Reminder – Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission talk, October 20

Phil Montgomery, archivist at the John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center, comes back to Rice to give his talk “Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission: lessons in compassion, language and cooperation.”

The talk covers the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) collections, which is a long-term study of the effects of radiation on the survivors of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The Texas Medical Center Library’s ABCC collection is recognized in Japan as one the three worldwide leading sources on the effects of nuclear weapons. The other sites are the NIH archive in Washington D.C. and the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Japan.

Phil will show photographs from the collection to tell the story about the challenges and the gifts that arise from caring for these papers and how an international consortium is slowly taking shape with the intent of sharing this information. The collection regularly draws researchers from Japan and throughout the U.S. who study the effects of the bombings and the interaction between two divergent cultures.

The ABCC study began in 1947 and lasted until 1975, when the organization was changed to the Radiation Effects Research Foundation. The ABCC collection consists of 20 assorted collections measuring 184 cubic feet and includes hundreds of photographs, correspondence, memos, diaries, realia, maps, film and official ABCC documents.

WHEN: Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 6 pm

WHERE: Kyle Morrow Room, Fondren Library (3rd floor), Rice University (parking information)

Phil biking in front of Lovett Hall, Rice University, 1990s