Studio portrait of Ava Helen Pauling, Linus Pauling, Jr. and Linus Pauling. 1930

One of Oregon State University’s most celebrated alums would have turned 112 this week, and his birthday is being celebrated both on campus, and in the halls of state government. Linus Pauling was born Feb. 28, 1901, and went on to become a world-renowned chemist and peace activist, and the winner of two Nobel prizes, the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

OSU was not only Pauling’s alma mater, but a scene of deep significance to him as he met his wife and partner in activism, Ava Helen Pauling, while teaching at the university.

OSU is home to the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers, housed in the Special Collections & Archives Research Center, which is the greatest repository of Paulings’ papers in existence, and also includes his two Nobel prizes. He is also honored as the namesake of the Linus Pauling Institute, and the new building housing the institute.

Pauling was made famous by his application of quantum mechanics to the scientific understanding of molecular architecture, which revolutionized structural chemistry. He also conducted research into the nature of sickle cell anemia and hemoglobin, and later in life he became fascinated with the powers of vitamin C, among other micronutrients.

Additionally, Pauling and Ava Helen spoke out against Cold War militarism and the growing presence of nuclear weapons. They traveled the world spreading a message of peace, which ultimately lead to his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

On Feb. 28, a proclamation making the day Linus Pauling Day will be read on the floors of the Oregon House and Senate at 11 a.m. This can be seen live at http://www.leg.state.or.us/listn/

At OSU on Feb. 28, a tour of Pauling artifacts and memorabilia will be held in the OSU Library Special Collections, on the fifth floor of Valley Library, at 11 a.m. A lunch, with proceeds benefiting the OSU Food Drive, will be held at noon in the Linus Pauling Science Center, and a tour of the new building will begin at 12:30 p.m., in the lobby.

~ Theresa Hogue

Ava Helen and Linus Pauling early in their courtship (photo courtesy OSU Special Collections)

One of Oregon State University’s most enduring stories of romance is that of the life-long love between Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling and his wife, Ava Helen, who met while Pauling was teaching at OSU.

The story of their courtship, marriage and the peace and justice work that helped propel them into the international spotlight has been the subject of previous writers. But OSU researcher Mina Carson is now completing a book focused on the life of Ava Helen that will illuminate readers on the complexity of the woman not behind, but at the side of, Linus Pauling.

Carson, an associate professor of history, will discuss some of the richer aspects of the Pauling love story on Valentine’s Day (Tuesday, Feb. 14) when the OSU Women’s Network (OWN) presents “Now that’s chemistry! The love story of Ava Helen and Linus Pauling.” Carson’s presentation begins at noon in the Linus Pauling Science Center Room 402; it is free and open to the public.

What fascinates Carson about the relationship is that despite seeming to be a traditional early-20th century marriage, it was also a partnership built on mutual respect and support.

“She doesn’t have to shuck off a traditional oppressive married life,” Carson said. “They are romantic partners from the get-go and they are all the way through. What she wants, Linus pretty much lets her have. He’s very traditional in the sense that he goes to the work in the daytime and comes back for dinner. But he loves her and he wants to let her do and be anything that she wants.”

Carson got involved in the project when she learned the OSU Press was looking for an author to work on a biography of Ava Helen. She was aware of some of Ava Helen’s work in the area of peace and social justice, but delving further into the lives of the Paulings opened her eyes to a complex woman who was both a dedicated mother and wife, as well as, in her later years, an outspoken feminist and activist.

“She wanted to have young women not have to choose between marriage and their education,” Carson said. “She wanted women to look at what they were doing when they dropped out of college.”

Using the treasure trove of correspondence and other documents in the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers in OSU Special Collections, as well collections at Swarthmore College and Radcliffe, Carson was able to unearth a rich portrait of Ava Helen as both an adoring spouse and a helpmate of Linus, as well as a rapidly evolving sense, later in their marriage, that women must do more than just be wives.

But although she eventually regretted not completing her college degree, Ava Helen said until the end that she would not change her life with Pauling for a different path.

Carson’s Valentine’s Day talk will focus more on the romantic side of the Pauling relationship, which she describes as rich with romantic chemistry as well as a mutual admiration for each other as people and intellectuals.

“Their relationship really is fascinating,” Carson said. “It is so different in some ways from many marital relationships that we know anything about and yet is also so traditional in that she’s really raising the kids and keeping the house. And yet the degree to which they love each other and continue to be passionate about each other is determinative for both of them, and their life direction.”

Carson’s book will be published by OSU Press in 2013.

