Guide to the Eugene Parker Papers 1948-2018


Search this Finding Aid





Table of Contents

• Descriptive Summary
• Information on Use
• Access
• Citation
• Biographical Note
• Scope Note
• Related Resources
• Subject Headings
• INVENTORY
• Series I: Personal
• Series II: Correspondence
• Series III: Writing
• Series IV: Teaching
• Series V: Professional Associations and Events
• Series VI: Writing by Others
  • Subseries 1: Materials Related to Other Astrophysicists
  • Subseries 2: Scientific Publications
• Series VII: Awards, Honors, and Degrees
• Series VIII: Audiovisual
• Series IX: Oversize
• Series X: Restricted

Descriptive Summary

Information on Use

Access

This collection is open for research with the exception of material in Series X. This series contains Parker’s letters of recommendation, which are restricted for 80 years from the date of record creation.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Parker, Eugene. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Biographical Note

Eugene Newman Parker was born on June 10, 1927 in Houghton, Michigan. His father, Glenn Parker, worked as an engineer at Chrysler and his mother, Helen Parker (MacNair) worked as a homemaker. Parker earned a B.S. in Physics from Michigan State University in 1948 and a PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 1951.

In 1954, Eugene married Niesje Parker. The couple had one son, Eric Parker, and one daughter, Joyce Marie Parker.

After finishing his PhD, Parker worked at the University of Utah as an instructor and assistant professor. He was hired by the University of Chicago in 1955, where he worked for the rest of his career. In 1958, Parker published his prediction of the existence of solar wind, a continuous outpouring of charged particles flowing from the sun at a million miles per hour. His idea was met with widespread skepticism from fellow physicists, including the reviewers of the paper and the editor of the publication. Parker’s prediction was verified, however, when NASA’s Mariner II spacecraft encountered a flow of solar particles during its flight to Venus in 1962.

In addition to heliophysics, Parker also studied cosmic rays and magnetic fields. His four books include Interplanetary Dynamical Processes (1963), Cosmical Magnetic Fields: Their Origin and Their Activity (1979), Spontaneous Current Sheets in Magnetic Fields, with Applications to Stellar X-rays (1994), and Conversations on Electric and Magnetic Fields in the Cosmos (2007). He retired in 1995 but continued to teach and publish work in the following decades.

Parker won numerous awards throughout his career, including the National Medal of Science, the Kyoto Prize, and the American Physical Society Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research. He was member of the National Academy of Sciences and served as chair for the Academy’s astronomy section. In 2017, NASA named its solar probe the Parker Solar Probe in his honor, marking the first time NASA named a spacecraft after a living person.

Eugene Parker died in Chicago on March 15, 2022 at the age of 94.

Scope Note

The Eugene Parker Papers are organized into ten series: Series I: Personal; Series II: Correspondence; Series III: Writing; Series IV: Teaching; Series V: Professional Associations and Events; Series VI: Writing by Others; Series VII: Awards, Honors, and Degrees; Series VIII: Audiovisual; Series IX: Oversize; and Series X: Restricted. The collection includes Parker’s email correspondence; reprints of Parker’s scientific publications from 1952 to 2016; lecture notes and overhead projector slides from Parker’s courses; materials related to astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar; scientific publications written by others; scientific and personal photographs; and Parker’s awards and diplomas. Materials date between 1948 and 2018, with the bulk of material dating between 1952 and 2011.

Series I, Personal, contains biographical and autobiographical information on Parker and ephemera.

Series II, Correspondence, contains Parker’s letters, handwritten notes, and printed emails, including correspondence related to the Parker Solar Probe.

Series III, Writing, contains Parker’s thesis manuscript, reprinted papers, reports, articles, publications, and pamphlets. Reprinted papers are ordered roughly chronologically. All other writing is organized chronologically following the reprinted papers.

Series IV, Teaching, contains Parker’s lecture notes and overhead projector slides from the 2000s and 2010s. Materials are organized alphabetically according to the lecture title.

