The William A. Lester, Jr. Papers contain the professional and personal papers of African American theoretical chemist and chemistry educator William A. Lester, Jr (1937-). Lester is noted for his theoretical studies of the electronic structure of molecules through Quantum Monte Carlo methods. He is also an advocate for underrepresented minorities in the sciences and higher education.
In 1978, Lester joined the staff of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in Berkeley, California. From 1978 to 1981, he served as Director of the National Resource for Computation in Chemistry (NRCC). During his tenure as Director of the NRCC, Lester concurrently served as Associate Director and Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Lester was a longtime member of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) and served on the organization’s National Board (1984-1987).
A small selection of the collection has been digitized.
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Letter from William A. Lester, Jr. to the Ad Hoc Committee for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, October 1972
- 1972-Oct-24
Letter from William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) to the Ad Hoc Committee for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, written on October 24, 1972.
The Ad Hoc Committee for the Professional…
- Author Lester, William A., Jr., 1937-
- Addressee Ad Hoc Committee for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
- Subject Ad Hoc Committee for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, Lester, William A., Jr., 1937-, National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, International Business Machines Corporation, Scientists, Black, African American engineers, African American scientists, African American chemists, Chemists, Chemical engineers
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4 items
Howard University Cooperative Physics Program for Developing Institutions brochure
- 1974
Brochure for Howard University's cooperative physics program for developing institutions, which brought students from colleges and universities that offered no minor or major in physics to Howard University for advanced…
- Creator Of Work Howard University
- Subject Howard University, Physics, Physics--Study and teaching, Physicists--Education, African American physicists
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23 items
Draft Proposal for a National Center for Computational Chemistry at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory of the University of California
- 1974-May-17
Preliminary draft, prepared by staff of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, of a proposal for the University of California to operate the National Center for Computational Chemistry at the Los Alamos Scientific…
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Letter from Moddie D. Taylor to William A. Lester, Jr., August 30, 1974
- 1974-Aug-30
Moddie D. Taylor (1912-1976) writes to William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) about an upcoming talk Lester will be giving at Howard University.
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5 items
Letter from William A. Guillory, January 10, 1975
- 1975-Jan-10
William A. Guillory, announces the 2nd Annual National Meeting of the Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, held by the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers…
- Author Guillory, William A., National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
- Addressee Jackson, William M., 1936-
- Subject Jackson, William M., 1936-, Guillory, William A., National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. National Conference, Congresses and conventions, Scientists, Black, African American scientists, African American chemists, Chemical engineers, African American engineers
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Letter to William A. Lester, Jr. from William A. Guillory, January 17, 1975
- 1975-Jan-17
William A. Guillory writes to William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) about the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).
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Letter from William A. Lester, Jr. to William A. Guillory, February 7, 1975
- 1975-Feb-07
Letter from William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) to William A. Guillory regarding the constitution for the National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), which he refers to as "NBCCE."
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9 items
Preliminary Constitution of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
- 1975-Mar-19 – 1975-Apr-11
Letter from William A. Guillory with the preliminary constitution of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).
- Creator Of Work National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
- Author Guillory, William A.
- Subject Guillory, William A., National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, Constitutions, African American scientists, African American chemists, African American engineers, Chemical engineers, Chemists
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Letter from Harry L. Morrison to William A. Lester, Jr., March 25, 1975
- 1975-Mar-25
Invitation from Harry L. Morrison (1932-2002) to William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) to speak at the upcoming Symposium of Afro-American Scientists at Howard University.
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Letter from William A. Lester, Jr. to Harry L. Morrison, April 7, 1975
- 1975-Apr-07
William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) accepts Harry L. Morrison's (1932-2002) invitation to speak at the "Symposium of Afro-American Scientists at Howard University that is to be held May 1, 1975 at Howard University."
The…
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9 items
Draft of the Constitution of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
- 1975-Apr-11
Preliminary constitution of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) with handwritten notes by an unknown author.
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Letter to William A. Lester, Jr. from William A. Guillory, April 28, 1975
- 1975-Apr-28
Letter from William A. Guillory to William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) inquiring the possibility of IBM sponsoring a fellowship for Black and minority students pursuing careers in science and engineering.
- Addressee Lester, William A., Jr., 1937-
- Author Guillory, William A., National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
- Subject Guillory, William A., Lester, William A., Jr., 1937-, Scholarships, National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, African American students, College students, Black
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3 items
Draft program for the Second Awards Ceremony for Outstanding Black Physicists
- 1975-May-01
Draft program for the second Awards Ceremony for Outstanding Black Physicists, to be held at Howard University on May 1, 1975.
