Smithsonian Institution Archives

Myron Lecar Papers, 1956-2010

Summary

Collection ID:
SIA.FA18-058
Creators:
Lecar, Myron
Dates:
1956-2010
Languages:
English
Physical Description:
6 cu. ft. (6 record storage boxes)
Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Descriptive Entry

Descriptive Entry
Myron "Mike" Lecar was born on April 10, 1930 in Brooklyn, New York. He received an S.B. in industrial engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951 and an M.S. in industrial engineering from Case Institute of Technology in 1953. From 1954 to 1958, Lecar served as an officer in the U. S. Navy, developing and teaching nuclear weapons technology and working on Project Vanguard.
Later he studied astronomy at Yale University and received his Ph.D. in 1963 carrying out some of the earliest computer modeling of stellar atmospheres. As a graduate student, Lecar was one of the founding members of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies at Columbia University in 1962.
Acting on an invitation of Fred Whipple, Lecar joined the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in 1965. While at SAO, Lecar's research interests included gravitational dynamics, planet formation, and the dynamics of our solar system. The author or co-author of more than 90 scientific articles, Lecar was also the principle investigator on a grant from the Smithsonian Institution to collaborate with Tel Aviv University in the planning, construction and commissioning of the Wise Observatory in the Negev desert in Israel. Before his retirement as Senior Astrophysicist in 2009, Lecar was a founding member of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative.
On May 30, 2005, Lecar married Rosemary Johnson in Belmont, Massachusetts after having been a part of each other's lives for some 27 years. At the age of 81, Lecar passed away in 2011.
This accession consists of materials that document the professional and personal life of SAO astrophysicist, Myron Lecar. A significant portion of the records consist of materials related to Lecar's work on the planning and construction of the Florence and George Wise Observatory in Israel. The other significant portion consists of personal journals that Lecar kept that documented his personal life, his thoughts, and his interactions with the people around him. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, grant proposals, reports, financial records, publicity materials, press releases, journals, brochures, images, curriculum vitae, clippings, and other related records.

Administration

Author
Finding aid prepared by Smithsonian Institution Archives

Using the Collection

Prefered Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 18-058, Myron Lecar Papers

More Information

Notes

Personal Papers


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Lecar, Myron Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Johnson, Rosemary Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Whipple, Fred L. (Fred Lawrence), 1906-2004 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Universitat Tel-Aviv Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Florence and George Wise Observatory Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Case Institute of Technology Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Yale University Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States. Navy Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Project Vanguard Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Columbia University Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Goddard Institute for Space Studies Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Harvard Origins of Life Initiative Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gravitational fields Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Planets -- Origin Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Astrophysics Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Astrophysicists Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Astronomical observatories Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Solar system Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brochures Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuscripts Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Black-and-white photographs Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color negatives Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color photographs Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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