Series V, Professional Associations and Events, contains materials related to Parker’s professional life, such as newsletters, bulletins, dinner lists and menus, and symposium programs. Organizations include but are not limited to the Instrument Society of America, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Solar and Astrophysical Magnetohydrodynamic Flows. Materials are arranged chronologically.

Series VI, Writing by Others, contains materials concerning other astrophysicists and scientific publications not written by Eugene Parker. Materials are divided into two subseries:

Subseries 1, Materials Related to Other Astrophysicists, contains reprints by and memorials to Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, reprints and correspondence with Joseph Lemaire, and reprints by Sydney Chapman. Materials are arranged alphabetically according to the last name of the astrophysicist.

Subseries 2, Scientific Publications, contains copies of the publication The Planetary Report (1983-1985) and other scientific articles and pamphlets, including materials published by NASA. Materials are arranged roughly chronologically.

Series VII, Awards, Honors, and Degrees, contains awards, medals, and degrees granted to Parker, as well as his university degrees, diplomas, certificates, and acceptance speeches. Material are arranged chronologically according to the award date.

Series VIII, Audiovisual, contains Parker’s scientific and personal photographs from 1965 to 2000 and a DVD recording of a workshop.

Series IX, Oversize, contains oversized materials such as framed awards, diplomas, and honorary degrees. Materials are organized according to size.

Series X, Restricted, contains Parker’s letters of recommendation, which are restricted for 80 years from the date of record creation. Materials are organized chronologically.

Related Resources

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Papers

Peter Meyer Papers

David N. Schramm Papers

Lalitha Chandrasekhar Papers

Edwin B. Frost Papers

George Ellery Hale Papers

George van Biesbroeck Papers

Henry Gordon Gale Papers

University of Chicago Division of the Physical Sciences Records

University of Chicago Yerkes Observatory Logbooks and Notebooks

Subject Headings

• Parker, E.N. (Eugene Newman), 1927-2022
• Chandrasekhar, S. (Subrahmanyan), 1910-1995
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• University of Chicago. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
• American Physical Society
• National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
• Astrophysics
• Astrophysicists
• Solar wind

INVENTORY

This series contains biographical and autobiographical information on Parker and ephemera.

This series contains Parker’s letters, handwritten notes, and printed emails, including correspondence related to the Parker Solar Probe.

This series contains Parker’s thesis manuscript, reprinted papers, reports, articles, publications, and pamphlets. Reprinted papers are ordered roughly chronologically. All other writing is organized chronologically following the reprinted papers.

This series contains Parker’s lecture notes and overhead projector slides from the 2000s and 2010s. Materials are organized alphabetically according to the lecture title.

This series contains materials related to professional association and events, such as newsletters, bulletins, dinner lists and menus, and symposium programs. Organizations include but are not limited to the Instrument Society of America, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Solar and Astrophysical Magnetohydrodynamic Flows. Materials are arranged chronologically.

This series contains materials concerning other astrophysicists and scientific publications not written by Eugene Parker. The first subseries contains reprints by and memorials to Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, reprints and correspondence with Joseph Lemaire, and reprints by Sydney Chapman. Materials are arranged alphabetically according to the last name of the astrophysicist. The second subseries contains copies of the publication The Planetary Report (1983-1985) and other scientific articles and pamphlets, including materials published by NASA. Materials are arranged roughly chronologically.

This series contains awards, medals, and degrees granted to Parker, as well as his university degrees, diplomas, certificates, and acceptance speeches. Material are arranged chronologically according to the award date.

This series contains Parker’s scientific and personal photographs from 1965 to 2000 and a DVD recording of a workshop.

This series contains oversized materials such as framed awards, diplomas, and honorary degrees. Materials are organized according to size.

This series contains Parker’s letters of recommendation which are restricted for 80 years from the date of record creation. Materials are organized chronologically.