This ceremony was a part of a Day of Scientific Lectures and Seminars (DOSLAS). These…
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4 items
Second Awards Ceremony for Outstanding Black Physicists
- 1975-May-01
Program for the second Awards Ceremony for Outstanding Black Physicists, held at Howard University on May 1, 1975. The award ceremony honored Herman Branson (1914-1995), Warren E. Henry (1909-2001), and James R. Lawson…
- Creator Of Work Committee for the Afro-American Physics Awards
- Subject African American physicists, Physicists, Howard University, Lawson, J. R. (James Raymond), 1915-1996, Henry, Warren E., 1909-, Branson, Herman R. (Herman Russell), 1914-1995, Physics--Awards, National Society of Black Physicists, Award presentations
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2 items
Letter from William A. Guillory, June 17, 1975
- 1975-Jun-17
Letter from William A. Guillory to the members of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) regarding the 2nd annual national conference.
- Author Guillory, William A., National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
- Subject National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. National Conference, Guillory, William A., Congresses and conventions, Scientists, Black, African American scientists, Chemists, African American chemists, African American engineers, Chemical engineers
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11 items
Maximizing Black Potential in Science & Technology: Toward the Year 2,000
- Maximizing Black Potential in Science & Technology: Toward the Year 2000
- 1975-Nov
Typed transcript of Samuel P. Massie's (1919-2005) remarks, and of a question-and-answer exchange between Massie and Dr. Robert Bradford (1931-2011), from the 1975 Science Symposium of the National Consortium for Black…
- Author Massie, Samuel
- Contributor Science Symposium of the National Consortium for Black Professional Development (1975 : Gilbertsville, Ky.)
- Subject Bradford, Robert W., 1931-2011, Massie, Samuel, National Consortium for Black Professional Development, Scientists, Black, Scientists, Minorities in science, African Americans--Professional education, Science Symposium of the National Consortium for Black Professional Development (1975 : Gilbertsville, Ky.)
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2 items
Letter to William A. Lester, Jr. from William A. Guillory, November 7, 1975
- 1975-Nov-07
William A. Guillory asks William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) if he would like to run for a position in the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).
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Letter from William A. Guillory to J. W. Stout, December 31, 1975
- 1975-Dec-31
Letter from William A. Guillory to J. W. (John Willard) Stout, nominating William M. Jackson (1936-) and William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) for the Editorial Board for the Journal of Chemical Physics.
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9 items
General Organizational Guidelines for the World Black Researchers Association
- Circa 1976
General Organizational Guidelines for the World Black Researchers Association (WBRA), written by Cheikh Anta Diop (1923-1986).
WBRA, founded around 1976, was a group that worked against racial limits in science and…
- Author Diop, Cheikh Anta
- Creator Of Work World Black Researchers Association
- Subject Diop, Cheikh Anta, World Black Researchers Association, Scientists, Black
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3 items
Letter regarding NOBCChE's testimony to the United States Senate, 1976
- 1976
A letter by Maerean Bohannon, editor of the NOBCChE newsletter, requesting that recipients write to three United States senators to express support for William Jackson's, treasurer of the National Organization for the…
- Creator Of Work National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
- Author Bohannon, Maerean
- Subject National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, Jackson, William M., 1936-, National Science Foundation (U.S.), Minority engineers, Minority scientists, Scientists, Black, African American scientists, African American engineers, Chemical engineers, National Science Foundation (U.S.), Bohannon, Maerean
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9 items
Memorandum of Understanding Between the Energy Research and Development Administration and the National Science Foundation Concerning Procedures to be Used in the Establishment of the National Resource for Computation in Chemistry.
- 1976
Memorandum regarding the establishment of the National Resource for Computation in Chemistry (NRCC) between the two entities, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Energy Research and Development Administration…
- Creator Of Work National Science Foundation (U.S.), United States. Energy Research and Development Administration, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. National Resource for Computation in Chemistry
- Subject United States. Energy Research and Development Administration, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. National Resource for Computation in Chemistry, National Science Foundation (U.S.), Kane, James S., Computational chemistry
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6 items
Statutes of the World Black Researchers Association
- Circa 1976
Statues of the World Black Researchers Association (WBRA).
WBRA, which was established around 1976, was a group that worked against racial limits in science and technology. Its goal was to bring together Black…
- Creator Of Work World Black Researchers Association
- Subject World Black Researchers Association, Scientists, Black, Statutes
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4 items
Workshop on a National Resource for Computation in Chemistry
- 1976
Overview of a workshop on the National Resource for Computation in Chemistry (NRCC) to be held at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory on November 11-12, 1976. Documents include the workshop objectives and travel…
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6 items
National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers newsletter, February 1976
- 1976-Feb
The inaugural issue of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) newsletter, published February 1976.
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10 items
National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers newsletter, May 1976
- 1976-May
Issue number 2 of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) newsletter, published May 1976.
