John E. Hilliard (1926-1987) Papers

The Dr. John E. Hilliard Papers fill two archival boxes and span the years 1949 to 1986. The papers are organized into five categories: Biographical, Correspondence, The International Society for Stereology, Teaching, and Research Files.

The biographical file contains several curriculum vitae, a photograph, press clippings, short biographical notes (write-ups from “Who's Who”) and obituaries, arranged chronologically. Brief notes of Hilliard's professional travel engagements 1970-1972 are included. Significantly, Hilliard's physics lab notebook from his work at MIT may be found in this file.

Hilliard's correspondence from the mid 1960s through 1986 has been arranged alphabetically according to the correspondent's last name. The letters (both incoming and outgoing, as Hilliard seems to have saved both) consist of correspondence with journal editors about scientific papers, colleagues at a variety of institutions concerning research interests, and invitations for speaking engagements. His correspondence with Dr. John Cahn at General Electric and later MIT are of special significance, as the two were close friends and collaborators on several areas of research and consulted each other often.

Dr. Hilliard served as the Vice President of the International Society for Stereology starting in 1967, and his papers contain the society's corporate records and correspondence from this period. Included in the corporate records are the society's incorporation notes, by-laws, and meeting minutes. The correspondence, arranged chronologically, consists of formal business letters concerning the membership and operations of the organization.

The Teaching File consists of a list of Hilliard's publications, as well as faculty activity and effort reports filed by Northwestern in order to evaluate Hilliard's efficacy and his contributions to the life of the University.

Of special interest in the Research Files will be literature about, correspondence concerning, and the patent application for Hilliard's invention, known as the SOL-X. The Research Files also contain handwritten notes for three papers (“Spinodal Decomposition in Copper Alloys,” “Reply to Rundman,” and “Variation of Self-Diffusion with Composition”). The bulk of the Research File, however, consists of Hilliard's scientific papers published between 1949 and 1986.