]> rg.06.080 Records of the Department of Aeronautics 1946-1961 06.080 Katrina Tautz The Ferdinand Hamburger Archives, The Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University
3400 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218 USA Phone: (410) 516-8323
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Marius Stan Finding aid written in English Records of the Department of Aeronautics 1946-1961 Record Group Number 06.080 The Ferdinand Hamburger ArchivesThe Milton S. Eisenhower Library The Johns Hopkins University Contact Information The Ferdinand Hamburger Archives The Milton S. Eisenhower Library The Johns Hopkins University 3400 North Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218 (410) 516-8323 Katrina Tautz Marius Stan

©2005 The Johns Hopkins University

 Descriptive Summary Record Group Number 06.080 Records of the Department of Aeronautics 1946-1961 Department of Aeronautics, The Johns Hopkins University The Ferdinand Hamburger Archives, The Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University 3.67 cubic feet (8 document cases) English The records of the Department of Aeronautics span the entire period that the department existed in the School of Engineering, 1946-1961. The record group is arranged as follows: Subgroup 1: Departmental Administration, 1946-1960 Series 1: Departmental Subject Files, 1946-1960 Series 2: University Subject Files, 1946-1960 Subgroup 2: Professional Papers of Francis H. Clauser, 1946-1961 Series 1: Correspondence with Colleagues and Corporations, 1946-1960 Subseries 1: Subject Files, 1946-1960 Subseries 2: Alphabetical Correspondence, 1948-1960 Series 2: Correspondence with Professional Organizations, 1946-1960 Series 3: Correspondence with Government Agencies, 1946-1961 These records are those of Francis H. Clauser, chairman of the department and are almost solely his correspondence with colleagues at Johns Hopkins, other universities, governmental agencies and laboratories, industry and professional societies. The records cover such subjects as the plans and construction of the Aeronautics Building and the supersonic wind tunnel, the development of the curriculum of the School of Engineering and the research carried on by the members of the Department of Aeronautics. The records present a complete history of the department and reflect the efforts necessary to build a new department largely reliant on government contracts and funding. Clauser's files also reflect the standing of the members of the department individually and collectively in the field of aeronautics for the time period, through such records as research proposal files, papers presented at professional societies, and membership on government committees. Administrative Information Provenance

The records had been stored in the attic of Merryman Hall until its renovation in the fall of 1982, at which time they were discarded. The Archives staff retrieved the records from a dumpster on October 20, 1982.

Accession Number

82.38

 Use Restrictions

Education records in subgroup 1 (series 1 and 2), as defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as well as employment records in subgroup 1 (series 1 and 2), are also restricted. For details, see Regulations Governing Access to Restricted Records, at the front of each binder.

 Preferred Citation

The Ferdinand Hamburger Archives of The Johns Hopkins University, Record Group Number 06.080, Department of Aeronautics, subgroup number and title, series number and title, subseries number and title, file title and inclusive dates.

 History

Isaiah Bowman, at the meeting of the Advisory Board of the School of Engineering on April 12, 1946, raised the question of establishing a department of Aeronautical Engineering in the School of Engineering. The committee appointed to study the prospects of organizing such a department recommended the establishment of a "Department of Aeronautics" geared toward graduate study and research. President Bowman invited Francis H. Clauser to chair the new department. No classes were offered in 1946-1947 as Professor Clauser organized the department, including the addition of two other faculty members, Guy L. Bryan and Stanley Corrsin. The department from its inception worked closely with research institutions and government laboratories such as the Applied Physics Laboratory, the Aberdeen Proving Ground, and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory. Personnel from these laboratories gave specialized courses to students at Hopkins. The link between the government and the department remained strong, and government contracts were an important source of research funding for the department. For example, the Navy funded a supersonic wind tunnel, which the department considered necessary to conduct its aerodynamic research. Built between 1948 and 1951, the wind tunnel was housed in the Aeronautics Building, now known as Merryman Hall.

In 1950 Leslie G. Kovasznay was appointed to the faculty, and Mark Morkovin and Robert Betchov were appointed as research scientists in 1951 and 1956 respectively. Faculty, staff and graduate students carried on a great deal of research in laboratories under the auspices of the department; this continued advanced work remained of primary importance to the department and helped to bring the Hopkins faculty and department to national prominence in the field of aeronautics. Upper-level undergraduate courses were eventually offered by the department, but were limited to students who were advanced in the engineering curriculum; a bachelors degree in Aeronautics was never offered.

Professor Clauser and the department participated in a number of episodes of the "Hopkins Science Review," including, "Flight at Supersonic Speeds," aired on February 2, 1949, and a series of three programs, "Man Will Conquer Space," aired in October 1952. The last of these three shows featured Wernher von Braun as the guest. The department's role included helping the producer and host prepare for the technical aspects of the program, obtaining models, diagrams and such for the show, and securing guests.

