David Gordon Wilson personal archives

The David Gordon Wilson personal archives documents Wilson's career. It consists of seven series: Correspondence, Course Materials, MIT Records, Engineering Coalition of Schools for Excellence in Education and Leadership (ECSEL), Research and Subject Files, Anti-Smoking, and Civic Engagement and Advocacy.

Series one includes correspondence with publishers, colleagues, and students.

Series two includes lecture notes, exams and other course materials.relating to courses....

Series three includes MIT records such as committee records, personel records (relating to tenure, retirement), and work with MIT programs and offices such as the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science Internship Program and the Office of Minority Education of which Wilson was appointed as Interim Director and served from fall of 1994 to February 1, 1995.

Series four documents David Gordon Wilson's involvement with the Engineering Coalition of Schools for Excellence in Education and Leadership (ECSEL). ECSEL is a coalition of seven schools and colleges of engineering engaged in an effort to renew undergraduate engineering education through the integration of design into the curriculum to make the engineering profession more attractive to a broader spectrum of youth, including women and minorities. Wilson was MIT's principal investigator for ECSEL during the 1990s, and the collection includes proposals, budgets, evaluations, reports, plans, and assessments of the ECSEL program.

Series five includes research and subject files pertaining to publications, grant-funded projects, patents, and conferences. Some of the subjects included are accidents, bicycle safety, highway and land-use economics, human-powered vehicles, People to people mechanical engineering transportation program in China, Massachusetts Department of Transportation reports and Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority Special Commission reports, recumbent vehicles, Sea Grant proposals, Technical planning program Egypt reports, and turbines.

Series six, Anti-Smoking, documents Wilson's involvement in anti-smoking groups both on the MIT campus and in the greater Boston area. In 1972 he founded the New England branch of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). This group was later called MASH (Massachusetts Action on Smoking and Health) and then Mass GASP (Group Against Smoking Pollution). At MIT, Wilson passed out anti-smoking literature on campus and collected letters from students and staff on the negative affects of smoking. He was involved in many Cambridge area campaigns for increased rights for non-smokers in public places including restaurants, public transportation, and on airlines and in hospitals. He resigned from his work with Mass GASP in 1985.

Series seven includes civic engagment activities that Wilson participated in, mostly involving his interest in bicycling.