Papers of John D. Isaacs III (1913-1980), professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Isaacs's research activity ranged from ocean ecology and deep-sea photography to climate studies and ocean power resources. The collection contains his correspondence, research materials, documents related to atomic testing in the 1950s, writings, lectures and speeches, committee files, and materials related to the University of California and the Foundation for Ocean Research.
John D. Isaacs Papers, 1924-1991 (bulk 1945-1980) (SMC 1)
OFF-SITE STORAGE: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS. Boxes 1-177
and 196 are at SRLF; boxes 178-195 are at SIO.
Restrictions: Original audiovisual recordings are restricted. Viewing/listening copies may be available
for researchers. Advance permission of the Director of Special Collections & Archives is required to
consult material in Series 4) ATOMIC TESTS. Four folders in that series are subject
to additional restrictions: Box 39, folder 2 (Operation Crossroads - Photographs,
Lae Atoll); Box 173, folder 9 (Operation Wigwam - Quartermaster's log); and Box 46,
folder 16 (Operation Redwing - Personnel radiation exposures) through 2057; Box 50,
folder 14 (Operation Redwing, SIO reporting instructions).
Extent: 76.5 Linear feet (175 archives boxes, 16 cartons, 2 shoe boxes, 3 flat boxes, 10 map case folders, 7 oversize films)
Digital Content
Three photographs from this collection have been digitized and are linked in the container list. Several original audiovisual recordings have been reformatted for preservation; listening and viewing copies may be available upon request.
John D. Issacs III (1913-1980) was born in Spokane, Washington on March 28, 1919. In 1933, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. Shortly after this, Isaacs worked as a forestry service lookout in Siuslaw National Forest. In 1938, Isaacs moved to Astoria, Oregon where he worked as a fisherman. During this time, Isaacs married Mary Carol Isaacs.
Isaacs received his B. S. degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Engineering in 1944. This would be his only post-secondary degree. During World War II, Isaacs tested crashing breakers and measured beaches in DUKWs, alongside Willard Bascom. From 1944 to 1948, Isaacs worked as a research engineer on the WAVES Project at Berkeley. From 1946-1956, Isaacs worked as a consultant monitoring the Pacific nuclear tests, serving as project officer for Operations Crossroads, Ivy, Castle, Wigwam, and Redwing. During Operation Crossroads, Isaacs was responsible for measuring waves resulting from the blasts and proposed the use of wave-measuring cameras to triangulate ship positions.
Isaacs joined the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1948 as an associate oceanographer, and he remained at SIO for the remainder of his career. Isaacs was extremely active in university affairs, serving as: Director of the Marine Life Research Group (MLRG) from 1958 to 1974; Interim Director of the Institution of Marine Resources (IMR) between 1961 to 1962 and Director from 1971 to 1980; Acting Chairman for the Department of Oceanography from 1966 to 1967; and Acting Director for Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1969.
From 1969 to 1980, Isaacs served on the consulting board for the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) and was one of the longest-serving board members. Isaacs was also a member of the board of trustees for the Foundation for Ocean Research, which supported innovative research by scientists and graduate students. In 1976 he was elected president of the Foundation.
Isaacs approached oceanography as an interdisciplinary field of study. His diverse research included: development of trawls and dredges, deep sea moorings and free vehicles, baited automatic cameras to photograph deep sea life, current meters and cameras, undersea communication and signaling devices, respiratory heat recovery for divers, the wave-powered pump (extracting energy from the sea), salinity gradient energy, marine food webs, growing food in saline water, dynamic breakwaters, and marine sediments. He is also known for his idea of using icebergs as a source of freshwater. Isaacs was a creative inventor whose research went beyond the bounds of oceanography. For example, in 1966, Isaacs devised the "sky hook," a taut-moored earth satellite.
Isaacs was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Geophysical Union, the California Academy of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the World Academy of Art and Science. In 1975, Isaacs received the Lockheed Award for Ocean Science and Engineering from the Marine Technology Society. In 1978, he received the National Sea Grant Association Award for innovation contributions to man's understanding of the world's oceans. Isaacs posthumously was awarded the Albatross Award by his peers at Woods Hole at the Third International Congress on the History of Oceanography, for unique and unconventional ideas concerning the oceans. Isaacs died at age 67 on June 6, 1980, of cancer.
For more information on John D. Isaacs III, please see:
http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/isaacs-john.pdf
https://www.nae.edu/215734/JOHN-DOVE-ISAACS-III-19131980
https://library.ucsd.edu/dc/object/bb75098770/_2.pdf
Papers of John D. Isaacs III (1913-1980), professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Isaacs' research activity ranged from ocean ecology and deep-sea photography to climate studies and ocean power resources. The collection documents Isaacs' scientific career and includes his correspondence, research materials, documents related to atomic testing in the 1950s, writings, lectures and speeches, committee files, and materials related to the University of California and the Foundation for Ocean Research. The collection also includes extensive documentation of Isaacs' "Monster Camera" deep water photography project, including still images and film.
Arranged in 15 series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) RESEARCH, 4) ATOMIC TESTS, 5) WRITINGS, 6) TEACHING MATERIALS, 7) LECTURES AND SPEECHES, 8) CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA, AND WORKSHOPS, 9) COMMITTEES AND CONSULTING, 10) UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, 11) FOUNDATION FOR OCEAN RESEARCH, 12) MONSTER CAMERA, 13) IMAGES, 14) AUDIOVISUAL RECORDINGS, and 15) WORKS BY OTHERS.
Materials in the Isaacs collection related to atomic testing have undergone several document security reviews. In 1963, several reports were declassified by a University of California Security Officer, following the Department of Defense Security Manual, and are marked as such. The correspondence regarding this review can be found in the BIOGRAPHICAL series, under Security clearances. When the main portion of collection was acquired in 1981, SIO oceanographer Theodore R. Folsom (who had been involved in the original studies as a radiation expert) reviewed the collection, making notes on the identity and classification status of many documents. In 1992, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy performed a classification review of the reports. Each document was either determined to be unclassified in total or "sanitized," with an extracted version returned to the Library for inclusion in the collection. Correspondence regarding the DOD reviews was retained with the reports. Finally, in 2019 personnel from the U.S. Department of Energy reviewed a map from Operation Wigwam with data on buoy locations, and declassified the document.
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