The James Van Allen Oral History, dated 1983, 1997-2001, contains audio recordings, administrative information, and transcripts of the interview between Dr. Van Allen and Brian Shoemaker of the American Polar Society conducted on November 18, 1997. Major topics discussed include Van Allen's career in polar regions and inter-planetary astrophysics, the planning and implementation of the International Geophysical Year (IGY), development of rockoons, and how his work led to the discovery of Earth's radiation belt, later named the Van Allen Belt.

The Norbert Untersteiner Oral History, dated 2000-2001, contains audio recordings, administrative information, and transcripts of the interview between Dr. Untersteiner and Brian Shoemaker of the American Polar Society conducted on October 7, 2000. This interview was a part of a series of polar oral histories sponsored by the American Polar Society and Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program, with funding from the National Science Foundation. Major topics discussed include Untersteiner's life under the Nazi regime in Austria, his studying of mountain glaciers and ice floes, involvement in the creation of The Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (AIDJEX), his time as the Director of the Office of Ocean Programs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and memories of various teaching positions he held.