Robert W. Parry photograph collection, circa 1980

Overview of the Collection

Com
Parry, Robert W. (Robert Walter), 1917-
Title
Robert W. Parry photograph collection
Dates
circa 1980 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.2 linear feet, (1 archives box)  :  80 items
Collection Number
P0584
Summary
The Robert W. Parry photograph collection photographs of Parry, friends and employees. As well as Gordon Research Conference portraits, various experiments and a collection of slides detailing some chemistry classes taught in a non-traditional manner. Most of the slides are of the reenactments of the Faraday Christmas Lectures that the Chemistry Department did each year, hugely popular with controlled explosions and other spectacular effects. Usually scheduled for the general public and run on two consecutive evenings. The two main characters doing the lecture were Ron Ragsdale and Jerry Driscoll. These are early pictures since they went to black coats and top hats later. After their 2005 performance as Faraday and his assistant, Ragsdale and Driscoll retired from demonstrations and lectures. Notes on the Faraday lecture given by Judith Kaplan and Dennis Sauer on March 4, 2024 This collection is entirely digitalized and available online in our Digital Library.
Repository
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860

Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu
Access Restrictions

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Languages
English

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection constits of images of Parry, friends and employees, Gordon Research Conference portraits, various experiments and a collection of slides detailing some chemistry classes taught in a non-traditional manner.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Robert W. Parry was born October 1, 1917 in Ogden, Utah to Jeanette (Petterson) and Walter Parry. He graduated from Utah State Agricultural College in 1940, receiving a bachelor's degree in chemistry. He received a master's degree from Cornell University in 1942, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1946.

He married Marjorie Joyce Nelson July 6, 1945. They had two children, Robert Bryce Parry and Mark Nelson Parry.

Parry was a professor of chemistry at the University of Michigan from 1946 to 1969. In 1969, he came to the University of Utah as a distinguished professor of chemistry, and he served in this capacity until 1997. Among his awards, Parry received the Manufacturing Chemists Award for College Teaching in 1972, a Senior United States Scientist Alexander Von Humbolt-Stiftung Award in 1980, the Priestley Medal in 1993.

Parry was the was the founding editor of Inorganic Chemistry from 1960 through 1963, served as the President of the American Chemical Society in 1982, and was an active member from 1973-1983.

Parry died December 1, 2006

Sources: https://archive.unews.utah.edu/news_releases/longtime-u-chemist-robert-w-parry-dies/

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Preferred Citation

Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Processing Note

Processed by Ashley Arave in 2004.

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Separated Materials

See also the Robert W. Parry papers (ACCN 1409) in the Manuscripts Division of Special Collections.

Acquisition Information

Folder 1, donated by Robert Parry in 1993. Additional materials (folders 2-5) transferred from the University Records Chemistry files in 2010.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
1 1 Parry, friends and employees, Gordon Research Conference portraits, slides of chemistry class
  • Photograph number 1: David Walter
  • Photograph number 2: Susie Walter
  • Photograph number 3: D. O. Hitzman
  • Photograph number 4: Sharon Fitzgerald Valentine
  • Photograph number 5: H. M. McNair
  • Photograph number 6: Unidentified
  • Photograph number 7: The Langweil model of Prague (from the collections of the Prague Municipal Museum)
  • Photograph number 8: Dr. Robert W. Parry
  • Photograph number 9: Chemistry
  • Photograph number 10: Bottled chemicals
  • Photograph number 11-12: Chemistry device
  • Photograph number 13: Gordon Research Conference, New Hampton School, Inorganic Chemistry, August 4-8, 1975
  • Photograph number 14: Gordon Research Conference, New Hampton School, Inorganic Chemistry, August 1-5, 1977
  • Photograph number 15-80: Slides of chemistry classes
1 2 Portraits
  • Photograph numbers 1-6: Portraits
1 3 Groups
  • Photograph numbers 1-3: Groups
1 4 Class
  • Photograph numbers 1-11: Classroom
1 5 Others
  • Photograph numbers 1-7: Parry with other people

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Chemistry--Study and teaching--Photographs
  • Classrooms--Utah--Photographs

Personal Names

  • Parry, Robert W. (Robert Walter), 1917---Photographs

Corporate Names

  • Gordon Research Conferences
  • University of Utah--Faculty--Photographs

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographs
  • Portraits
  • Slides (photographs)