Faculty Records (University Of Maine). Professor Douglass (Irwin B.) Records

Record Group

Identifier: UA RG 0011-010

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The records mainly contain textual information created and curated by scholar, a teacher, researcher and humorist Irwin Douglass who was a faculty member in the Chemistry Department at the University of Maine and a widely-known specialist in organosulfur chemistry and the chemistry of wood pulp and pulp manufacture. The record group mostly contains textual information during Douglass's tenure at the University of Maine, but there are also some photographs of events Douglass attended.

The record series Subject Records contains material on a range of subjects related to chemistry and higher education.

The record series Pulp & Paper Research Records contains correspondence, memorandums, reports, and publications related to research carried out by Professor Douglass and colleagues on pulp and paper chemical processes including work related to odor control.

The record series Potato Starch Research Records contains correspondence with research grant bodies and potato manufacturers, memorandums, reports, notes, and publications related to research carried out by Professor Douglass and colleagues on chemical processes related to the extraction of potato starch and the manufacture of potato products.

The record series Administrative Records contains reports, meeting minutes, and correspondence related to the University of Maine Chemistry Department and various University of Maine committees that Professor Douglass served on. Also, contains request for recommendations received by Professor Douglass.

The record series Biographical Records mostly contains correspondence regarding Professor Douglass’s consulting services and referee activity, with former students and fans, sabbatical leave at University of California Los Angeles, his membership in Sigma XI, and speaking engagements.

Dates

Creation: 1935-1974
Creation: Majority of material found within 1950-1960

Creator

Douglass, Irwin (Person)

Restrictions on Access

Kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice required for retrieval.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Information on literary rights available in the repository.

Biographical Note

Irwin Bruce Douglass was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1904 and died in Vermont in 1998. He received a B.S. degree in 1926 and an honorary D.Sc. degree in 1958 from Monmouth College, Illinois, and a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of Kansas in 1932. He taught in colleges in North Dakota and Montana before becoming a professor of chemistry at the University of Maine at Orono in 1940. While at the University of Maine he served on a number of committess including the Faculty Council and Committee on Religious Affairs. Douglass carried out a number of studies into potato starch and the chemical process (and pollution) involved in the pulp and paper industry processes. In 1952, Douglass was granted a leave of absence to conduct research on potato starch for the Maine Institute of Potato Starch Manufacturers. He retired in 1972 and moved to Vermont.

Extent

3 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The Records Group is broken down intellectually into the following record series: 1. Subject Records, 2. Pulp & Paper Research Records, 3. Potato Starch Research Records, 4. Administrative Records, and 5. Biographical Records. Physically the boxes are arranged by subject. File names and dates were added and material was separated and divided into multiple sub-folders where necessary. Material still needs to be rehoused into archival quality storage.

Box numbers have changed:

Old Box #216 (New Box #1)
Old Box #217 (New Box #2)
Old Box #218 (New Box #3)

Accruals

Accruals of records related to Professor Douglass are not anticipated.

General

Formerly SpC MS 0144.

Processing Information

Processed by Matthew Revitt, November 2018, Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department. Processing involved a collection survey and intellectual arrangement into series and the creation of this finding aid. Material still needs to be rehoused into appropriate archival folders and the boxes and folders numbered and titled using information from ArchivesSpace.