History of Fusion

John Lawson was born in 1923 and educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge.

He worked at the Telecommunications Research Establishment, Malvern, Aerials group, 1943; Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), Malvern, Accelerator group, 1947; AERE Harwell, General Physics Division, 1951-62; Microwave Laboratory, Stanford, USA, 1959-60; Rutherford Laboratory (later Rutherford Appleton Laboratory), Applied Physics Division, and later Technology Division, 1962-87. He was Deputy Chief Scientific Officer, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire, 1978-87.

Among his publications is, "The Physics of Charged Particle Beams", (1977, 2nd edn 1988).

Papers on the early days of controlled thermonuclear fusion research in the UK, 1945-60, collected by Dr J .D. Lawson, FRS.

Includes the printed report "Fusion research in the UK, 1945-60" by John Hendry and John D. Lawson, published by the Authority Historian's Office, AEA Technology Harwell, Oxfordshire (box 1). The rest of the archive consists mainly of papers mentioned in the report, other historical material, letters from Peter Thonemann to Hendry and Lawson, transcripts of interviews with Sir John Cockroft and Sir George Thomson (broadcast January 1958), transcript and tape recording of interview of A. J. Croft by Thonemann (1982), photographs and press cuttings

The papers were deposited by Mr Lawson in August 1993

The collection is owned by Churchill College, Cambridge.

The collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge. Churchill Archives Centre is open from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. A prior appointment and two forms of identification are required.

Researchers wishing to publish excerpts from the papers must obtain prior permission from the copyright holders and should seek advice from Archives Centre staff.

Please cite as Churchill Archives Centre, History of Fusion, HIFU

Churchill Archives Centre also holds the papers of John Lawson, reference GBR/0014/LWSN.

A copy of this finding aid is available for consultation at Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge, the National Register of Archives, London and on the Janus website, http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/.

This collection (fonds) level description was prepared by Andrew Riley at Churchill Archives Centre in April 2003.