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Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia Division of Environmental Research records
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Held at: Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia [Contact Us]1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA, 19103
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The Division of Environmental Research (DER) was established as a department of the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1947 by botanist and limnologist, Dr. Ruth Patrick. Originally called the Department of Limnology, the department was envisioned by Patrick as a multidisciplinary team of scientists devotd to helping protect the quality of the environment through the analysis and study of natural water systems. The primary goals of the Division were to, "understand aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, including the effects of natural processes and human activities; apply this knowledge to assess ecosystems health and developing watershed-level strategies for enhancing environmental quality; and work with diverse stakeholders, including government, community groups, industry and environmental organizations to improve environmental stewardship" (ansp.org). Not only was environmental research a novel idea for the time, but the multidisciplinary nature of the research was also innovative.
Division of Environmental Research limnologists discovered that certain single-celled algae, known as diatoms, are one of the most useful indicators of water quality. There are more than 1,200 different species of diatom, each with its own specific water quality tolerances. In 1954, Patrick invented a device that could systematically sample and analyze diatoms, called a diatometer.
For many years the Academy managed three research facilities as part of the Division of Environmental Research. In 1966, a second center for watershed research was founded, the Stroud Water Research Center located in Avondale Pennsylvania with W.B. Dixon Stroud and Joan Stroud. In 1999, the Stroud Water Research Center became independent from the Academy. In 1967, the Academy founded a third center called the Benedict Estuarine Research Laboratory, which became the Estuarine Research Laboratory in 1994 and then the Morgan State University Estuarine Research Center in 2004. This center is no longer affiliated with the Academy.
The Division of Environmental Science is a division under the Department of Limnology and Ecology. The Vice President of the Department was often, but not always also the Director of the DER. The Director of the Division of Environmental Science was responsible for all aspects of operation, including program, financial, and general management. Patrick retired as Vice President and Director in 1973, and the center was renamed in her honor in 1983.
Louis E. "Sandy" Sage did not take over directly from Patrick, however, he worked at the Academy from 1972 until his resignation in 1995. Throughout his time at the Academy he held several positions, Research Curator, Director of the Benedict Estuarine Research Laboratory, Director of Division of Environmental Research and Vice President of Environmental Science.
The Division of Environmental Research perform studies under contract and through federally funded grants. The Vice President or the Project Manager submit proposals to the sponsor outlining the details of the project. Many studies were privately funded by various companies to perform research on the water surrounding a particular plant or proposed new work site. A project team composed of scientists from different fields analyzes the area according to the proposed specifications and provides the sponsor with a report of the findings.
Bibliography:
Academy of Natural Sciences Website: “About the Academy, History”: http://www.ansp.org/
This collection documents the activities of the Division of Environmental Research (DER) between the years 1952 and 1995. The bulk of the collection consists of raw data collected at various locations for research projects sponsored by private corporations, such as Potomac Electric Power Company and Sun Oil Company. The majority of the remaining portion of the collection consists of the papers of DER Director and Vice President Louis E. Sage. This collection also includes a small body of Dr. Ruth Patrick’s working files from her tenure as Director and Vice President, as well as publications related to environmental research. This collection is divided into five series: "Louis E. Sage papers," "Ruth Patrick papers," "Chemistry data," "Research publications," and "Academy publications." Due to the complex scientific nature of the records, the original order of the collection material has been preserved.
The first series in this collection is the “Louis E. Sage papers,” created by Dr. Sage in his official capacity of Director and Vice President of the DER between the years 1972 and 1995. The series has been divided into four subseries; "Marketing and contracts," "Sponsored projects papers," "Chemistry data," and “Internal procedure papers." The first subseries, “Marketing and contacts,” includes correspondence between Dr. Sage and a variety of his corporate and government contacts. Much of the correspondence mentions DER projects sponsored by the various corporate entities, but does not provide a detailed description of what these projects entailed. This subseries is useful for researching how the DER developed and maintained relationships with the various entities that sponsored DER research projects. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by organization title. The second subseries, “Sponsored projects,” contains correspondence specific to certain projects. These papers provide a general sense of what each project was, but do not provide much information on the findings of these projects. This subseries compliments the “Chemistry data” series, as it demonstrates the administrative interaction of the same projects found in the “Chemistry data” series. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by project name. The project names found in this subseries are the familiar names that Sage used, and are occasionally different from the official project names. The “Internal procedures” subseries contains a collection of blank operational forms used within the DER, such as accident report forms, expense report forms, and professional activity report evaluation forms. These sets of blank forms provide an understanding of the operational procedures that have been followed at DER from the late 1970s to 1995. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by form title. The final portion of the “Louis E. Sage papers” series is the “Personnel files” subseries. This subseries contains a collection of employee evaluations, employee promotion reviews and information on employee salaries. Because of the age and sensitive nature of this material, access to this subseries is restricted until the year 2030.
