Robert B. Griffiths papers

Collection

Identifier: 2023-0031

Staff Only

Content Description

The materials in this collection were created and/or compiled by Professor Griffiths in his capacity as an active member of the faculty in the Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon’s Mellon College of Science.

A majority of the collection’s contents are research-related, including notes, lectures and presentations, correspondence, and grant proposals.

Professor Griffiths’ teaching and departmental involvement are also reflected in the collection’s contents. This includes course materials such as syllabi, departmental curriculum development notes, and materials related to the Physics Department Advisory Committee.

Finally, Professor Griffiths was also an engaged member of the Carnegie Mellon community throughout his tenure. This is demonstrated by the collection’s inclusion of materials and correspondence on university-related current events.

Dates

1954 - 2015 (bulk circa 1970 - circa 2005)

Creator

Griffiths, R. B. (Robert Budington) (Person)

Biographical Note

Robert Budington Griffiths (b. 25 February 1937) is the Otto Stern University Professor Emeritus of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University.

He obtained his AB from Princeton University in 1957 and his MS and PhD from Stanford University in 1958 and 1962, respectively.

Griffiths joined Carnegie Mellon’s Department of Physics in 1964 as an Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Physics. In 1969, he became a Professor of Physics and in 1979 he became the Otto Stern University Professor of Physics. He achieved emeritus status in 2014.

Professor Griffith's contributions to the field of physics include research on tricritical points, the renormalization group concept, the existence of thermodynamic limits, and eponymous critical point inequalities and singularities in random spin systems. He has also made significant contributions to the “consistent histories” interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Extent

42 Linear feet (42 boxes, plus digital materials)

Language

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Robert B. Griffiths Papers collection contains research notes, lecture and presentation materials, correspondence, and grant proposals related to Professor Robert Budington Griffiths’ decades-long tenure as a faculty member in the Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University.

Arrangement/Processing Note

The vast majority of the collection was originally housed in 3-ring binders. The contents of the binders, compiled by Professor Griffiths throughout his decades-long career, are now stored together in individual folders. The binder annotations written by Professor Griffiths were transcribed and used as the folder titles. Where necessary, the contents of an individual binder were broken up into several folders. The IQN and ARS* series maintain Professor Griffiths' original organizational system.