The OSU Women’s Network (OWN) is open to faculty and staff associated with the university. To find out more, contact Mirabelle Fernandes Paul at 541-737-1330. OWN events are open to all. OSU Women’s Network is a dues paying organization that relies on members’ support to carry out their work. To become a paying member, write a check of $20 (or any amount preferable) to ‘OSU Women’s Network’ and mail to Elizabeth Thomas, 102 Waldo Hall.

Chris Gray is a faculty member with The Union Institute and University and a lecturer at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He is the author of Postmodern War (1997), Cyborg Citizen (2001) and Peace, War and Computers (2005), among other works. His project is an examination of the political and social implications of contemporary evolutionary theory. He plans to use components of the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers as well as the Paul Lawrence Farber Papers.

Christopher O’Brien is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Maine, Farmington. Dr. O’Brien will be using the History of Atomic Energy Collection and the Pauling Papers to study the effect on children of the Cold War nuclear build-up. O’Brien’s research will be conducted in support of a forthcoming monograph on the subject.

Graciela de Souza Oliver is a faculty member at the Universidade Federal do ABC in Santo Andre, Brazil, where she lectures on the social history of Brazilian science and technology, agricultural history, and other areas. Dr. Oliver will use the Nursery and Seed Trade Catalogues and various monographs and dissertations held in the History of Science Collection. Her project focuses on the “visual and textual elements of advertisement and trade in plants and seeds, in view of the relationship between amateurs and science professionals.”

Linda Richards is a Ph. D. candidate in the History of Science at Oregon State University. Her ongoing research for her dissertation compares the development of radiation health safety at Atoms for Peace research reactors with the experience of uranium mining workers and communities. She plans to utilize components of the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers as she continues researching this topic.

The Resident Scholar Program, sponsored by Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and supported by the Peter and Judith Freeman Fund, awards stipends of up to $2,500 per month, renewable up to three months, for a total maximum grant award of $7,500. To date, six researchers have carried out studies under the auspices of the program, traveling to Corvallis from as far away as Kentucky, New York and Germany.

For more information on the Resident Scholar Program, see http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/residentscholar.html

Cliff Mead, Head of Special Collections for the OSU Libraries, is retiring in 2011.

Clifford Mead, an expert on the life of one of Oregon State University’s most celebrated alumni, Linus Pauling, and the man responsible for the growth of the OSU Libraries world-class collections, is retiring after 24 years at the university.

Mead, Head of Special Collections for OSU Libraries, will retire effective Jan. 1, 2011.  Mead’s expertise in special collections administration has resulted in the development and growth of a collection that serves as an outstanding resource not only for the OSU community but for scholars from across the globe.

Not only is Special Collections an ideal environment for on-campus study and research, but as OSU’s Horning Professor of Humanities and Professor of History Emeritus, Mary Jo Nye explained, Mead has dedicated himself to making the collection available to the public.

“Cliff and his staff have pioneered online website communication of historically valuable documents, photographs, films, and other resources to the public,” Nye said. “He has been a real treasure at OSU whom countless visitors have found to be their engaging and omniscient guide in Special Collections.”

The focus of OSU Special Collections is on the Ava and Linus Pauling Papers with a broader emphasis on the history of 20th century science and technology. Mead has led the Special Collections Department’s development of outstanding digital resources, especially those that provide in-depth coverage of the life and work of Linus Pauling, the only recipient of two unshared Nobel Prizes.

“In addition to Professor Mead’s leadership in developing a truly innovative and  world-renowned web presence for displaying the vast resources of the Special Collections department, he has provided exceptional opportunities for OSU students to have firsthand experience working with primary research materials, ” said Karyle Butcher, former OSU University Librarian and University Press Director.

Mead is recognized internationally as the authority on the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers.  He has authored several publications, including Thomas Pynchon:  A Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources (1989).  His most recent book, co-edited with Chris Petersen, is The Pauling Catalogue: Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers at Oregon State University (2006).  He also has co-edited Linus Pauling: Scientist and Peacemaker (2001) and The Pauling Symposium: A Discourse on the Art of Biography (1996). Mead received his master of library science from Syracuse University School of Information Studies, Syracuse, New York and a B.A. in English from the Utica College of Syracuse University.

Paul Farber, OSU Distinguished Professor Emeritus, said it is Mead’s personality that really drove the collection.

“Cliff has that rare combination of intelligence, organization, personality, wit and humor that makes a university collection of papers and books into a Special Collection,” Farber said. “He has been at the center of creating this major asset at OSU, one that has large portions available online, and one that brings scholars from around the world to campus.  He cannot be replaced, but he has built an institution that will persist.”

