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Engineering Experiment Station Records, 1904-1989

By Finding aid prepared by Megan Guerre and Elizabeth Nielsen.

Collection Overview

Title: Engineering Experiment Station Records, 1904-1989

Predominant Dates: 1915-1970

ID: RG 100

Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Engineering Experiment Station

Extent: 1.0 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Engineering Experiment Station Records are arranged in 4 subgroups: Subgroup 1, General Subject File, 1914-1951; Subgroup 2, Samuel H. Graf Papers, 1904-1964; Subgroup 3, Technical Services Committee Records, 1965-1970; and Subgroup 4, Publications, 1927-1989. All of the subgroups are comprised of multiple series.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Engineering Experiment Station Records document engineering research conducted by faculty, staff, and students at Oregon State University. The bulk of the collection is comprised of the Papers of Samuel H. Graf. The Engineering Experiment Station was established at Oregon Agricultural College in 1927. Samuel H. Graf earned several engineering degrees from Oregon Agricultural College, joined the faculty in 1909, and served as director of engineering research (1928-1944) and director of the Engineering Experiment Station (1944-1954).

Scope and Content Notes

The Engineering Experiment Station Records document engineering research conducted by faculty, staff, and students at Oregon State University. The records include administrative records, correspondence, publications, manuscripts, reports, and research data. Most of the materials in the collection (all of Subgroups 1 and 2) are available only on microfilm. The paper records are comprised of Subgroups 3 and 4.

The General Subject File (SG 1) provides information about the establishment and history of the Engineering Experiment Station and documents engineering research at Oregon State prior to the establishment of the Engineering Experiment Station in 1927. This subgroup includes annual reports and budgets for the Experiment Engineering Department. The Samuel H. Graf Papers (SG 2) comprise the bulk of the collection. The Graf Papers include extensive correspondence files, research records, materials documenting Graf's work with the Pacific Coast Gas Association, and records of experiments conducted by students. Subgroup 2 also includes personal writings of Graf, including some materials he may have written as an Oregon Agricultural College student.

The Technical Services Committee Records (SG 3) were created and assembled by James G. Knudsen as chair of the Committee. These records include correspondence, proposals, and reports documenting the implementation of the Technical Services Act at Oregon State University. Several projects in the fishing and food processing industries were conducted under the Act.

The Publications (SG 4) include bulletins, circulars, lists of publications, and reprints prepared by Engineering faculty and administrators for the purpose of dessiminating research results and accomplishments at Oregon State. The publications include proceedings of the Northwest Road Building (later Roads and Streets) Conference; annual and biennial reports of research activities from the late 1950s through 1980s; reports and surveys on pollution in Oregon streams and the Willamette River in the 1920s through 1940s; and reports of studies on wood preservation and wood waste disposal. Annual progress reports by T.J. Starker on his study of fence post preservation at the Oregon State post farm are included. The publications are available in various formats -- online through ScholarsArchive@OSU as well as in paper and/or on microfilm.

Biographical / Historical Notes

The Engineering Experiment Station was established by act of the Board of Regents of the College on May 4, 1927. The purpose of the Station was to serve the state of Oregon by stimulating engineering education through research; completing investigations for state industries, utilities, professional engineers, public departments, and engineering teachers; and publishing the results of these investigations.

Born at Portland, Oregon, in August 1887, Samuel H. Graf entered Oregon Agricultural College in 1903 to study engineering. He received five engineering degrees from the college - B.S., Electrical Engineering (1907); E.E., Electrical Engineering (1908); B.S., Mechanical Engineering (1908); M.E., Mechanical Engineering (1909); and M.S., Electrical Engineering (1909). Between 1909 and 1954 Graf held several faculty appointments in engineering at Oregon State. In 1909-1912 he was an instructor in mechanical engineering and from 1912 to 1920 he was the head of experimental engineering. He also served as head of the Department of Mechanics and Materials (1920-1934) and of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (1934-1954); director of engineering research (1928-1944); and director of the Engineering Experiment Station (1944-1954).

The focus of the 1965 Technical Services Act was to transfer new technology and science to the business and industrial sectors of the country with the aim to improve the growth and competitive position of each state's industrial community. The State Department of Planning and Development partnered with an advisory committee made up of representatives from the academic community in order to design a program at OSU that would satisfy the Act. The State Technical Services Program was terminated in 1970 when federal funding was discontinued. James G. Knudsen, Assistant Dean of Engineering, acted as the Chairman of the Technical Services Committee at Oregon State; Knudsen was the Assistant Dean of Engineering in charge of the Engineering Experiment Station in the 1960s.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 1 box; 34 microfilm reels

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The bulk of the materials (Subgroups 1 and 2) were transferred to the University Archives in 1967 and were microfilmed by 1970. The Technical Services Committee Records (SG 3) were transferred to the University Archives in 1971. The publications that comprise Subgroup 4 were received by the University Archives from the 1960s through 2001. They were initially maintained as distinct Publication Groups, but were incorporated into the Engineering Experiment Station Records in 2013.

Related Materials: The College of Engineering Records (RG 062) document the administration of the College and the instructional, research, and professional activities of engineering faculty at Oregon State. The Samuel H. Graf Collection (MSS Graf) consists primarily of letters written by Graf to his family during his student years and early years on the Oregon Agricultural College faculty as well as other materials that were acquired separately from Graf's papers in the Engineering Experiment Station Records (RG 100). Additional information about S.H. Graf can be found in the OSU Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC). The Special Collections & Archives Research Center also houses the Bioresource Engineering Department Records (RG 001), Chemical Engineering Department Records (RG 153), Mechanical Engineering Department Records (RG 213), Civil Engineering Department Records (RG 030), and the Electrical Engineering Department Records (RG 121).

Preferred Citation: Engineering Experiment Station Records (RG 100), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Creators

Oregon State University. Engineering Experiment Station
Graf, S. H. (Samuel Herman) (1887-1966)
Knudsen, James George (1920-)
Oregon State Agricultural College. Engineering Experiment Station
Oregon State College. Engineering Experiment Station
Oregon. Planning and Development Division
Starker, T. J. (Thurman James) (1890-1983)
United States. Office of State Technical Services

People, Places, and Topics

Engineering--Research--Oregon.
Engineering--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.
Engineering experiment stations--Oregon.
Engineering laboratories--Oregon--Corvallis.
Engineering schools--Oregon--Corvallis.
Engineering students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Fisheries--Oregon.
Highway research--Congresses.
History of Science
Mechanical engineering--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.
Natural Resources
Oregon Agricultural College--Research.
Oregon State College--Research.
Oregon State University--Research.
Oregon State University. College of Engineering
Oregon State University. Engineering Experiment Station
Oregon State University. School of Engineering
Pacific Coast Gas Association
Roads--Design and construction--Congresses.
Technology--Oregon.
Testing laboratories--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History
Water--Pollution--Oregon.
Wood--Preservation--Research--Oregon.
Wood waste--Research--Oregon.


Box and Folder Listing