Guide to the Papers of Ragbir Bhathal, 1949-2006

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9365 et al

Creator:

Ragbir Bhathal and Bhathal, Ragbir Singh, Dr

Extent:

3.31 metres and (10 boxes + 1 folder + 2 packages + 14 sound/av carriers)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Ragbir Bhathal, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part requires permission for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers relate to an oral history project on eminent Australian women scientists conducted by Dr Ragbir Bhathal for the National Library. They consist of correspondence between Bhathal and the interviewees relating to interview arrangements, a list of questions to be asked during the interview, journal articles written by the interviewees and newscuttings about them. There are transcripts of the interviews for eight of the women. Two of these are available for public access. The remaining six transcripts require permission from the interviewee before they can be made available. The folders which do not contain transcripts are also available for reference.

There are also papers (typescripts, notes and correspondence) relating to the publication of Profiles: Australian Women Scientists. Published by the National Library in 1999, the book is based on the Oral History interviews. The original title of the book was 'Australian women scientists: obstacles and achievements'.

Biographical Note:

Dr Ragbir Bhathal was born in 1936. He is an award-winning author, astrophysicist and researcher in Australian science studies, physics and astronomy at the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, New South Wales, where he teaches the only Australian university course on SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).

Prior to his arrival in Australia, Bhathal was a member of the academic staff of the University of Singapore and the Foundation Director of the Singapore Science Centre. He was then appointed Head of the Science and Technology Division of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, and has served as an advisor to the Federal Minister for Science.

Other offices held by Bhathal include Foundation Chairman of the Australia-Singapore Centre and Councillor of the University of Western Sydney, as well as Foundation President of the Independent Scholars Association of Australia (NSW Branch).

He was awarded the 1988 Royal Society of NSW Medal for services to science, the C. J. Dennis award for excellence in natural history writing in 1991 and the Nancy Keesing Fellowship from the State Library of New South Wales in 1996.

Provenance:

Papers were initially donated to the Library by Ragbir Bhathal in 1999. Further papers were received in May 2001 (MS 9365 Box 3-6). Additions were received in 2006 and 2008.

Arrangement:

Bhathal had kept a separate file for each interviewee. The arrangement of the papers within the files and the file titles have been preserved by the Library.

The papers in MS 9365 have been arranged by the National Library into two series. Series 1 comprising material relating to National Oral History Project: Women in Australian Science. Series 2 containing papers concerning Profile: Australian women scientists (1999).

Indexed terms

Names:

Bhathal, Ragbir Singh, Dr

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn335630).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Ragbir Bhathal, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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