This collection documents Gates's personal and professional life. Material is dated from 1910-2016 and includes his student notebooks, personal and professional journals and notebooks, correspondence files, and subject files.
Significant topics in this collection include his presentations to various organizations, such as Sigma Xi chapters; research interests, particularly related to the University of Michigan's Biological Station; professional involvement with organizations such as the Missouri Botanical Society and General Motors; and extracurricular involvement with organizations such as the National Audubon Society and the National Science Foundation.
David Murray Gates (1921-2016) was an ecologist who worked at the University of Michigan as both a professor of botany and director of the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS); an early warner of the dangers of ecological imbalance and climate change; and the creator of the field of biophysical ecology.
Born in Manhattan (Kansas) on May 27, 1921, David M. Gates was adopted by Frank Caleb Gates—a professor who taught at the University of Michigan and Kansas State College—and Margaret Thompson Gates, a kindergarten teacher. He later attended the University of Michigan, where he graduated with a B.S. in Physics in 1942 and, ultimately, his PhD in Physics in 1947. After completing his doctoral studies, Gates taught or served at a variety of institutions, including as a professor at the University of Denver (1947-1955); the Office of Naval Research in London, as "scientific director and liaison officer" (1955-1957); the National Bureau of Standards in Colorado, in multiple positions (1957-1965); director of the Missouri Botanical Garden (1965-1971); and General Motors (circa 1970-1978), where—as "consulting ecologist"—he advised on topics such as GM's environmental impact and compliance with regulations such as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (General Motors Public Policy Committee reports, 1972-1973, 1975-1978, Box 6; Biography, Gates, David M., Box 47, News and Information Services (University of Michigan) Faculty and Staff Files).
In 1971, Gates returned to teach at the University of Michigan, where he worked—until his retirement in 1991—as both a professor of botany and the director of the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS), the mission of which is to "to advance environmental field research, engage students in scientific discovery using ecosystems and their organismal constituents as objects of study, and provide information needed to better understand and sustain natural systems at local through global scales."
In addition to his professional responsibilities, Gates also served in a variety of institutions, such as the National Science Board; lectured prodigiously, including as Sigma Xi's 1963 national lecturer; and authored or co-authored numerous articles and books on topics relating to UMBS and its history, ecology, and biophysics, as exemplified by Biophysical Ecology (1980), Climate Change and its Biological Consequences (1993), and A History of the University of Michigan Biological Station: 1909-2009 (2010). Gates married Marian Penley (1921-2006) in 1944—they had four children, Heather, Julie, Marilyn, and Murray (Marian Francis Penley Gates, 2006, Box 6). He passed away in 2016.
When adding the 2016 accessions to this collection, Project Archivist Steven Gentry changed the collection's title from "David M. Gates student notebooks" to "David M. Gates papers".
Approximately 0.9 linear feet of material from David Gates' correspondence and subject files that document the activities of his father was incorporated into the Frank C. Gates papers.
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