The second series of this collection is the “Ruth Patrick papers.” This series is very similar to the “Sponsored projects” found in the “Louis E. Sage papers” series. This series contains administrative correspondence dating from between 1956 and 1989 regarding various sponsored projects of the DER. These files were created by Dr. Patrick, and demonstrate the professional relationship she fostered between DER and the DuPont Company and other corporations. The series is arranged alphabetically by project title.
The “Chemistry data” series is the largest portion of the collection, and contains material dating from 1956 to 1985. The series is divided into four subseries: "Working files," "Sponsored projects raw data," "Guadalupe," and "Chalk Point." “Working files” is the first subseries. This subseries contains files on various sponsored projects of the DER. The files include specific information about project development, contract development, project strategies and report composition. These files also include some field notes and raw data within the context of project management and report composition. The original order of this subseries has been maintained. The “Sponsored projects raw data” subseries contains raw data specific to each individual project. The majority of the papers in this subseries are official “Chemical Analysis Data Sheets,” although these files also contain many handwritten field notes as well, demonstrating the activities and findings of the DER project teams between the years 1968 and 1977. The files are arranged alphabetically by project title. The “Guadalupe” and “Chalk Point” subseries both contain information specific to these two projects respectively. These two projects are, therefore, the best documented in the collection. Original order has been maintained for both subseries.
The “Research publications” series contains published material that resulted from the findings of the scientific investigations documented in the sponsored projects files between the years 1948 and 1982. This series also contains Limnology Department Annual Reports and newspaper clippings that chronicle DER activities in various parts of the United States. The material in this series presents the chemistry data contained throughout the collection in a way that is dissociated from the projects. The original order of this series has been preserved.
The “Academy publications” series contains publications from between 1973 and 1993 that describe both the internal and public activities of the Academy of Natural Sciences (ANSP) Limnology Department. These include procedural manuals, project proposals, research reports and the proceedings of various symposiums on environmental studies hosted by the ANSP. The materials in this series demonstrate the public countenance of the DER. The series is arranged by publication date.
Transferred from the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia Division of Environmental Research to the Archives, August 1, 2000.
The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.
This collection was minimally processed in 2009-2011, as part of an experimental project conducted under the auspices of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries to help eliminate processing backlog in Philadelphia repositories. A minimally processed collection is one processed at a less intensive rate than traditionally thought necessary to make a collection ready for use by researchers. When citing sources from this collection, researchers are advised to defer to folder titles provided in the finding aid rather than those provided on the physical folder.
Employing processing strategies outlined in Mark Greene's and Dennis Meissner's 2005 article, More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Processing Approaches to Deal With Late 20th-Century Collections, the project team tested the limits of minimal processing on collections of all types and ages, in 23 Philadelphia area repositories. A primary goal of the project, the team processed at an average rate of 2-3 hours per linear foot of records, a fraction of the time ordinarily reserved for the arrangement and description of collections. Among other time saving strategies, the project team did not extensively review the content of the collections, replace acidic folders or complete any preservation work.
People
Organization
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Dept. of Limnology.
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Division of Environmental Research.
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
- Benedict Estuarine Research Laboratory.
- E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company.
- Morgan State University. Estuarine Research Center.
- Potomac Electric Power Company.
- Shell Oil Company.
- Stroud Research Center.
- Sun Oil Company.
Subject
Place
Occupation
- Publisher
- Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Laurie Rizzo and Eric Rosenzweig
- Sponsor
- The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.
- Access Restrictions
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This collection is open for research use. There is one series that is restricted for use until 2030.
- Use Restrictions
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Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Archives with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.