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 Fillmore Freeman, October 11, 1977
Box 1, Folder 28- 1977-Oct-11
William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) congratulates Fillmore Freeman (1936-) on being selected as a Fulbright-Hays Scholar and being awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung fellowship.
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Letter to William A. Lester, Jr. from Fillmore Freeman, January 6, 1978
Box 1, Folder 28- 1978-Jan-06
Fillmore Freeman (1936-) congratulates William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) on being elected Vice-Chairperson of the Division of Physical Chemistry.
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Letter to William A. Lester, Jr. from Fillmore Freeman, June 14, 1974
Box 1, Folder 28- 1976-Jun-14
Letter from Fillmore Freeman (1936-), a professor of chemistry at University of California, Irvine, to William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) about funding proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF).
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Letter to William A. Lester, Jr. from Fillmore Freeman, September 29, 1977
Box 1, Folder 28- 1977-Sep-29
Letter from Fillmore Freeman (1936-) to William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) about receiving various grants and fellowships.
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Letter from Moddie D. Taylor to William A. Lester, Jr., August 30, 1974
Box 1, Folder 38- 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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Letter from Shirley Ann Jackson to Sidney L. Hantler, November 1977
Box 1, Folder 39- 1977-Nov-08
Shirley Ann Jackson (1946-) writes to Sidney L. Hantler, informing him that she would like to be considered for employment at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center.
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Letter from Sidney L. Hantler to Shirley Ann Jackson, January 1977
Box 1, Folder 39- 1977-Jan-12
Sidney L. Hantler asks Shirley Ann Jackson (1946-) to fill out an application in order to visit the Thomas J. Watson Research Center at IBM.
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Letter from Sidney L. Hantler to staff at the IBM Research Center, November 10, 1977
Box 1, Folder 39- 1977-Nov-10
Letter from Sidney L. Hantler to J.G. Armstrong, Hollis Leland Caswell (1901-1988) and J.C. McGroddy. The letter discusses Shirley Ann Jackson (1946-) strengths as an employment candidate, and the desirability of…
- Author Hantler, Sidney L.
- Addressee McGroddy, J. C., Caswell, Hollis L. (Hollis Leland), 1901-1988, Armstrong, J. G.
- Subject Hantler, Sidney L., Armstrong, J.G., Caswell, Hollis L. (Hollis Leland), 1901-1988, McGroddy, J.C., Jackson, Shirley Ann, 1946-, African American physicists, Physicists, International Business Machines Corporation, African American women physicists, Women physicists
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11 items
Resume and references of Shirley Ann Jackson
Box 1, Folder 39- 1977
Resume and references for Shirley Ann Jackson (1946-), written between 1976 and 1977. References are addressed to Y. J. van der Meulen and are written by Benjamin W. Lee (1935-1977) of Fermi National Acceleration…
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3 items
Shirley Ann Jackson's application for employment at IBM
Box 1, Folder 39- 1977-Nov-08
Shirley Ann Jackson's (1946-) application for employment at IBM.
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4 items
Bulletin of the National Resource for Computation in Chemistry
Box 3, Folder 12- 1977-Oct
Volume 1, no. 1 (October 1977) issue of the Bulletin of the National Resource for Computation in Chemistry (NRCC). Included in the bulletin is a questionnaire and list of the members of the NRCC policy board. 4 volumes…
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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
Box 3, Folder 12- 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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2 items
Letter from Andrew M. Sessler to William A. Lester, Jr., October 19, 1976
Box 3, Folder 12- 1976-Oct-19
Letter from Andrew M. Sessler to William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) about establishing a National Resource for Computation in Chemistry (NRCC). Sessler invites Lester to an NRCC workshop to be held at the Lawrence Berkeley…
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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.
Box 3, Folder 12- 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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4 items
Workshop on a National Resource for Computation in Chemistry
Box 3, Folder 12- 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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3 items
Draft program for the Second Awards Ceremony for Outstanding Black Physicists
Box 5, Folder 7- 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
Howard University Cooperative Physics Program for Developing Institutions brochure
Box 5, Folder 7- 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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Letter from Harry L. Morrison to William A. Lester, Jr., March 25, 1975
Box 5, Folder 7- 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
Box 5, Folder 7- 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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4 items
Second Awards Ceremony for Outstanding Black Physicists
Box 5, Folder 7- 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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9 items
General Organizational Guidelines for the World Black Researchers Association
Box 5, Folder 9- 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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Invitation to the International Secretariat for the Natural Sciences of the World Black Researchers Association
Box 5, Folder 9- 1977
Invitation to the founding congress of the International Secretariat for the Natural Sciences of the World Black Researchers Association. Anthropologist and physicist Cheikh Anta Diop (1923-1986) wrote the invitation,…
- Creator Of Work World Black Researchers Association
- Author Diop, Cheikh Anta
- Subject Diop, Cheikh Anta, World Black Researchers Association, African American scientists
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Letter from Ayodeji Jeje to Olagoke Olabisi, March 28, 1977
Box 5, Folder 9- 1977-Mar-28
Letter from Ayodeji Jeje to Olagoke Olabisi (1943-) about starting the World Black Researchers Association (WBRA).
- Author Jeje, Ayodeji
- Addressee Olabisi, Olagoke, 1943-
- Subject World Black Researchers Association, Jeje, Ayodeji, Olabisi, Olagoke, 1943-
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Letter from Olagoke Olabisi to Florence L. Williams, May 12, 1977
Box 5, Folder 9- 1977-May-12
Olagoke Olabisi (1943-) asks Florence L. Williams to send him a membership application for the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers [i.e., the National Organization for the Professional…
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Letter from William A. Lester, Jr. to Ayodeji Jeje, January 3, 1978
Box 5, Folder 9- 1978-Jan-03
William A. Lester, Jr. (1937-) writes to Ayodeji Jeje, letting him know he can no longer participate in the founding congress of the World Black Researchers Association (WBRA).
