The Register of
Norman A. Baily
1947 - 1992

MSS 0233

Mandeville Special Collections Library
Geisel Library
University of California, San Diego

Extent: 7.00 linear feet (17 archives boxes)

Abstract

Norman Arthur Baily (1915-1992),medical physicist,completed a B.S. in science at St.John's University in 1941, an M.A. in education at New York University in 1943, and a Ph.D. in physics at Columbia University in 1952. Baily devoted his career to radiological physics and engineering, focusing on medical imaging, experimental and theoretical work in dosimetry, and therapeutic uses of radiology. He was also a teacher, consultant, and expert medical and legal witness. He helped found the Southern California Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and was an associate editor of Medical Physics from its founding in 1976 until his death. Although the papers span 1947-1992, the bulk of the collection was created in the 1980s. The collection is comprised of memos and correspondence relating largely to his extensive activities in medical physics organizations and his editorial work for Medical Physics, lecture notes for his teaching at UCSD, and drafts and reprints. The collection is arranged in six series: 1. Biographical, 2. Correspondence, 3. Writings and Research, 4. Teaching, 5. Organizations, and 6. Consulting.

Biography

Norman Arthur Baily (July 2, 1915-October 7, 1992), was born in New York. He completed a B.A. in science at St. John's University in 1941, an M.A. in education at New York University in 1943, and a Ph.D. in physics at Columbia University in 1952. Baily devoted his career to radiological physics and engineering. He was recognized as having made equally strong contributions to research, teaching, and the medical physics profession. His research focused on the use of diagnostic tools for obtaining images of organs and their functions, particularly those using ultrasound which avoided the use of ionizing radiation, and for improving the safety of techniques that did require ionizing radiation.

His first academic appointment was at the University of Buffalo where he was an associate of the Radiology Department (1954-1959) and assistant research professor of biophysics (1957-1959). He was also chief physicist and principal cancer research scientist in the Radiation Therapy Department of Buffalo's Roswell Park Memorial Institute (1954-1995). In addition, Baily was lecturer in the Chemistry Department at Canisius College during this same period (1957-1995).

He left Buffalo for Los Angeles to become manager of the Space Sciences Department, Hughes Research Laboratories (1959-1967), becoming concurrently employed from 1964-1968 in UCLA's Radiology Department as clinical professor and professor-in-residence. He spent 1967 at Emory University as professor of physics and radiology.

In 1968, Baily came to UCSD and served as Professor of Radiology and Chief of the Division of Radiological Physics and Engineering until 1988 when he retired with the distinction of emeritus professor. His research was supported by grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1968-1973; 1973-1975), the Atomic Energy Commission (1974-1975), and the National Institutes of Health (1975-1978). Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Baily held several visiting professorships of nuclear research and oncology.

Baily made considerable contributions to the professional community of medical physics, most notably by his participation in the American College of Radiology and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), to which he was elected a fellow in 1988. He helped found the AAPM's Southern California Chapter and was acknowledged for his contributions in 1986 with the creation of the Norman A. Baily Student Research Award. Perhaps more profound and far reaching were his efforts in establishing standards for state licensing of medical physicists, the development of quality assurance for use of radiological equipment, and the training of medical physicists.

Baily was an associate editor of Medical Physics from its inception in 1976 until his death. He served on at least 70 committees related to both education and safety in radiation physics. He published more than 200 articles on nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, and diagnostic imaging between 1947 and 1992.

Scope and Content

Accession Processed in 1992

Correspondence, notes and calculations, reprints, lectures, manuscript reviews and documentation of Baily's involvement in professional medical physics societies, covering the years 1946-1992 and occupying 7.0 linear feet. The collection is arranged in six series: 1. Biographical, 2. Correspondence, 3. Writings and Research, 4. Teaching, 5. Organizations, and 6. Consulting.

The ORGANIZATIONS series is one of the larger series in the collection. Documents in this series provide an excellent view of the influence Baily had on the organizations in which he actively participated and of how that influence ultimately shaped the organization's structure. Baily also devoted considerable time to refereeing and editing journal articles as documented in the Reviews subseries, which includes correspondence, minutes of editorial boards, telephone/fax listings, and several of Baily's manuscript reviews/comments of articles for the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ROENTGENOLOGY, NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY, and MEDICAL PHYSICS, the last of which he was an associate editor. There is little documentation of Baily's work at Columbia and Emory universities, of his military employment with NASA and Hughes Aircraft, or of his involvement in the Medical Physics Program at UCLA (1952 - 1967). The collection does provide thorough documentation of Baily's career at UCSD, beginning in 1968 when he accepted the position of Professor of Radoiology and Chief of Radiological Physics and Engineering at the UCSD School of Medicine, and ending with his death in 1992.

