Mathematics Department Records, 1933-1994

Collection Overview

Title: Mathematics Department Records, 1933-1994

Predominant Dates: 1933-1981

ID: RG 136

Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Department of Mathematics

Extent: 0.75 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Mathematics Department Records are arranged in 4 series: 1. William Edmund Milne General Correspondence, 1933-1939; 2. Subject Files, 1933-1981; 3. Lecture Notes, 1974-1975; and 4. Publications, 1963-1994.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

Scope and Content Notes

The Mathematics Department Records document the teaching and research activities of the department and the involvement of Department Chair, W.E. Milne, in various campus organizations. The records include correspondence, reports, lecture notes, and publications. The correspondence consists of materials created or received by W.E. Milne in his role as department chair and as a member of several campus faculty groups and honor societies. Materials pertaining to graduate programs as well as a computation service offered by the department are included.

The records include reports about early computers at Oregon State in the late 1950s and early 1960s; information about the undergraduate mathematics curriculum; lecture notes prepared by Bent E. Petersen and Aldo Anderotti in the mid-1970s; and publications. The publications include a weekly department department staff newsletter from the mid-1980s; the department's annual newsletter for alumni and friends of the department from the early 1990s; and a brochure on academic programs in actuarial science. A compilation of research papers written by high school students who participated in the 1962 Summer Institute in Mathematics, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, are also part of the records.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Mathematics was one of the four subjects taught at Corvallis College when it was founded in 1868. As the College’s curriculum grew to include agriculture and engineering, mathematics expanded from its role as an element of traditional higher learning into a necessary tool for understanding science and technology. While the subject matter itself changed little, the focus of mathematics was now targeted to serve engineering. This remained its function until 1932 when the School of Science was established and William E. Milne arrived as chair of the Mathematics Department, a position he held until his retirement in 1955.

Professor Milne was the first Department chairman to hold a Ph.D. During the years that Milne was chair, 1932-1955, the department had its first major growth including additional staff, courses, and students as well as offering undergraduate and gradaute degrees in mathematics.

After 1932, the Mathematics Department's instructional service reached into nearly every academic discipline at Oregon State. The department's research focus during these years emphasized applied analysis and statistics. In 1955, a separate Statistics Department was formed and Arvid T. Lonseth became Mathematics Department chairman. Under Lonseth’s leadership, the department focused heavily on computers, which continued until a separate Computer Science Department was formed in 1972. In 1957, Oregon State College became the first educational institution in Oregon to acquire an electronic computer; it was operated by Mathematics and maintained by Electrical Engineering. By the end of Lonseth’s tenure the department had acquired expertise in all major areas of mathematics.

As the department expanded, Mathematics became a primary area of study. This lead to an undergraduate major designed to train high school teachers as well as prepare students for graduate level studies. The first masters degree in mathematics was awarded in 1933 and the first doctorate in 1948.

Department heads for the period documented by these records include W.E. (Ted) Milne (1932-1955); Arvid T. Lonseth (1955-1968); William J. Firey (1968-1970 and 1978-1979); James R. Brown (1970-1978); Richard M. Schori (1979-1984); Philip M. Anselone (1984-1990); and Francis (Frank) Flaherty (1990-1998).

Administrative Information

Accruals: Additions to the collection are expected.

More Extent Information: 3 boxes; 1 microfilm reel; 20 feet

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: These materials were transferred to the Archives from the 1960s through 2005.

Related Materials: Additional materials created and assembled by Milne are available in the W.E. Milne Collection (MSS Milne). The College of Science Records (RG 024) include additional information about the teaching and research activities of the Mathematics Department. The Harold L. Manley Collection (MSS Manley) includes lecture notes and problem sets from mathematics classes.

Preferred Citation: Mathematics Department Records (RG 136), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

People, Places, and Topics

Actuarial science--Oregon--Corvallis.
Electronic digital computers.
History of Science
Mathematics--Research--Oregon--Corvallis.
Mathematics--Study and teaching (Graduate)--Oregon--Corvallis.
Mathematics--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.
Mathematics--Study and teaching (Secondary)--Oregon.
Oregon State College--Faculty.
Oregon State College. Department of Mathematics
Oregon State University. Department of Mathematics
University History

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: William Edmund Milne General Correspondence, 1933-1939

Series 1 consists of correspondence and related materials created and received by Milne in his role as chair of the Mathematics Department and as a member of several campus faculty groups and honor societies. Of particular note are materials pertaining to the mathematics graduate programs and a computation service offered by the department. The microfilm does not include targets separating original folders. Some of the original paper documents are part of Series 2.

