Abstract
The collection, 1949 to 2006, was compiled by Clifford Olsen, a containment physicist at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). It consists of research notes and working papers written by Olsen and other scientists, publications, epoxy aggregate samples, work-related correspondence, nuclear-test-event data, and interviews conducted by Olsen with work colleagues involved with the NTS.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The collection, compiled by Clifford Olsen, dates between 1949 and 2006. It consists of research notes and working papers written by Olsen and other scientists, publications, work-related correspondence, hardened epoxy samples, a photograph, and testing data for underground nuclear tests conducted in the United States and reports on underground nuclear testing conducted by the USSR. It also includes interviews conducted by Olsen with work colleagues involved with the Nevada Test Site. Most of the collection relates to containment science, with wider-ranging materials associated with nuclear testing.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
These records are organized into three series:
Series I. Containment Evaluation Panel records, 1958-2006;
Series II. Nuclear Test Event records, 1949-2000;
Series III. Interviews, 1997-1999.
Biographical / Historical Note
Clifford Olsen received his Ph.D. in physics in 1962 and almost immediately went to work full-time for Lawrence Livermore Labs in Pasadena, California. He was assigned to two divisions working with the Nevada Nuclear Test Site program: data retrieval and diagnostics. After the “Baneberry Incident” in 1970, an accidental release of a large quantity of radioactive dust into the atmosphere, Olsen became one of the first containment scientists on the newly created Containment Evaluation Panel (CEP). This panel focused on containing the effects of future nuclear tests at the test site. Olsen held his position on the CEP at Lawrence Livermore for almost forty years. As of 2017, he serves as a Senior Scientific Advisor for the Navarro-Nevada Environmental Management group.
Clifford Olsen, interview by Joan Leavitt, Nevada Test Site Oral History Project, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, September 20, 2004. http://digital.library.unlv.edu/u?/nts, 1283
Clifford Olsen, Linkedinprofile page, accessed November 28, 2017. https://www.linkedin.com/in/clifford-olsen-40141147
The development of containment science was in response to an underground nuclear test, code-named Baneberry. In May 1970, the explosion unexpectedly vented to the surface, releasing a large quantity of radioactive dust and particles in the atmosphere. Official concern over this incident led to the restructuring of the Nevada Test Site's Test Evaluation Panel (TEP), which to that point had the responsibility of approving all underground nuclear test events in the United States.
Formed in late 1970, the new Containment Evaluation Panel (CEP) was composed of experienced scientists representing a wide range of specialties. The CEP took over the responsibility for addressing potential flaws and approving future nuclear test designs. The panel first met in March 1971, with a charter that specifically defined three goals: evaluate, advise, and record.
U.S. Congress, Office of Technological Assessment, “Containing Underground Nuclear Explosions," in The Containment of Underground Nuclear Explosions, OTA-ISC-414 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, October 1989), https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1989/8909/890905.PDF
Preferred Citation
Cliff Olsen Professional Papers, 1949-2006. MS-00529. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2007 by Cliff Olsen; accession number 2007-10.
Processing Note
In 2017, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, John A. Heldt and Melise Leech rehoused and arranged the materials. Additionally, they revised the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards. In 2023, Melise Leech revised the collection description to link the collected digital audio interviews.