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Adelbert T. Tweedie Papers

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Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Science History Institute Archives. 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

Adelbert T. Tweedie was an American research chemist. He was best known for his work in developing materials for use in the United States' space program. Tweedie earned his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Michigan (1953) and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois (1956). After receiving his Ph.D., he worked as a Research Chemist at Dow Chemical Company's Physical Research Laboratory in Midland, Michigan (1956-1958).

Tweedie first started researching chemicals for space flight applications in 1958, when he was hired by Aerojet-General Corporation. Serving as a Research Scientist (1958-1962), he was involved in Aerojet-General's efforts to develop high-energy solid rocket propellants. In 1962, Tweedie moved to Union Carbide Corporation, where he served as Technical Supervisor of the firm's Rocket Propulsion Project (1962-1964). At Union Carbide, he was involved in the firm's efforts to design solid propellant rockets.

In 1964, Tweedie was hired by General Electric Company's Missile and Space Division, where he enjoyed a notable career that lasted nearly twenty-five years. Over the course of his career with this General Electric division, he served as Manager of Chemical Materials Development (1964-1968), Manager of Materials Development and Applications (1968-1976), Manager of Materials Engineering (1976-1986), and Chief Scientist (1986-1988). During Tweedie's tenure, due to corporate reorganizations, General Electric's Missile and Space Division was subsequently renamed the Space Division in 1969 and the Space Systems Division in 1982.

At General Electric, Tweedie oversaw the development of a number of materials that were used for space flight applications, including flexible encapsulating resins, SMRD 100 low outgassing vibration damping compounds, and ultraviolet resistant coatings. In 1967, he was a member of a General Electric team investigating the causes of the fatal Apollo 1 Launchpad Fire, which identified flammable materials present in the space capsule. He also served as a member of the General Electric Space Division Technological Hazards Review Board.

Tweedie retired from General Electric Company in 1988. After leaving General Electric, he served as Chief Scientist at Devon Associates.

Adelbert T. Tweedie was an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Chemical Society and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was the recipient of General Electric's GE-MSD Paige Award for the Development of Flexible Encapsulating Resins (1964) and the Marquis Who's Who Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award (2018).

Sources

"Adelbert T. Tweedie, Ph.D., Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who," Adelbert Tweedie, Ph.D., Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who (24-7pressrelease.com).

Adelbert T. Tweedie Papers, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Adelbert T. Tweedie Papers contain the professional and personal papers of American research chemist Adelbert T. Tweedie. The materials in this collection mainly concern various projects Tweedie worked on at General Electric Company's Missile and Space Division and the division's successors. The collection is arranged into the following two series:

  1. General Electric Company Proposals
  2. Miscellaneous Files

The Adelbert T. Tweedie Papers were donated to the Science History Institute by Adelbert T. Tweedie in 2019.

The Adelbert T. Tweedie Papers were processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig in May 2022.

Publisher
Science History Institute Archives
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid created and encoded into EAD by Kenton G. Jaehnig.
Finding Aid Date
2022
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes and the collection is open to the public.

Use Restrictions

The Science History Institute holds copyright to the Adelbert T. Tweedie Papers. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Collection Inventory

Series Description

Arranged chronologically by date, this series contains twenty-seven General Electric Company proposals that were collected and maintained by Adelbert T. Tweedie. The proposals preserved in this series are for projects Tweedie worked on at General Electric Company's Missile and Space Division and the division's successors between 1966 and 1986.

A majority of the proposals in this series were prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Air Force. A handful of proposals for other federal government agencies, including the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), the National Science Foundation, and the Energy Research and Development Administration are also preserved here.

A large majority of the proposals in this series concern materials developed for space flight applications. A handful of proposals for materials developed for other purposes, including medical applications, energy storage, and energy generation are preserved here as well.

