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CORVALLIS - Digital versions of much of the research of two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling will be available on-line to the public beginning Feb. 28, as the state recognizes Linus Pauling Day on what would have been the 101st birthday of one of the greatest scientists and humanitarians of the 20th century.

The digitized notebooks can be found at Oregon State University's Valley Library Special Collections website.

As with many scientists, Pauling utilized bound notebooks to record and manipulate the details of his research as it unfolded. The Pauling papers include 46 research notebooks that were written from 1922 until Pauling's death in 1994 and cover the myriad scientific fields in which Pauling was involved. Their 7,500 pages, now accessible in digital form, contain many of Pauling's laboratory calculations and experimental data, as well as scientific conclusions, ideas for further research and numerous autobiographical musings.

Pauling biographer Tom Hager, author of "Force of Nature: The Life of Linus Pauling," praised the digitized notebooks website.

"OSU Special Collections has created a unique window on scientific history in the making," said Hager. "The online publication of Linus Pauling's research notebooks, a vast array of primary and uncensored material from one of the world's great researchers, represents a milestone in archival accessibility and a great boon for scientists, historians, teachers and students."

The digitization effort, carried out by the OSU Special Collections staff, will be revealed on Feb. 28, which has been proclaimed by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber to be, in perpetuity, "Linus Pauling Day" in the state of Oregon. Each year, in celebration of Linus Pauling Day, OSU's Pauling Heritage Committee coordinates a series of events meant to focus attention upon the remarkable life and career of the university's most famous graduate.

In addition to the OSU initiative, the National Library of Medicine will also be observing this anniversary with a new "Profiles in Science" digital exhibit dedicated to Pauling. The exhibit is comprised of more than 200 scanned letters, manuscripts and photographs outlining Pauling's work related to biomedicine.

Pauling was born in Portland, where he attended high school, and he received his undergraduate education at Oregon Agricultural College, now known as Oregon State University. He remains the only person to have won two unshared Nobel Prizes - the first for chemistry in 1954; the second for peace in 1962.

The Pauling legacy is represented at OSU by the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers in The Valley Library's Special Collections, a vast archive of more than 500,000 items donated by Pauling in 1986; the Linus Pauling Institute and its two endowed chairs; the Pauling Chemistry Lecture in the College of Science; the Linus and Ava Helen Pauling Lecture on World Peace in the College of Liberal Arts; and an endowed chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering.