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Peter S. Eagleson personal archives

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MC-0583

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The personal archives of Peter Eagleson, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology comprises teaching and professional papers. The bulk of the collection are published and unpublished works by Eagleson dating from the 1950s to 2009.The bulk of published materials date from the 1970s to 1990s.

As Eagleson served as head of the Department of Civil Engineering there are records related to the naming of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering department (the Hydrodynamics Laboratory was renamed the Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory in 1970). Additionally there is professional correspondence, MIT committee-related papers, and research, documents, and articles about the history of hydrology. The department-related material is mostly from 1970 to 1975. Overall the department related materials date from the 1970s to the 1990s. There are some course-related materials from the 1930's prepared by Kenneth C. Reynolds, who was an Assistant Professor of Hydraulics at MIT.

There are course materials from Eagleson's teaching career, including from a short course (10 lectures) he gave in China "Topics in Surface Water Hydrology".

Dates

  • Creation: 1933 - 2010

Creator

Access note

This collection is open.

Conditions Governing Use

Access to collections in the Department of Distinctive Collections is not authorization to publish. Please see the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy for permission information. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the donor of the collection or MIT.

Biography

Peter S. Eagleson, born 1927, is professor emeritus in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Civil Engineering (later Civil and Environmental Engineering) and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. His research interests are in the areas of dynamic hydrology, hydroclimatology, and forest ecology. In 1949 he received a B.S. in civil engineering from Lehigh University. Eagleson returned to Lehigh University to pursure graduate studies and in 1952, received an M.S. in civil engineering focusing on hydraulics. He continued his civil engineering studies at MIT, completing his doctorate in 1956. Eagleson was hired in 1955 as an assistant professor in the Civil and Sanitary Engineering Department. In 1961 he became an associate professor. A few years later in 1965 he became a professor. From 1970 to 1975 he served as head of the Department of Civil Engineering at MIT. Eagleson was the Edmund K. Turner Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering from 1984 until his retirement from teaching in 1993.

Selected Awards and Honors

Selected Awards and Honors

1982
elected to the National Academy of Engineering
1986 to 1988
president of American Geophysical Union (AGU)
1988
Robert E. Horton Medal from the American Geophysical Union (for outstanding contributions to hydrology)
1991
International Hydrology Prize of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences
1992
James R. Killian Faculty Achievement Award, MIT
1994
William Bowie Medal from the American Geophysical Union (highest award given by the AGU)
1997
Stockholm Water Prize

Extent

6 Cubic Feet (6 record cartons)

Language of Materials

English

Location

Materials are stored off-site. Advance notice is required for use.

Related Materials

American Geophysical Union (AGU) History of Hydrology Film Interviews, Peter S. Eagleson interview, 1997. http://hydrology.agu.org/resources/history-of-hydrology-film-interviews/

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering records, AC 184 in the Department of Distinctive Collections.

Bibliography

  • Peter S. Eagleson, Dynamic Hydrology (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970. Reprinted 2003 by the European Geosciences Union).
  • Peter S. Eagleson, Ecohydrology: Darwinian expression of forest form and function (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002).

Processing Information note

Some collection descriptions are based on legacy data and may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies. Description may change pending verification. Please contact the MIT Department of Distinctive Collections if you notice any errors or discrepancies.

Title
Preliminary Inventory to the Personal Archives of Peter S. Eagleson
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository

Contact:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
Building 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02139-4307 US