Richard Ward Morris papers

Finding Aid

Prepared by Kyler Andrew Culver, October 29, 2003; Last Updated: May 2020

Inclusive Dates: 1964 and Undated
Extent: .5 cubic foot (1 flat oversize box)
Physical Location: 11th floor

Biographical Note: Richard Morris (1939- ) began to work as a coordinator for the Committee of Small Magazine Editors and Publishers (COSMEP) in 1968 and eventually became its executive director, but his main career in life was as an author of works that popularized and clarified major concepts in science and philosophy. "A scientist who abandoned his discipline in the 1970s to write poetry, Morris later returned to science to write books on physics and cosmology, which is concerned with the birth, development and possible death of the universe."* His books are praised for their layperson's approach and enjoyable discussions of complex issues.

* "Richard Ward Morris" in Dictionary of Literary Biography: Contemporary Authors at http://www.galenet.com as accessed October 2003

Scope and Content: The collection consists of Morris' Master's thesis, other scientific writings and notes, a group of statistics and computations centered on one experiment, and various unrelated materials such as typing practice pages, class registers and correspondence.

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

1. Master's thesis in physics, The Diffraction of Polarized Light by a Conducting Straight Edge in the Geometrical Shadow (University of New Mexico, 1964)
2. Carbon copy typescript of untitled paper ("In this paper we will discuss the application of finite temperature perturbation theory to a system of many, identical, interacting fermions...") with equations handwritten, undated
3. Handwritten notes, original, "Grand Ensembles," undated
4. Handwritten notes, original, "Quantum Statistical Ensembles," undated
5. Handwritten notes, original, missing page 1, about stationary ensembles, undated
6. FORTRAN coding form, "R. Morris Numerical Integration Exch. Term," undated
7. Computer printouts, generated figures, "The Function Alpha," undated
8. Computer printouts, generated figures, "The Function Eta," undated
9. FORTRAN statement, 12 punch cards entitled with equations, undated
10. FORTRAN statement, 13 punch cards entitled with equations, undated
11. FORTRAN statement, 8 punch cards entitled with equations, undated
12. Printed computational figures, "R. Morris Job 317 HE correlation approx.," undated
13. Printed computational figures, "All Statement Map, R. Morris Job 317," undated
14. Printed computational figures, "R. Morris Job 317 HE correlation approx.," undated
15. Printed computational figures, "R. Morris Job 317 HE correlation approx." with notes, undated
16. Printed computational figures, "R. Morris Job 317 HE correlation approx.," undated
17. Class register book, "210 Quiz Section" and "Lab" undated
18. Fourteen pages of typing practice exercises, with instructor's marks, undated
19. Basic information on subatomic particles, undated
20. Handmade envelope, from San [...], California to Morris in Reno, Nevada, undated
21. Correspondence, US Treasury Department to R. Morris, undated
22. Comic book page, L'Homme au Masque de Fer, undated