Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Meteorology records
Dates
- 1940 - 1983
Creator
Access note
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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.
Historical note
Meteorological study began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the summer of 1928 in the Department of Aeronautical Engineering under a three-year grant from the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics. Carl-Gustaf Rossby began the study of meteorology and physical oceanography when he was appointed to the faculty of the Department of Aeronautics in 1928. Graduate instruction began in the fall of 1928, and undergraduate instruction was offered from 1944 to 1957.
Meteorology remained a program in the Department of Aeronautical Engineering until 1941, when it became the Department of Meteorology in the School of Engineering, Course XIV. In 1946 the course number changed to XIX. In 1957 the Department moved from the School of Engineering to the School of Science. In 1981 the name of the department became the Department of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, and in 1983 it merged with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and became part of Course XII, as the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences.
Biographical / Historical
The heads of the Department of Meteorology of the Massachusetts Institure of Technology (MIT) were: Sverre Petterssen, 1941-1942; Henry Houghton, executive officer, 1942-1946, and head, 1946-1969; Norman Alton Phillips, 1970-1974; Jule Charney, 1974-1977; Edward Lorenz, 1977-1981; and Peter H. Stone, 1981-1983.
Extent
4.25 Cubic Feet (3 record cartons, 3 manuscript boxes, 1 half manuscript box)
Language of Materials
English
Location
Materials are stored off-site. Advance notice is required for use.
Bibliography
- Harper, Kristine C. Weather by the Numbers: the Genesis of Modern Meteorology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008.
- Wind, war, and weathermen, by Peter Dizikes. MIT News Office, June 7, 2011. http://news.mit.edu/2011/timeline-forecasting-0607
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.
- M.I.T./W.H.O.I Joint Program
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- History Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Meteorology
- academic departments Subject Source: Thesaurus for Use in College and University Archives
- research Subject Source: Thesaurus for Use in College and University Archives
Creator
- Title
- Preliminary Inventory to the Records of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Meteorology, 1940-1983
- Status
- Ready For Review
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
Building 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02139-4307 US
distinctive-collections@mit.edu