"Post-it" notes and documents on brittle and highly acidic paper have been photocopied for preservation purposes. Thermograph, FAX (facsimile), and "post-it" paper have been photocopied and the originals have been discarded. Reprints by other authors have also been discarded.

Series Descriptions:

1. BIOGRAPHICAL

1947-1992

This series contains Baily's applications for passports and personal statements that are rich in familial as well as personal data. His folders entitled "Personal" and "Salary Plan" include his bibliography, awards and honors he received over the years, and his personnel file from UCSD.

2. CORRESPONDENCE

1965-1992

The correspondence in this collection roughly dates from the mid-1960s to 1992, with the heaviest concentration of letters dating from the early 1980s. The correspondence in this series represents Baily's work at UCSD as a professor and as an editor/referee to numerous professional journals. The letters in this collection are arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent. Baily's outgoing correspondence has been separated and is filed in chronological order.

3. WRITINGS AND RESEARCH

The WRITINGS AND RESEARCH series is the largest of the six series and is divided into six subseries: 3A) Notes, 3B) Laboratory Notebooks (1958-1978), 3C) Proposals (1981-1984), 3D) Typescripts, Abstracts, and Background Material (1949-1992), 3E) Reprints (1949-1992), and 3F) Reviews (1972-1992).

The first subseries consists of Baily's undated, handwritten calculations and notes. These files were originally found throughout the collection. The second subseries consists of four of Baily's laboratory notebooks with various notes, diagrams, and calculations. Included in the third subseries are grant applications, proposal abstracts, and correspondence. Baily worked with other UCSD medical physicists on proposals for grants to investigate such topics as diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radiation, medical imaging, and calibration of instruments.

Material in the fourth subseries is arranged chronologically. The subseries includes original typescripts of Baily's papers, abstracts for Baily articles, and handwritten and research notes by Baily, which served as background material in writing his papers. Materials in the fifth subseries are arranged chronologically and include most of Baily's known publications.

The material in subseries six is arranged alphabetically by journal title. Baily served as a referee for many journals. He was an Associate Editor of MEDICAL PHYSICS from its inception and was the only editor to have served over the entire period of its existence. Other journals Baily served as reviewer for were the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ROENTGENOLOGY, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL IMAGING, NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY, and S.P.I.E. The material includes Baily's comments concerning manuscripts, MEDICAL PHYSICS editorial board meeting minutes, and correspondence, but very few manuscripts.

4. TEACHING

1968-1992

The TEACHING series focuses on Baily's twenty-four years of teaching at UCSD. There is little documentation of Baily's teaching at UCLA. The TEACHING series is divided into four subseries, 4A) Lectures and Notes, 4B) Programs and Seminars, 4C) Academic Senate, and 4D) Student Files.

5. ORGANIZATIONS

1975-1992

The ORGANIZATIONS series is the second largest series of the collection. It is arranged alphabetically by the name of the organization. Baily played an active role in both national and international organiztions and worked intensively with many of these. Highlights of his organizational involvement include documentation of his work with The American College of Radiology, including attending its conferences and serving on committees sponsored by the ACR to investigate such topics as the "ACR Position on the Chernobyl Incident, 1986" and "Proposed Patient Exposure Average" at a Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors. Baily was actively involved in the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and became a staunch supporter of the Southern California Chapter of the AAPM. Included in this material are original meeting minutes from the first meeting by the SCC-AAPM, as well as a copy of rough drafts of the SCC constitution and by laws. There is also extensive documentation, including correspondence, published announcements, lists of speakers, and notes pertaining to the annual SCC AAPM Spring Seminars (1986-1990), which Baily was responsible for organizing.

6. CONSULTING

1982-1992

Baily acted as a medical expert witness for medical and legal cases. Materials in this series include correspondence, medical briefs, and court case pleadings. Arranged alphabetically by folder title, this series also includes documentation entitled "State Licensure" which discusses Baily's involvement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to pass laws that would require medical use licensees to establish and implement a basic quailty assurance program. Baily worked on gathering support for the licensure of medical physicists in the State of California. The Quality Assurance material focuses on establishing radiation level standards / guidelines for hospitals, clinics, medical centers, and the medical equipment found within these institutions, as well as lecture notes for courses teaching methods of quality assurance.

Finding aid generated: 2005-10-28