Challenging the Status Quo

When we discuss those who shaped physics, “queerness” rarely comes into play. Since physics is a predominantly White, straight, nondisabled field, its history often neglects those who do not fit into this demographic. Yet in a time when civil rights are increasingly under attack and over a fifth of LGBTQ+ physicists have experienced discrimination in their workplace—almost 50% for transgender individuals—bringing to light and elevating the rich history of marginalized physicists is paramount.

Moreover, for an objective understanding of history to be achieved, we cannot simply tell the past from one lens. Complexity is needed, and thus we need to bring to light the stories that challenge the status quo—the stories that often do not get a platform. This is what I sought to do in my SPS internship with the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Center for History of Physics and Niels Bohr Library & Archives.

Learning About the Past
Throughout the summer of 2024, I conducted archival research, primarily at the Library of Congress, to help uplift such untold narratives. I focused on two individuals in particular: Frank Kameny and James Pollack, both of whom advocated for gay rights even as the government tried to purge LGBTQ+ individuals from science during the “Lavender Scare” of the 1950s and ’60s.

Frank Kameny is often regarded as the grandfather of the gay rights movement and is known for pioneering gay advocacy work, yet rarely do scholars discuss his accomplishments in astrophysics and space science. Using the Frank Kameny papers, I built on the work of scholars such as David K. Johnson and Eric Cervini to highlight his astronomical prowess. My work on this culminated in an article on Frank Kameny for Physics Today that was published in the February 2025 issue.

On the flip side, James Pollack, Carl Sagan’s first PhD student, who later became a powerhouse in the planetary sciences, is rarely discussed in relation to his gay rights advocacy. As an openly gay man, he helped found homophile groups in Boston and Ithaca, worked closely with Frank Kameny in the late 1960s, and when he died in the 1990s, left most of his estate to groups fighting homelessness and AIDS—two issues that disproportionately affected the queer community at the time.

Preserving the Present
History is not simply about analyzing the past; we must also document the present to ensure history is told correctly in the future. AIP’s oral history collection contains interviews with countless scientists and engineers for this reason. I contributed to this archive by interviewing two PhD scientists, K. Renee Horton and Jan Eldridge.

Renee Horton is currently the airworthiness deputy for NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration Project. As a person with a hearing impairment, a Black woman, a mother of three, and a nontraditional student, she consistently advocates for diversity in STEM.

Jan Eldridge, in addition to leading the physics department at the University of Auckland and conducting research on binary star interactions, is a transgender, nonbinary woman and involved with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives both at her university and through the Astronomical Society of Australia.

You can read about my experience conducting these oral history interviews on the Niels Bohr Library and Archives blog Ex Libris Universum in a post called “The Power of Oral Histories” at aip.org/library/the-power-of-oral-histories. Horton’s interview is already available online.

Looking to the Future
As I move forward in my career, I hope to keep researching those who continue to get left out of the common narrative when retelling history, including James Pollack, as well as interviewing scientists of marginalized identities for the oral history collection. This internship allowed me to blossom both as a scholar and as an individual, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Learn More from Kai

• Kai Hostetter-Habib’s internship presentation (begins around minute 46):
  
• “Frank Kameny the Astronomer” in Physics Today: pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/issue/78/2
• “The Power of Oral Histories” on Ex Libris Universum: ww2.aip.org/library/the-power-oforal-histories
• K. Renee Horton’s oral history interview: aip.org/historyprograms/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/48425