Digitisation and Description of the Photo Collection originating from the Karlsruhe Research Center

• Applicant: Dr. Klaus Nippert
• Subject Area: Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology ; Modern and Contemporary History ; Theatre and Media Studies ; History of Science
• Term: from 2018 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 392671761

The Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center founded in 1956 (Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe, since 1995: Karlsruhe Research Center / Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, in 2009 merged with University of Karlsruhe to Karlsruhe Institute of Technology [KIT]) maintained a unit for photographic documentation. This unit captured the visual history of the institution as one of the most important large scale research centers throughout Germany. The photo collection thus created comprises 210,000 pictures in total and is now part of KIT Archives. A 10-per-cent-sample of this collection shall be digitised, inventoried and made accessible on the internet.The photographs show start-up, core activities and the change of research topics for this institution which primarily performed scientific and technological groundwork for the civil use of nuclear energy und thereafter shifted to a variety of topics mainly to describe with the keywords sustainable energy, medical engineering, material science, fundamental research in physics and environmental research. In the course of this transformation the buildings as well as the scientific devices have been dismantled or changed to a large extend or this is scheduled to happen within a few years. As a result the photo collection is a visual chronicle of the Research Centre’s former appearance that has already vanished or will vanish very soon.The collection pictures the entire range of items essential for the Research Centre’s work. Besides external and internal views of nuclear reactors, laboratories, workshops and hot cells (‘Heiße Zellen’) dedicated to the handling of radioactive materials there are pictures of devices for storage of radioactive substances and radiation protection. Asides nuclear technology the collection pictures all kinds of small and large scale decives including the computing centre. Furthermore there are pictures portraying principal investigators, important visitors from all over the world and high ranking German politicians. Scientific workspaces reveal an appearance different from today’s design and show peculiar aesthetics.With presentations on the homepage of KIT Archives, via the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek and its archival section Archivportal D descriptive metadata and pictures will be provided for scholars interested in contemporary history as well as the history of science and technology. Beyond this there have been statements of interest from the field of interior design and visual arts.

• DFG Programme: Cataloguing and Digitisation (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)
• Co-Investigator: Elke Leinenweber