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A. Douglas Carmichael papers

 Collection
Identifier: MC-0685

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Scope and Contents

The collection documents the professional activities of Alexander Douglas Carmichael from 1960 to 2004. Materials include proposals, reports, correspondence, course materials, notebooks, calendars, notes, student files, articles, presentations, and subject files.

Dates

  • Creation: 1960 - 2004

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.

Biographical Note

Alexander Douglas Carmichael, 1929-2015, was professor emeritus of ocean engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received a BS from London University in 1949 and a PhD in mechanical engineering at Trinity College Cambridge, England in 1958. Carmichael taught at MIT as professor of power engineering in the Department of Ocean Engineering in 1970, then the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, until his retirement in 1996. (1) Carmichael served as the faculty director of the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES), 1988-1995. He was also a fellow and Northeast Regional Vice President, 1991-1994, of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME).

Carmichael specialized in gas and steam turbines, applied mechanics, and power and propulsion systems. In 1974, he and students in the summer laboratory of the Sea Grant Program developed the first MIT autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), which could be programmed to perform oceanographic research. (2)

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Report of the President for the Academic Year 1969-1970, Reports to the President, 1971, http://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/59051.

2. Alissa Mallinson, “Professor A. Douglas Carmichael, Leading Ocean Engineer, Passes Away at 86,” MIT MechE, March 22, 2016, http://meche.mit.edu/news-media/professor-douglas-carmichael-leading-ocean-engineer-passes-away-86.

Extent

13 Cubic Feet (13 record cartons)

Language of Materials

English

Location

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

Appraisal note

Unprocessed.

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
Transfer List to the Papers of A. Douglas Carmichael
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2020 May: Biographical note by Grace Johnson-DeBaufre added.
  • 2021 November 19: Edited by Lana Mason for compliance with DACS single-level optimum requirements.

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