A Proposal for a Study on Packaging and Preservation of Space Vehicle Hardware - Volume I, Technical Proposal - Prepared for George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, Alabama, 1966 January 21.
Box 1 Folder 1
A Proposal for the Investigation of Toxicity of Materials for Biological Experimentation, 1966 April 14.
Box 1 Folder 2
Proposal For The Design, Development, and Fabrication of A Functional Adhesive Bonding Repair Experiment To Be Performed During Space Flight - Volume I, Technical and Business Management Proposal - Prepared for George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, Alabama, 1966 August 12.
Box 1 Folder 3
Proposal for Experimental Development of Explosives-Actuated Space Tools, Prepared for George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, Alabama, 1966 December 21.
Box 1 Folder 4
A Proposal for Thermal Control Coating Materials Degrading Mechanisms - Volume I, Technical, Prepared for Air Force Materials Laboratory, Department of the Air Force Headquarters Systems Engineering Group, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 1967 February 6.
Box 1 Folder 5
Materials Compatible with Blood - Volume I, Technical, Prepared for National Heart Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Bethesda, Maryland, 1967 April 3.
Box 1 Folder 6
A Proposal for Testing of Dielectric Materials and Application Techniques in Electronic Packaging - Volume I, Technical Proposal - Prepared for George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, Alabama, 1967 October 27.
Box 1 Folder 7
A Proposal for Study of Materials Used in Spacecraft for Their Ability to Support Growth of and/or To Kill Microorganisms - Volume I, Technical Proposal, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, Alabama, 1968 May 17.
Box 1 Folder 8
A Proposal for A Study of Low Energy Proton Effects on Solar Cell Cover Glasses - Volume I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, 1968 June 10.
Box 1 Folder 9
A Proposal for A Study of Low Energy Proton Effects on Solar Cell Cover Glasses - Volume I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, 1968 June 10.
Box 1 Folder 10
A Proposal for Study of Space-Stable, Low Solar Absorptance Thermal Control Coatings - Volume I, Technical and Management, Prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Langley Research Center, Langley Station, Hampton, Virginia, 1968 July 1.
Box 1 Folder 11
A Proposal For A Study of Tailored Radiant Films and Thermal Control Coatings - Volume I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Division, Air Force Materials Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 1968 September 16.
Box 1 Folder 12
UV & IR Transparent Polymeric Materials for Use as Binders in the Tailored Radiant Films - Volume 1, Technical Proposal, Prepared for Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 1968 September 27.
Box 1 Folder 13
A Proposal For Particulate Radiation Tests on Thermal Control Materials - Volume I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 1969 February 28.
Box 1 Folder 14
A Proposal For A Cadmium Sulfide Film Deposition Study - Supplement to Exhibit I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, 1969 April 23.
Box 1 Folder 15
Proposal for Central Waste Processing System - Technical Proposal, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas, 1972 January 17.
Box 1 Folder 16
Two-Component Thermal Storage Material, A-2 Solar Energy Storage Subsystems, Submitted to the National Science Foundation, 1973 November 28.
Box 1 Folder 17
A Proposal for the Development of Thermal Energy Storage Materials for Industrial Process Waste Heat, Prepared for Energy Research and Development Administration, Washington, D.C., 1976 February 2.
Box 1 Folder 18
Exploratory Development of Transparent Antistatic Satellite Materials - Volume I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for United States Air Force, Air Force Systems Command, Aeronautical Systems Division/PPMRB, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 1976 February 17.
Box 1 Folder 19
A Proposal for the Design, Fabrication, and Test Evaluation of A 150 Foot Wind Turbine Rotor Blade - Technical and Management Proposal, 1976 November 29.
Box 1 Folder 20
A Proposal for Exploratory Development on Low Outgassing Adhesives - Volume I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for United States Air Force, Air Force Systems Command, Aeronautical Systems Division/PPMRB, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 1977 May 20.
Box 1 Folder 21
A Proposal for A Program to Investigate the Adhesive Bonding of FEP-Teflon to Two Mil Thick Solar Cells - Volume I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, 1978 April 17.
Box 1 Folder 22
A Proposal for Characterization of the Contaminant Generation Characteristics of Satellite Materials - Volume I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for United States Air Force, Air Force Materials Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 1981 September 3.
Box 1 Folder 23
Fracture Reports of Reinforced Polymers for Space Use, 1982 May 7.
Box 1 Folder 24
Surface Effects Evaluation - Volume I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for Department of the Air Force, Air Force Flight Test Center (PKRA), Edwards Air Force Base, California, 1983 September 9.
Box 1 Folder 25
A Proposal for Contamination Detection, Prevention, and Removal - Volume I, Technical Proposal, Prepared for United States Air Force, Rome Air Development Center, Griffiss Air Force Base, New York, 1985 April 11.
Box 1 Folder 26
A Proposal for Highly Damped Metal Matrix Composites, Fundamental Research in the Areas of Metal Matrix Composite Technology and Advanced Composites for Navy Satellite Systems - Volume 1, Technical Proposal, 1986 April 30.
Box 1 Folder 27

Series Description

Arranged alphabetically by subject, this series contains Adelbert T. Tweedie's Miscellaneous Files. The files in this series contain a limited amount of information regarding Tweedie's professional career, the work and accomplishments of General Electric Company's Missile and Space Division and the division's successors, and Tweedie's opinions on the state of research and development at Union Carbide Corporation during his tenure there. The contents of the Miscellaneous Files consist of two memos, two manuscripts, and a report.

General Electric Company - "Materials Engineering, Present Functions & Significant Contributions, A 20 Years Summary" - Memo by Adelbert T. Tweedie, 1983 April 25.
Box 1 Folder 28
General Electric Company - "Materials Engineering, Present Functions & Significant Contributions, A 20 Years Summary" - Report by Adelbert T. Tweedie, 1983 April 25.
Box 1 Folder 29
Tweedie, Adelbert T. - "Art and Spirituality in Applied Science and Engineering" - Manuscript, 1992 April 5.
Box 1 Folder 30
Tweedie, Adelbert T. - "What Did A Chemist Do in the Space Business?" - Manuscript, 2016.
Box 1 Folder 31
Union Carbide Chemicals Company - "Organization for Research and Development at Carbide" - Memo by Adelbert T. Tweedie, 1964 February 11.
Box 1 Folder 32

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