Paul E. Gray papers

This collection documents the personal and professional activities of Paul Edward Gray, Chair of the MIT Corporation, MIT president, MIT Chancellor, Professor of Electrical Engineering, and member of the Class of 1954.

The collection spans from 1953 to 2010, from his time as an undergraduate through his retirement. The bulk of the material in this collection documents Gray’s time as a student and as a member of the MIT faculty. Included are research notebooks, theses, publications, course notes, speeches, photographs, correspondence, and biographical materials. His involvement with MIT committees, programs, and the Alumni Association is also included. Gray's official MIT records form four separate collections in the Institute Archives: AC 180, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Office of the President; AC 397, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Office of the President and Chancellor; AC 55, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Office of the Associate Provost; and AC 438, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Office of the Chair of the Corporation. The collection is arranged into 3 series: Biographical Information and Correspondence, Speeches and Remarks, and Teaching Materials.

Series 1, Biographical Information and Correspondence comprises the correspondence, subject files, and research files of Paul Gray. Box 1 includes curricula vitae, biographical sketches, profiles, and interviews. Also included are biographical entries to various Who’s Who publications. Boxes 1 and 2 contain calendars, including planning calendars kept by Gray from 1963 to 1971. The calendars document the day to day activities of Gray as assistant professor through the first year he worked as chancellor. Calendars include address books, appointments, and notes covering both his personal and professional activities. Calendars dating after 1971 can be found in Gray's official MIT records as chancellor (AC 397), as president (AC180), and as chair of the Corporation (AC 438).

Boxes 2, 3, and 4 contain correspondence filed chronologically by Gray from 1968 to 2008. It primarily comprises personal correspondence, though some professional correspondence is interfiled. Additional correspondence can be found in boxes 5 to 9.

Boxes 5 to 9 consist of correspondence and subject files documenting Gray’s outside activities, interactions with colleagues, and his involvement with the Alumni Association. Materials in boxes 5-8 span 1967 to 2012, with the majority of the materials being generated after 1997. Boxes 7 to 9 contain materials generated by Paul Gray in the course of official MIT duties. While materials in this group date from 1980 to 2011, the bulk of these files were generated after Gray stepped down as Chair of the MIT Corporation in 1997. The contents of the boxes include correspondence with faculty and staff, and his involvement with committees. Boxes 5 to 9 are arranged with groupings generated by Gray.

Materials located in boxes 10 to 13 span from 1953 to 2010 and cover two distinct areas of research records of Paul Gray. Early materials in this grouping date from between 1953 and 1968 and focus on electrical engineering. The earliest materials date to Gray’s time as a student and include research notebooks, data, theses, and a draft of his doctoral dissertation. Other materials from this time period include research notes for the Semiconductor Electronics Education Committee (SEEC), reports, reference manuals, and publications. Later writings included in this series, dating 1996 to 2010, comprise writings on administration and biographies of MIT faculty and administrators. Material is arranged roughly chronologically by project.

Boxes 14 and 15 contain photographs kept by Gray as well as individual photographs kept in his office. The bulk of material consists of professional portraits of Paul and Priscilla Gray. Also included are photographs from events attended by Gray and group photographs of MIT programs that Gray was involved with.

Series 2, Speeches and Remarks, consists of six boxes of speaking notes, transcripts, correspondence, and background materials relating to public statements and speeches made by Gray from 1964 to 2012. A limited number of recordings of events and lectures also appear in this series, including audio cassettes, DVDs, and VHS cassettes. Events covered in this series include faculty meetings, reports, memorial services, award ceremonies, seminars, and lectures for a wide variety of audiences both at MIT and other organizations. Few speeches appear in this collection from between 1979 and 1997, speeches from this time can be found in Paul Gray’s official MIT records.

Series 3, Teaching Materials, documents Gray’s career as a professor of engineering. Material in eleven boxes spanning the years 1957 to 2007, this series includes materials from before and after Gray’s time in administration. During Gray’s time as an administrator, 1971 to 1997, there is a gap in teaching records (although he always continued as a faculty advisor). Most material is course notes written by Gray, it also includes course notes by other professors utilized by Gray, title pages of theses he supervised, and correspondence. Among the courses documented is Principles of Transistors (6.34) an elective course first presented by Paul Gray in 1962. The course was developed as part of Gray’s work with the Semiconductor Electronics Education Committee. Additional course notes from Gray’s early career include Electronic Control and Measurement (6.20), Introductory Circuit Theory (6.01), Electronic Devices and Circuits (6.02), Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering (6.18), and a Lowell Institute course in transistors. Also included is material from a Freshman Advising Seminar entitled “What Can America and Japan Learn from Each Other?” (6.A11), which Gray taught during his time as Chair of the Corporation. Later materials date after Gray’s return to full-time teaching in 1997, which include course notes for Circuits and Electronics (6.002), Signals and Systems (6.003), and Microelectronic Devices and Circuits (6.012).