In order to advance Hopkins's program in Mechanics, the Chairmen of the Departments of Aeronautics, Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering jointly proposed at the Advisory Board Meeting on May 3, 1960, that the three departments merge to form a Department of Experimental and Theoretical Mechanics. The Advisory Board unanimously passed the motion, adopting the name Department of Mechanics.

Subgroup 1: Departmental Administration, 1946-1960 Departmental Subject Files Departmental Subject Files, 1946-1960

Subgroup 1, Series 1 consists of the departmental subject files which document various aspects of the functioning of the Aeronautics department, including the wind tunnel, seminars and special lectures, the department's work for "Hopkins Science Review," and applicants for staff positions. The records are arranged alphabetically by subject and within files chronologically.

Box Folder Contents 1 1 Aerodynamics Design of Reactors for Nuclear Aircraft Power Plants, n.d. 1 2 Alumni, 1958 1 3 Staff Positions, Applicants for, 1947-1949 1 4 Staff Positions, Applicants for, 1950-1954, 1957-1960 1 5 Bethlehem Wind Tunnel, 1947 1 6 Biennial Report of the School of Engineering, 1948 1 7 Christensen, Sabinus, 1950-1951 1 8 Clauser, Francis, Arrival at Hopkins, 1946 1 9 Committee for Revising Application for Admission to the Graduate School of Engineering, 1952-1953 1 10 Courses Students Teach, 1952 1 11 Dryden, Hugh L.--Honorary Degree, 1953 1 12 Guggenheim Approach, 1954 1 13 Hot Wire Anemometry Summer Course, 1952-1953 1 14 Correspondence, Intradepartmental, 1948-1950 1 15 Lectures by Students and Staff, 1947-1948 1 16 Miller, Leslie T., 1947-1948 1 17 New Building, 1947-1948 1 18 Research Reports, c. 1950 1 19 Requirements for Doctorate, 1949 1 20 Rullman, Earl D., 1948-1951 1 21 St. Louis Project, 1946-1947 1 22 Scholarship Requests, 1953-1959 1 23 Security, 1947-1951 1 24 Seminar Announcements, 1946, 1948-1960 1 25 Space for Aeronautics Department, 1947 2 1 Special Lectures, 1955-1957 2 2 Svec, Victor, 1951-1953 2 3 Television, 1949-1952 2 4 (Supersonic) Wind Tunnel, 1945-1948 2 5 Wind Tunnel, Damping Screen and Bolting Cloth, 1949-1951 2 6 Wind Tunnel, Report on Survey of Utilities by Egli and Gompf, Inc., 1947 2 7 Wind Tunnels and New Building, 1947 2 8 Wisclicenus' Report on the "Development Program for Hydraulic Jet Propulsion," 1948 University Subject Files University Subject Files, 1946-1960

Subgroup 1, Series 2 is made up of files pertaining to members of the Hopkins faculty and administration, University committees and governing bodies. Student records are often found within the correspondence with the Dean of the School of Engineering. The records of University committees and the Advisory Board of the School of Engineering document changes within the School in terms of goals and objectives, curriculum, faculty, and individual departments. The records are filed alphabetically by subject and within files chronologically.

