Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering records

The collection is arranged according to the major activities of the department as represented in the collection. The Administrative series contains sub-series for Departmental Correspondence, the correspondence of former department heads George Defrees Shepardson and John M. Bryant, and the records documenting the construction of the Electrical Engineering building, which was completed in 1924. The Shepardson correspondence documents Shepardson's efforts to establish a wireless radio station on campus. It includes letters from instructor Cyril M. Jansky, Jr., written while Jansky served as a representative at the national radio broadcasting conferences held by the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. The proceedings of the conferences, held annually from 1922-1925, established the guildelines for licensing radio stations.

Boxes 3 and 4 contain materials related to the Evening Graduate Program, which was operated by the department from 1961 - 1970. The program offered a Master of Science with a major in Electrical Engineering. Enrollment was limited to employees from sponsoring organizations (Honeywell, Control Data Corporation, 3M, etc.)

The scientific work of the department in the early 20th century is represented with studies relating to the telephone, train-car lighting, and an "illumination" (lighting) study of campus.

At different points the department was involved in military and police training programs. In 1917, the department taught a special course titled "Radio Communication" to train students for the United States Signal Corps. The department was involved in police training in the 1930s and briefly conducted a Naval Training School during World War II.

A series of publications authored by faculty and newsletter of the department are included in boxes 7-11. The collection also includes electronic records which are described in the contents list.