
  2. Intellectual Changes: New Programs and a New Department
  3. External Sources of Funds
  4. The Summer Programs
  • The Bronfman Summer Research Program
  • The Summer Research Colloquia
  • The Summer Premedical Program, 1968-1982
  • The Summer Science Program (SSP)
  • Self-Presentation and Report of Science at Williams
  5. Science at Williams vs. Major Research
  • Faculty Leave
  6. Physical Changes: Renovations and New Construction
  7. Conclusion
• Notable Events in the History of Science at Williams College