Herbert Morawetz Collection
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The Herbert Morawetz collection contains published and unpublished materials related to the career and scholarship of 20th century polymer chemist Herbert Morawetz including correspondence, awards and honors, copies of books and articles, and personal, autobiographical writing.
Biographical / Historical
Herbert Morawetz (b.1915-d.2017) was a Brooklyn-based polymer chemist and professor specializing in the use of fluorescence spectroscopy to study local conformational transitions and polymer compatibility. After fleeing his home country of Czechoslovakia with his family following German occupation in 1939, Morawetz settled in Canada, earning Bachelor's (1943) and Master's (1945) degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto and a PhD (1950) in Chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (later becoming the Tandon School of Engineering at NYU in 2014). In 1951, he joined the faculty at Poly where he would spend the duration of his career, becoming the director of the Polymer Research Institute in 1971.
He published two major books: "Macromolecules in Solution," in 1965 and "Polymers: The Origins and Growth of a Science" in 1985. In 1986, Morawetz received the American Chemical Society Award in Polymer Chemistry and following his retirement from teaching, spent fifteen years as the editor of the scholarly journal "Macromolecules". He was the husband of prominent mathematician Cathleen Synge Morawetz. Herbert Morawetz passed away in November 2017, a few weeks after his 102nd birthday.
Arrangement
Materials were organized by form and content type into seven series: Biographical, Correspondence, Writings, Photographs, Awards and Honors, Publications, and Digitized Items. Some materials are arranged chronologically at the item level.
Scope and Contents
The Herbert Morawetz collection contains published and unpublished materials related to the career and scholarship of 20th century polymer chemist Herbert Morawetz. Contents include: correspondence with other professionals and colleagues; photographs of Morawetz and colleagues; invitations and documentation of events and awards ceremonies attended by or honoring Morawetz; Morawetz's personal writing including an unpublished autobiography and a travel diary detailing a visit to Prague in 1979; personal correspondence, media coverage and public facing material related to the 1978 boycott of the International Symposium on Macromolecular Chemistry in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (then USSR); administrative documents regarding Morawetz's employment at the Polymer Research Institute; and copies of published articles and books by Morawetz or owned by him, in English and multiple foreign languages.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Chemical Heritage Foundation were transferred to New York University in 2016 by Chemical Heritage Foundation. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Poly Archives. Please contact the Poly Archives, polyarchives@nyu.edu, 646-997-3530. Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by John Morawetz were transferred to New York University in 2018 by John Morawetz. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Poly Archives. Please contact the Poly Archives, polyarchives@nyu.edu, 646-997-3530.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Herbert Morawetz Collection; RG 037; box number; folder number or item identifier; Poly Archives at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Bulk of materials donated by John Morawetz, son of Herbert Morawetz in 2018. Items collected from Herbert Morawetz's former home, 246 West 12th St., New York, NY. Digital copies of items transferred via email by John. Previous accession was donated by Chemical Heritage Foundation in 2016. The accession numbers associated with these gifts are 18.001 and 16.006.
Alternate Form Available
Some materials from the Biographical and Photographs series were digitized by John Morawetz, son of Herbert Morawetz, and are available in the Digitized Items series.
About this Guide
Revisions to this Guide
Repository
Series I: Biographical
Biographical - Sketches, 1985-2005, inclusive
Biographical - "My 90 Years," Autobiography, 2006
Language of Materials
Biographical - Czechoslovak Diary, 1979
Biographical - Morawetz Interview by James Bohning, 1996
Memorial Service Materials, 2017
Series II: Correspondence
Correspondence - Personal, 1956-1999, bulk 1960s-1970s, inclusive
Correspondence & Materials - Birthday Wishes and Celebration Materials, 1981-2015, bulk 1995, inclusive
Correspondence - Professional, 1943-2005, inclusive
Correspondence - 1978 Boycott of Conference in Tashkent (USSR), 1977-1979, inclusive
Correspondence - Salary and Appointment at PIB, 1951-1986, inclusive
Correspondence & Materials - Lectures and Conferences, 1957-2006, inclusive
Correspondence - Reprint Request Cards, undated
Series III: Writings
Eulogies and Toasts by Morawetz, 1978, undated
PRESENTATION NOTES (incl. overhead slides), undated
Recollection of Fritz Eirich, undated
Series IV: Photographs
Photo album, undated
Photobook - "Dr. Herbert Morawetz' 96th Birthday Party", 2011
General
Two copies.