Reel-Item 1.1: Century Club, 1936

Reel-Item 1.2: Engineers Club, 1935-1937

Reel-Item 1.3: Faculty Men's Club, 1933-1939

Reel-Item 1.4: Graduate School Material and Graduate Studies, 1935-1939

Reel-Item 1.5: Computation Service, 1938-1939

Reel-Item 1.6: Miscellaneous material for NYA and Paper Readers, 1935-1939

Students employed as graders.

Reel-Item 1.7: Order of the Spoon, 1935-1936

A faculty advancement organization.

Reel-Item 1.8: Phi Kappa Phi, 1937-1939

Reel-Item 1.9: Pi Mu Epsilon, 1933-1939

Sub-Series 10: Mathematical Problems and Inquiries, 1934-1939

Includes correspondence from high school teachers, faculty at other colleges and universities, prospective students, and the public.

Reel-Item 1.10: Reports, 1935
Reel-Item 1.11: Sigma Xi, 1936-1938
Reel-Item 1.12: Summer Session material, 1935
Reel-Item 1.13: Triad Club, 1936-1939

Series 2: Subject Files, 1933-1981

Series 2 consists of correspondence, reports, and instructional materials documenting the teaching and research activities of the department. The reports provide information about early computers at Oregon State. The information pamphlet for undergraduate mathematics major includes detailed information about degree requirements and courses as well as scholarships and employment opportunities in mathematics. The series also includes original paper records of the some of the microfilmed Milne correspondence in Series 1.

Box-Folder 1.1

Sub-Series 1: William Edmund Milne General Correspondence, 1933-1939

Original paper copies of some of the microfilmed records in Series 1.

Item 1: Faculty Men's Club, 1933-1939
Item 2: Graduate School Material and Graduate Studies, 1935-1939
Item 3: Computation Service, 1938-1939
Item 4: National Youth Administration (NYA) and readers, 1935-1939

Box-Folder 1.2

Sub-Series 1: Reports, 1959-1964

Item 1: Machine Modifications, 1959: Modifications performed on the ALWAC III-E digital computer in the Oregon State College Computing Center; written by George A. Dubinski.
Item 2: Progress Report of the Nebula Computer, 1964: By J.A. Boles, P.T. Rux, and F.W. Weingarten.

Box-Folder 1.3: Solutions Manual for Applied Differential Equations, 1981

Manual written by M.N.L. Narasimhan to be used by students and instructors in MTH 321 with the second edition of the textbook Differential Equations and their Applications: An Introduction to Applied Mathematics by M. Braun.

Box-Folder 1.4: Information Pamphlet for Undergraduate Mathematics Majors in 1963-1964, 1963

Provides information of use to undergraduate students in mathematics; topics include curriculum, courses, and degree requirements; opportunities for employment or graduate study; the Honors Program; grants, honors, awards, scholarships, and fellowships; competitions; organizations and periodicals; and recommended reading.

Series 3: Lecture Notes, 1974-1975

Series 3 consists of 5 bound volumes of lecture notes prepared by Bent E. Peterson and Aldo Andreotti for mathematics courses taught during the 1974-1975 academic year.

Box-Item 1.1: Singularities of Differentiable Maps, undated
Box-Item 2.1: Cauchy Problem and Convexity, Winter, 1975: For MTH 528.
Box-Item 2.2: Elliptic Operators, Spring, 1975: By Bent E. Petersen for MTH 529.
Box-Item 2.3: Holomorphic Functions with Bounds, Summer, 1974: By Bent E. Petersen.
Box-Item 2.4: Partial Differential Equations, 1974-1975: By Bent E. Petersen for MTH 527, 528, and 529.

Series 4: Publications, 1963-1994

Series 4 consists of department publications for internal and external audiences and includes the weekly staff newsletter for 1985-1986; the annual department newsletter for alumni, retired faculty, and friends of the department; a brochure promoting the undergraduate and graduate programs in actuarial science offered by the Mathematics Department; and a compilation of research papers prepared by high school students as part of their participation in the Summer Institute in Mathematics at Oregon State University in 1962, sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Box-Folder 3.1: Mathematics Department Staff Newsletter, 1985-1986

Box-Folder 3.2

Item 1: Mathematician, 1991-1994
Item 2: Brochure on Acturial Science, 1991

Box-Folder 3.3: 1963

Papers written by participants in Summer Institute in Mathematics for high school students; edited by R.E. Gaskell, Director of the Institute.