Larry Landis, University Archivist, will serve as interim director of the Special Collections beginning Jan. 1, 2011 until a permanent head is named.  Landis is an experienced library administrator, having served as the University Archivist since December 1996.  Landis started his career at OSU in January 1991 after having worked for seven years at the University of Texas at Austin at what is now the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.  Landis earned an M.A. in history from Texas Christian University and completed post- graduate work in archives

OSU doctoral student Linda Richards shares Linus Pauling's dedication to peace. (contributed photo)

On a quiet November afternoon, Linda Richards sat down with her origami paper, offering out paper and guidance to make a peace crane. She folded as she spoke about her recent visit to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki official 65th commemorations in Japan, and her life mission of bringing awareness to global peace and nuclear disarmament.

When Richards was 9 she opened her June 1972 issue of Life and saw a picture of Kim Phuc running away after being napalmed. The image affected her so greatly that she has dedicated her life to learning more about the relationship between science, warfare, and for the last 25 years, she has been engaging the public about nuclear issues and conflict resolution in a array of environments, from the classroom to the streets. In 1986, Richards walked across the country from, Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., with the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament.

“After the march I vowed to discuss and talk to someone every day about these issues. In the process I became a nuclear historian,” Richards said.

She is currently a student in the history of science Ph.D. program at Oregon State University. During her second year in the program, she designed and co-taught a course on nuclear history. In 2009–2010 she was awarded an Oregon University System Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leadership Fellowship for International Research to study nuclear history. During this summer, Richards represented the Mayors of both Ashland and Corvallis at the official Commemorations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Over the years she has organized and facilitated the annual Hiroshima-Nagasaki commemorations held in Ashland. Richards has yet to miss a commemoration.

Richards meets with Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima in his office. (contributed photo)

“I was told that I couldn’t teach this subject until I’ve been to Hiroshima,” Richards explained. “Going to the commemorations allowed me to learn from the survivors. It was such an honor to be able to represent the people of Corvallis in Japan.”

Before Richards could go to Japan for the commemoration she was told visitors bring 1,000 peace cranes. The peace cranes are supposed to fulfill the prayers for peace for those who have died.

“If I didn’t have those 1,000 peace cranes I just wasn’t going to be able to go,” Richards said. “I was very fortunate to be put into contact with a professional peace crane folder here in Corvallis; Diane Smith. Diane helped me gather people to spend a day folding peace cranes. Within three hours we had 900 peace cranes. I’m so grateful to the all the people who helped me fold the peace cranes”

Richards has a B.S. in science and math, with a minor in peace studies from Southern Oregon University, as well as a master’s in nonprofit management. She is a certified Oregon Mediator and a certified American Friends Service Committee Non-Violence and Direct Action trainer.

Last year she collaborated with the OSU Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics program to collect oral histories of nuclear scientists (see the blog at: http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/nuclearhistory/), and she toured the Hanford Nuclear Reservation with the Oregon Department of Energy and Oregon Hanford Waste Board. Richards is building the first-ever curriculum for a history course about nuclear disarmament and nuclear science specifically designed for Oregon State students.
Richards said she wants to cover all sides of the issue, which includes teaching the history of war and disarmament.

Richards and friends fold peace cranes. (contributed photo)

Over her years of research Richards has worked with many different people from all different backgrounds, including men and women in the armed forces who have helped with her research and studies.

“Unexpected friendships have a power all on their own,” Richards said. “If a student follows their passion then life may not work out the way they thought it would, but it’s always for the better.”

View more of Richards work at her website http://atomicvigil.net.

~ Makenzie Marineau

The “Linus Pauling Day-by-Day” is a constantly-expanding resource that provides in-depth description for a substantial portion of the half-million item Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers.

1960 was a difficult year for Linus and Ava Helen Pauling, one marked by two especially-harrowing incidents. At the end of January 1960, having become lost while walking near his coastal home, Pauling was forced to spend nearly 24 hours trapped on a cliff some 300-feet above the Pacific Ocean. Pauling didn’t suffer physical harm but the experience left him shaken.

An even greater source of stress emerged in the early summer, when Pauling was summoned to testify before the United States Senate Internal Security Subcommittee. Suspicious of Pauling’s peace activities, the subcommittee demanded that Pauling reveal the names of those individuals who assisted both he and his wife in their circulation of the famous United Nations Bomb Test Petition.
Though threatened with imprisonment for contempt of Congress, Pauling refused to divulge the requested information.

After two tense hearings and a great deal of media attention, the subcommittee ultimately relented, and Pauling was not penalized.
As with all of the years featured in “Linus Pauling Day-by-Day,” the 1960 release is comprised of thousands of text summaries, multi-page illustrations and transcripts of items held in the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers.