PHOTOGRAPHS - By occasion, May 1998, undated
PHOTOGRAPHS - Small, 1957-1997, undated, inclusive
PHOTOGRAPHS - Midsize, 1953-1989, undated, inclusive
PHOTOGRAPHS - Oversize and photocopies, 1975-2006, undated, inclusive
Slide tray, "Solid State Org. Reactions", undated
Framed photo of Morawetz with students in front of Polytechnic Institute of New York building
Framed image of Herman Mark with nearly illegible writing: "With best wishes and [....], H. Mark", undated
Series V: Awards and Honors
Conditions Governing Access
Tightly rolled scroll, possibly Herbert Morawetz's University of Toronto diplomas, is in need of conservation and is not open to researchers.
Formal congratulations for his 80th birthday from Poly Chancellor David C. Chang, 1995
Awards and Honors, 1984-2006, inclusive
Sesquicentennial PolyThinker medal, 2005
Tightly rolled scroll (possibly contains at least one diploma from the University of Toronto), undated
American Chemical Society plaque for service as Associated Editor of "Macromolecules" from 1991-2005, 2005
American Chemical Society Award in Polymer Chemistry, 1986
Honorary degree from the University of Rome "La Sapienza", 2006
International Symposium on Macromolecules, 1977-07-17-1977-07-22, inclusive
Series VI: Publications
Language of Materials
PUBLICATIONS - 151-182 & Index, 1983-1988, inclusive
PUBLICATIONS - 183-210, 1988-2004, inclusive
Book Reviews - "Polymers: The Origins and Growth of a Science", 1985-1986, undated, inclusive
Foreign Language Materials, 2008, undated
Language of Materials
"Publications of H. Morawetz: Nos. 1-32", 1949-1958, inclusive
"Publications of H. Morawetz: Nos. 33-63", 1958-1963, inclusive
"Publications: Nos. 1-63, 1949-63. H. Morawetz", 1949-1963, inclusive
"Publications of H. Morawetz: Nos. 64-100", 1964-1971, inclusive
"H. Morawetz: Publications 101-150", 1971-1983, inclusive
"Sulphur Dioxide Recovery," Bachelor's Thesis by H. Morawetz, April 1943
"The Counter-Ion Distribution in Solutions of Partially Neutralized Polymeric Acids: The Preparation and Preliminary Evaluation of Some Amphoteric Polyelectrolytes," PhD Dissertation by Herbert Morawetz, September 1950
"Chování makromolekul v roztoku" by Herbert Morawetz, 1971
Language of Materials
"Macromolecules in Solution" by Herbert Morawetz, 1965
Translation of "Polymers: The Origins and Growth of a Science" by Herbert Morawetz, in Arabic script, undated
"Polymers: The Origins and Growth of a Science" by Herbert Morawetz (Hardcover, Wiley), 1985
"Polymers: The Origins and Growth of a Science" by Herbert Morawetz (Paperback, Dover), 1995
"Polymers: The Origins and Growth of a Science" by Herbert Morawetz (Hardcover, Dover), 2002
"Macromolecules in Solution" by Herbert Morawetz, 1965
"Macromolecules in Solution" by Herbert Morawetz (Reprint), 1966
"Macromolecules in Solution" by Herbert Morawetz (2nd ed.), 1975
"Macromolecules in Solution" by Herbert Morawetz (Personal copy - Reprint of the 2nd ed.), 1983
General
Hardcover author's copy of the 1983 corrected reprinting of the second edition of "Macromolecules in Solution," Vol. 21 in the series "High Polymer". Pages are all detached from binding and include Morawetz's notes, cut and taped-in sections, and are partially out of order. Side is stamped "Department of Chemistry, Polytechnic Institute of New York"
"Macromolecules in Solution" by Herbert Morawetz (Reprint of the 2nd ed.), 1983
"Thesen zur Größe und Struktur der Makromoleküle" by Claus Preisner (Personal copy with notes), 1980
Language of Materials
"Der Aufbau der hochpolymeren organischen Naturstoffe" by Kurt H. Meyer and Herman Mark, 1930
Language of Materials
"高分子科學技術發展簡史 / Gao fen zi ke xue ji shu fa zhan jian shi" by Baogong Qian, Luoli Wang, and Xiayu Wang, 1994
Language of Materials
"макромолекулы в растворе / Makromolekuly v rastvore" by Herbert Morawetz, 1967
Language of Materials
"Fizykochemia roztworów makrocząsteczek" by Herbert Morawetz, 1970
Language of Materials
"Polyelectrolyte Solutions: A Theoretical Introduction" by Stuart Rice and Mitsuru Nagasawa with a contribution by Herbert Morawetz, 1961
Series VII: Digitized Items
Alternate Form Available
Digital copies of items transferred in 2018 via email by John Morawetz, son of Herbert Morawetz.
Some items are digitized versions of physical items in the Herbert Morawetz collection and some are only present in a digitized form. The digitized items are all located in Poly Archivist Lindsay Anderberg's Google Drive folders.