Box Folder Contents 1 1 Advisory Board for Cooperative Research, 1946 1 2 Advisory Board for School of Engineering, 1947-1960 1 3 Department of Aeronautics, Committee on, 1946-1948 and undated 1 4 Applied Physics Laboratory, 1946-1954 1 5 Applied Physics Laboratory, Bumblebee Aerodynamics Panel, 1947, 1949 1 6 Benton Committee, 1957 1 7 Berlin Committee, 1955 1 8 Department of Biology, Committee on, 1952 1 9 Board of Engineering Studies, 1948-1958 1 10 Isaiah Bowman, Correspondence with, 1948-1949 1 11 Isaiah Bowman, Report to, 1948-1949 1 12 Detlev Bronk, Correspondence with, 1949-1953 1 13 Department of Chemical Engineering, Committee on, 1948-1953 1 14 Department of Civil Engineering, 1947, 1957-1960 2 1 Computing Committee, 1951-1954, 1959 2 2 Corrsin, Stanley, 1956 2 3 Davis, Irene, 1949-1956 2 4 Departments of Engineering, 1950-1951, 1957 2 5 Electrical Engineering, Committee of, 1951-1954 2 6 Erickson Committee, 1956-1957 2 7 Flagle, Charles, Committee on Promotion, 1957 2 8 Group Council, 1951-1960 2 9 Henisch, H. K., 1957 2 10 Hoelscher Committee, 1957 2 11 Hoppmann, William, 1947-1954 2 12 Industrial Engineering, Department of, Committee on, 1948-1951 2 13 Institute for Cooperative Research, 1946-1954 2 14 Kouwenhoven, William B., 1947-1953 2 15 Professorship in Labor Management, Committee on, 1956 2 16 Lebacqz, Jean, 1945-1951 2 17 Library Committee, 1949-1951 2 18 Locklin, Wilbert E., 1957-1958 2 19 Macaulay, P. Stewart, 1948-1956, 1959-1960 2 20 McCoy College, 1948-1957 2 21 Mathematics, Committee on, 1947-1948, 1952 2 22 Mechanical Engineering, Committee on, 1947-1959 2 23 Meteorology, Committee on, 1954 3 1 Miller, C. Frank, 1953 3 2 Nuclear Science, Committee on, 1956-1958 3 3 Physical Sciences Group, 1955-1960 3 4 Plant Manager, 1947-1956 3 5 Poole, Lynn, 1951-1952 3 6 Preliminary Examination, 1949 3 7 Roy, Robert H., 1948-1958 3 8 Roy, Robert H., 1958-1959 3 9 Sanitary Engineering, Department of, 1948, 1951 3 10 Shaffer, G. Wilson, 1950-1960 3 11 School of Engineering, Executive Committee of, 1945-1949 3 12 Steinwald, Osmar P., 1953-1954, 1960 3 13 Whitehead Hall, 1947 3 14 Wisclicenus, George F., 1948-1954, 1958-1959 Subgroup 2: Professional Papers of Francis H. Clauser, 1946-1961 Correspondence with Colleagues and Corporations Correspondence with Colleagues and Corporations, 1946-1960

Subgroup 2, Series 1, Francis Clauser's correspondence with colleagues, is divided into two subseries. The first contains files of those individuals with whom Clauser had extensive correspondence. The files are arranged alphabetically by the individual's name and, within files, chronologically. The second subseries consists of the correspondence of those people with whom Clauser had limited contact. There is a file for each letter of the alphabet rather than each correspondent. Within the alphabetical files, each correspondent's letters are arranged chronologically. The correspondence in this series pertains to such subjects as visiting lecturers, visitors to the laboratory, requests for information, and technical discussions.

Subject Files, 1946-1960 Box Folder Contents 1 1 Akutowicz, Frank, 1954-1956 1 2 Cabannes, Henri, 1957-1959 1 3 Carstiou, Don, 1948-1950 1 4 Chang, C. T., 1955-1958 1 5 Chapman, Dean, 1955-1958 1 6 Croshere, Austin, 1948 1 7 Datwyler, Gottfried, 1947-1955 1 8 Diehl, Walter, 1947-1956 1 9 Donaldson, Coleman, 1957 1 10 Douglas Aircraft Company, 1946-1954 1 11 Eskinazi, Salamon, 1955-1959 1 12 Fitzpatrick, James, 1949-1952 1 13 Frenkiel, F. N., 1947-1958 2 1 General Electric, 1952-1959 2 2 Gibson, Walter, 1957 2 3 Greenspan, H. P., 1958-1959 2 4 Hall, Newman, 1950-1959 2 5 Halsted, Arthur, 1948 2 6 Hayes, Richard, 1950 2 7 Hayes, Wallace, 1949-1959 2 8 Hirschfelder, Joseph O., 1949-1960 2 9 Hoff, Nicholas J., 1949-1950 2 10 Howarth, Leslie, 1947-1950 2 11 Embassy of India, 1949-1950 2 13 International Business Machines Corporation, 1950-1953, 1958-1959 2 14 Kac, Mark, 1953-1954 2 15 Kantrowitz, Arthur, 1948, 1950 2 16 von Karman, Theodore, 1949-1951 2 17 Klemin, Alexander, 1946-1947 2 18 Kobayashi, Akira, 1954-1956 2 19 Kofink, W., 1952-1953 2 20 Kurzweg, Hermann, 1949-1954 2 21 Lagerstronm, Paco, 1946-1948 2 22 Liepman, Hans, 1946-1957 2 23 Lin, Chien Chien, 1949-1957 2 24 Lykoudis, Paul S., 1958-1960 2 25 McCoy, H. M., 1947-1949 2 26 McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1958-1959 2 27 Madelung, Georg, 1948 2 28 Marble, Frank E., 1949-1951 2 29 Maryland, University of, 1952-1954 2 30 Meyer, Richard E., 1956-1958 2 31 Muller, Erwin, 1957 2 32 Nicholl, Christopher I. H., 1957 2 33 Norbury, John F., 1958-1959 2 34 North American Aviation, Inc., 1955-1961 2 35 Patterson, Gordon N., 1948 2 36 Plesset, Milton S., 1948, 1950 2 37 Pritchard, J. Laurence, 1954-1955 2 38 Puckett, Allen E., 1949-1956 2 39 Rannie, Duncan, 1947 2 40 Raspet, August, 1949-1955, 1958 2 41 Reid, Elliott G., 1948 2 42 Renn, Charles E., 1951-1958 2 43 Rolt, Nicholas, 1958 2 44 Sears, William R., 1948-1959 2 45 Smelt, Ronald, 1949 2 46 Sverdrup and Parcel, 1947-1952 2 47 Synge, John L., 1948 2 48 Taylor, Sir Geoffrey, 1947-1948, 1953 2 49 de Transehe, N., 1947 2 50 Van Dyke, Milton, 1950, 1956 2 51 Wegener, Peter, 1949-1954 2 52 John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1950-1960 2 53 Young, Bradley, 1947-1948 2 54 Zacher, Hans, 1947-1948 Alphabetical Correspondence, 1948-1960 Box Folder Contents 3 1 A, 1952-1959 3 2 B, 1950-1960 3 3 C, 1950-1959 3 4 D, 1949-1958 3 5 E, 1949-1959 3 6 F, 1949-1961 3 7 G, 1949-1960 3 8 H, 1949-1959 3 9 I, 1950-1958 3 10 J, 1949-1952 3 11 K, 1949-1959 3 12 L, 1949-1960 3 13 M, 1949-1954 3 14 N, 1954-1961 3 15 O, 1950-1957 3 16 P, 1951-1960 3 17 R, 1949-1959 4 1 S, Sanborn-Sigma Xi, 1949-1956 4 2 S, Sikorsky-Szebehely, 1949-1960 4 3 T, 1948-1960 4 4 U, 1953-1958 4 5 V, 1949-1957 4 6 W, 1949-1958 4 7 Y, 1952-1958 Correspondence with Professional Organizations Correspondence with Professional Organizations, 1946-1960

