CU Campus Democrats collection

Collection

Identifier: COU:2288

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Campus Democrats Collection is organized into three sections. Campus Democrats 1982-1989: consists of constitution of the Campus Democrats, meeting agendas, lists of members of the Campus Democrats, information concerning Democratic Canadates and issues in the 1986 and 1988 political races, fundraisers and event flyers, and newspaper clipping. Dukakis 1988: consists of information of Michel Dukakis and his run for president in 1988. Included are articles about Dukakis, his stance of foreign affairs, economy, education, the environment, space program, military defense, healthcare, and equal opportunity of minorities. Photographs: holds a scrap book to the efforts the Campus democrats during the Dukakis Campaign and pictures of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Rally on the campus in 1988.

Dates

1980 - 1992

Historical Note

The Cyclotron Building was a high-profile nuclear physics facility that started in 1956. The building was initially built with Colorado state funds in 1957, and then matched with an Atomic Energy Commission grant to build the cyclotron in 1958. The Cyclotron Building was completed in 1960, later to be called the Nuclear Physics Laboratory.

Its research group included George Gamow, David Lind, and Jack Kraushaar. The cyclotron marked the beginning of a period of remarkable transformation for the physics department. Lind and Kraushaar were the faculty leaders who created, designed, and ran the cyclotron. They were also the principal investigators of the contract from the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission for a design study of a cyclotron with azimuthally varying magnetic field. Within a year, that contract had been modified to cover the design and construction of a 52-inch cyclotron capable of accelerating protons to 30 MeV, as well as accelerating deuterons, helium three ions, and alpha particles, one of only three similar cyclotrons in the country. The design process was led by Lind and Kraushaar, as well as, Rod Smythe and Martin Rickey. A key feature of the machine was its ability to deliver particles to the target with a continuously variable range of energies.

The University of Colorado’s cyclotron was the first cyclotron device between St. Louis and the West Coast ever built and, in 1962, it produced a beam of hydrogen nuclei. The cyclotron's 85 ton magnet accelerated particles of hydrogen, carbon and other matter and hurled them against the nucleus of atoms to smash them. Physicists at the time were exploring the means and manner in which atoms could be smashed. Albert Bartlett, a professor at CU, headed up what would be known as the beta ray spectrometer project during this time.

With the cyclotron, the CU Nuclear Physics program conducted pioneering research for more than twenty-five years, providing research and educational opportunities for hundreds of undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows.

Extent

3 linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Campus Democrats (1980-1992) was a version of a long-term student Democratic organization at the University of Colorado Boulder dating back to 1932 and operating until the present under different names. The organization promoted the Democratic Party platform and candidates both in local politics and national campaigns. The collection contains documents, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and photographs concerning the Campus Democrats organization and their efforts in promoting the Democratic Party on campus.