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Records of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Tucson, Arizona. Correspondence files of Robert R. McMath, Leo Goldberg, and Orren C. Mohler, reports, minutes, financial and budgetary materials, and technical reports relating to the development of AURA and its predecessor organization, the Advisory Panel for the National Astronomical Observatory, and concerning observatories at Kitt Peak, Arizona, and Cerro Tololo, Chile; also material concerning political developments in Chile; and photographs.

The AURA record group provides a record of an important aspect of the development of modern science, the growth of cooperative scientific associations, and the beginnings of government support for basic research in the post-war period. In addition, the records include much information related to the University of Michigan Astronomy Department and observatories, since several faculty members, including Robert R. McMath, Leo Goldberg, and Orren C. Mohler, have been involved in the growth of AURA. The record group also provides a detailed history of the development of AURA itself, and the observatories at Kitt Peak and at Cerro Tololo, where it touches on scientific and political developments in Chile during the 1960s and 1970s.

The AURA record group includes files collected by three University of Michigan Astronomy Department faculty members who were active in the organization. Robert R. McMath, chairman of the Advisory Panel for the National Astronomical Observatory, first President of AURA, and Chairman of the Board of AURA, was responsible for most of the material dated before his death in 1962. Leo Goldberg, a consultant to the Advisory Panel, is responsible for a correspondence file related to the work of the panel. This file partially duplicates McMath's correspondence file. On the death of McMath, Orren C. Mohler assumed the duties of University of Michigan representative on the AURA Board of Directors and continued to add to the record group. Some of the material dated before McMath's death and all material after that date was collected by Mohler.

The collection includes seven major types of records: historical/informational materials; correspondence; minutes/reports; governance records including papers of the board of directors and the executive committee; committee and subcommittee files; financial/funding records; files about the Kitt Peak and Cerro Tololo observatories; and miscellaneous which includes a few folders of photographs. Correspondence is divided into three groups according to the originators of the files. Within each group some correspondence is arranged chronologically and some by correspondent, but there is considerable overlap between the two sequences. Reports, minutes, and financial records are arranged chronologically.

Donald J. Lewis joined the University of Michigan as a professor of mathematics in 1961. From 1984-1994 he served as the Department of Mathematics chairman. After retiring, Lewis was named professor emeritus by the Board of Regents in June 2000. Materials include: Correspondence, Department of Mathematics records, Professional Activities, Reports and Studies, and Photographs.

The Donald J. Lewis papers consist of correspondence; departmental material; professional studies and reports on mathematic instruction, careers, and women and minorities in math; and photographs, including one of Lewis at the ground breaking of the addition to West Hall (including Patricia Gurin and Homer Neal). The papers consist of five series: Correspondence, Department of Mathematics, Professional Activities, Reports and Studies, and Photographs.

The Gary M. Olson papers largely document the work done at the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University, during the mid-1980s, to create a computer application called the Experimental Research in Electronic Submission (EXPRES). The goal of the work was to create a collaborative, networked application, which would allow researchers - using different hardware and software environments - to electronically share research. The EXPRES application was intended for electronic submission of grant proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The Gary M. Olson papers largely document the work done at the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University, during the mid-1980s, to create a computer application called the Experimental Research in Electronic Submission (EXPRES). The papers do not fully document Olson's career. Rather they give insight a key collaborative project. The papers have been organized into four series: Meetings and Reports; Publicity and Presentations; Publications; and Subject Files.

Detroit, Michigan industrialist and director of the McMath-Hulbert Observatory of University of Michigan (located on Lake Angelus near Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan.). Correspondence concerning astronomy, particularly celestial photography, and the development of the McMath Observatory, financial records, plans for telescope equipment, and printed materials.

The Robert R. McMath papers consist primarily of correspondence concerning astronomy, particularly celestial photography, and the development of the McMath-Hulbert Observatory of the University of Michigan, financial records, plans for telescope equipment, and printed materials. Correspondents include some leading astronomers of the day but the bulk is with his collaborators in construction and operation of the Observatory and with the Heber D. Curtis, chair of the University of Michigan Astronomy Department and university president Alexander Ruthven. Writings include articles by McMath about the equipment and operation of the observatory and reports on specific astronomical observations made there. The papers have been arranged into the following series: Biographical; Correspondence; Miscellaneous; Organizational Affiliations; Writings; McMath-Hulbert Observatory, Lake Angelus; and Research and topical files.