Oral history of Stuart "Bill" Leslie

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After completing his graduate work at the University of Delaware, Stuart "Bill" Leslie came to Johns Hopkins as a post-doctoral fellow in 1981, specializing in the history of science and technology. He has been at Hopkins ever since, as a faculty member of the History of Science and Technology with a secondary appointment in Geography and Environmental Engineering. Leslie has published work on the topics of corporate research and development, the Cold War, and American science and laboratory design and architecture. In addition, Leslie was commissioned by Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels to write a book detailing the history of the university, projected to be completed in 2018. In this interview, Leslie discusses the evolution of the History of Science and Technology department at Hopkins, as well as the university's unique features as an institution housing both an engineering school and a school of arts and sciences. This oral history is a part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Gordon "Reds" Wolman

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Markley Gordon "Reds" Wolman was geomorphologist whose passion for his discipline, dedication to his work, and his uniquely creative ways of looking at problems, resulted in a wide-ranging career. Among the many hats he wore were scientist, environmental activist, teacher and mentor, university administrator, and government advisor on the local, state, national and international level. Wolman was born in 1924 in Baltimore the son of Anne and Abel Wolman. His father was a sanitary engineer whose accomplishments ranged from developing chlorinated water, to designing water supply systems for cities throughout the world, to advising on the safe use of nuclear power. The younger Wolman, known throughout his life as Reds, attended the Park School in Baltimore graduating in 1942. He began his college career at Haverford College, but left to join the U.S. Naval Reserves after his first semester. When discharged in 1946, Wolman enrolled at the Johns Hopkins University where his father was in the Department of Sanitary Engineering. Wolman graduated in 1949 with a degree in Geology and All-American Lacrosse honors. He then took an MA (1951) and PhD (1953) from Harvard University. In 1951, Wolman embarked on a career of nearly 60 years that combined research, service to the profession, and educating the next generation of scientists. In this interview, Wolman discusses his undergraduate career at Johns Hopkins, his memories of notable faculty and administrators including Hopkins president Isaiah Bowman, and the faculty culture he experienced at Hopkins. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Grace Brush

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Grace Brush is a professor in the Johns Hopkins Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering. She has studied the impact of human disturbance on the Chesapeake Bay extensively and has been awarded the Mathias Medal for her work. She was also named a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America. In this history, Brush discusses her time at Hopkins and her research, especially that which she completed in the Chesapeake Bay. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories Series.

Oral history of Elise Hancock

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Elise Hancock became the editor of the Johns Hopkins Magazine in 1973. During her editorship, the Magazine switched to a bimonthly schedule and was twice named "one of the top ten Alumni Magazines in North America" by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. In this oral history, Hancock discusses the Johns Hopkins Magazine, the gender balance of making Hopkins co-ed in the 1970s, and the history of the university. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Donald Ainslie Henderson

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Dr. Donald Henderson was born in Lakewood, Ohio on September 7, 1928. He received his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College, his M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and his M.P.H (Masters of Public Health) from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Henderson headed the World Health Organization's Global Smallpox Eradication Campaign beginning in 1966, which successfully saw the eradication of smallpox from the entire world by 1977. After his tenure with the WHO, Henderson became dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and acted as a senior advisor to many federal departments and commissions related to health and safety. He has received numerous honorary degrees, awards, and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2002). In this oral history, Henderson describes his career as an epidemiologist, his relationship to Johns Hopkins, and the history of the School of Public Health. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Jerry Schubel

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Jerry Schubel received his Ph.D. in Oceanography from Johns Hopkins University and an honorary doctorate from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He went on to serve as associate director of the Johns Hopkins Chesapeake Bay Institute and from 1974-1994 served as the dean of Stony Brook University's Marine Science Research Center. He is the President and CEO of the Aquarium of the Pacific. He has written extensively on science-management policy for ocean issues and sits on several boards, including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Science Advisory Board, the Science Advisory Panel for California's Ocean Protection Council, and the Board of Governors of the Savannah Ocean Exchange. In this oral history, he discusses the Chesapeake Bay Institute and his career in oceanography. This oral history is part of the Hopkins Retrospective oral histories series.

Oral history of Neil Grauer

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Neil Grauer, born in 1947, is a journalist and editorial cartoonist who grew up in Great Neck, New York. Grauer received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University in 1969 and a masters degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1970. Grauer was a reporter and cartoonist for the Baltimore News- American from 1970 until 1980, after which he served as the public affairs officer in the Consumer Protection Division of the Maryland Attorney General's Office. In 1984, he published Wits and Sages which profiles twelve contemporary newspaper columnists. In 1988 his Drugs and the Law appeared as part of the Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs. In this oral history, Grauer discusses his student days at Hopkins in the 1960s, including the political unrest of the time, his activities with the student body, and his work cartooning for the News-Letter. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series. Due to a technical error with one of the audio cassettes, Grauer's oral history is only partially transcribed, with approximately one-fifth of the content missing from the transcript. The audio file contains the full recording.

Don't drink that water

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Telegrams from educators and scholars mark the third anniversary of the Johns Hopkins Science Review. Dr. Abel Wolman summarizes the history of methods of acquiring pure water and the science of sanitary engineering. Chlorine was discovered to be a reliable and practical chemical to use to kill water-borne bacteria. Dr. Wolman also shows a film of microscopic organisms and silt in water and discusses the decline of typhoid fever. Dr. Wolman and his colleagues use both animated films and models of a water filtration plant and a sewage treatment plant to explain the water purification processes.

The usefulness of useless knowledge

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Dr. Abel Wolman describes the purpose of a university as a place to search for truth without interference. When research is in its initial stages, the information generated does not appear to have any useful application. By using case studies, the show demonstrates that basic research can have profound implications. Dr. Wolman provides some examples of how seemingly insignificant research can lead to important discoveries: Josiah Willard Gibbs, professor of theoretical physics; Henry A. Rowland, builder of the engine for ruling diffraction gratings; and Ira Remsen, developer of saccharine. Next, Dr. Francis Schwenkter describes recent medical inventions, instruments, and investigations that revolutionized the world: the circulation of spinal fluid, the properties of folic acid, and the treatment of blue babies, cancer, and rickets.