The on-line project began in 1999, when the OSU Libraries Special Collections launched an ambitious undertaking that seeks to closely-document virtually every day of Linus and Ava Helen Pauling’s lives.

This huge amount of data is presented in calendar form. Index pages created for each year of the Day-by-Day calendar provide an overview of the major events in the Paulings’ lives, a full accounting of their travel and snapshots from their various adventures at home and abroad.
Within the calendar, cross-referenced summaries of tens of thousands of documents are accompanied by weekly illustrations and a growing cache of full-text correspondence transcripts.

The product of all this information is a resource that provides unprecedented access to the daily activities of both Pauling as well as the many important figures with whom he communicated.

With the inclusion of the 1960 content, the project now boasts of well-over 76,000 activities listings, 1,700 illustrations and 2,000 transcripts.
To learn more about the project, see http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/calendar/index.html

~ Cliff Mead

Linda Richards, a graduate student in History of Science.

Fifty years ago Oregon born OSU graduate and 1954 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry Linus Pauling with his wife Ava Helen, demanded the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union end nuclear bomb explosion tests, arguing that the fallout from the weapons contaminated the globe with dangerous radioactivity. The Paulings presented a petition to UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld with more than 11,000 signatures, seeking to end nuclear weapons testing as a first step toward total nuclear disarmament.

Later that same year, Linus Pauling and 17 others filed a lawsuit against the Atomic Energy Commission and the Dept. of Defense to end nuclear testing. He also published the seminal book No More War! In 1983, he wrote a new preface to the 25th anniversary edition of the book, which reads in part as follows:

“Twenty-five years ago the message of this book was that the development of great nuclear weapons requires that war be given up, for all time – that the forces that can destroy the world must not be used.

This is still the message of the book.

The danger of world destruction in a nuclear war is greater than ever before…I hope that when the year 2008 arrives, after another 25 years, the world will have survived and the human race still will be here (although I probably shall no longer be living) but that there will be no need to republish the book, because the goal of world peace will have been achieved, militarism and nuclear weapons will have been brought under control and the threat of world destruction will finally have been abolished.”

No More War! approached peace and disarmament in much the same way that Pauling approached science: Pauling used his genius to see the connections between the chemical bond, molecules, biology, physics and genetics to explain the dangers of nuclear weapons, radiation and fallout.

Pauling also presented alternatives to violence to build genuine, lasting security by developing systems of coexistence, human rights and international law.

The final chapter outlined his wish that resources be contributed not to weapons, but to understanding and eliminating the conditions that lead to war by researching what creates peace. He proposed, among other things, a UN World Peace Research Organization.

The book contains appendices that are actually a history of actions and petitions that contributed to the attainment of the Atmospheric Test Ban Treaty, including the famous Russell-Einstein Manifesto of 1955, the last petition signed by Einstein before his death. That manifesto ends with a plea: “There lies before us, if we choose continual progress in happiness, knowledge and wisdom.

Shall we instead choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal, as human beings, to human beings: Remember your humanity and forget the rest.”

The day that the Atmospheric Test ban Treaty took effect — Oct. 10, 1963 — Pauling was announced as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Ava and Linus Pauling Papers in the OSU Valley Library contain more than 500,000 documents and artifacts of their lives and is the largest such collection anywhere of a scientist. The materials were donated by Linus Pauling in 1986 to OSU in hopes that his and Ava Helen’s work for a better world where human needs are met would be continued.

Masterfully catalogued by archivist Cliff Mead, researcher Chris Petersen and a staff of honor students, the papers are organized to achieve maximum impact and access with vibrant, interactive Web pages.

The Ava and Linus Pauling Papers illuminate Pauling’s ability to connect diverse concepts to find likely unifying theories, using a stochastic approach to truth, as described by his biographer Tom Hager: “Pauling used a leap of courage to make an educated guess.”

Pauling believed in generating lots of ideas that could be discarded to find one that is likely to be correct, and it is with this confidence he has left so much behind for us to continue his work.

Link to a documentary history of Linus Pauling and the International Peace Movement:

http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/peace/index.html

View actual documents from 1945 debate on nuclear weapons that still rings true today:

http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/peace/papers/peace4.007.3-statement-19451106.html

A three-minute video of Linus Pauling addressing the dangers of atomic power, and additional information relating to Pauling’s book: No More War!

http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/peace/narrative/page29.html

Linda Richards is a master’s degree candidate in the History of Science program at OSU, as well as a graduate teaching assistant.