Subgroup 2, Series 2 consists of correspondence with professional societies with which Francis Clauser was associated. They are arranged alphabetically by organization and within files chronologically.

Box Folder Contents 1 1 Aeronautical Research and Development, Advisory Group for, 1953-1960 1 2 American Physical Society, 1948-1959 1 3 American Physical Society, Publications Committee, 1948-1950 1 4 American Rocket Society, 1955 1 5 American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1949-1951 1 6 Applied Mechanics Review, 1948-1960 1 7 Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences, 1946-1951 1 8 Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences, 1952-1960 1 9 Society of Automotive Engineers, 1947-1948, 1950 1 10 Turbulence Symposium, 1948-1949 Correspondence with Government Agencies Correspondence with Government Agencies, 1946-1961

Subgroup 2, Series 3 is made up of Clauser's correspondence with the various government agencies with which he was associated. These agencies include the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the Aberdeen Ballistic Research Laboratories and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory. They are filed alphabetically by organization and within files chronologically.

Box Folder Contents 1 1 Aberdeen Ballistic Research Laboratories, 1946-1954, 1958-1959 1 2 Aberdeen Ballistic Research Laboratories, Correspondence with Robert H. Kent, 1948-1950, 1956 1 3 Aberdeen Ballistic Research Laboratories, Research Proposal, Renssalear Polytechnic Institute, 1948 1 4 Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development (NATO), 1953 1 5 Air Command and Staff School, 1947-1948 1 6 Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Research and Development Command, 1953-1960 1 7 Department of the Army, Correspondence with Leslie E. Simon, 1949-1951 1 8 Atomic Energy Commission, Correspondence with Arthur Ruark, 1957-1958 1 9 Hermes II, 1947-1948, 1956 1 10 Icarus, 1949 1 11 Joint Research and Development Board, 1947-1948 1 12 National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), General Correspondence, 1947-1957 1 13 NACA, Subcommittee on Fluid Mechanics, 1948-1956 1 14 NACA, Subcommittee on Fluid Mechanics, Reports, 1950-1957 1 15 NACA, Subcommittee on Fluid Mechanics, Research Proposals, 1949-1951 1 17 NACA, Subcommittee on High Speed Aerodynamics, 1947-1951 1 18 National Research Council, 1952, 1955 1 19 National Science Foundation, 1952-1961 1 20 Naval Ordnance Laboratory, 1947-1955 1 21 Naval Ordnance Laboratory, Correspondence with Raymond Seeger, 1946-1951 1 22 Office of Air Research, Research Proposals, 1949-1950 1 23 Office of Naval Research, 1947-1953