W. Harry Vaughan
Encyclopedia
William Harry Vaughan, Jr. (born February 9, 1900) was a professor of ceramic engineering
at the Georgia School of Technology
and the founder and first director of what is now the Georgia Tech Research Institute
.
in 1923. While at Georgia Tech, Vaughan was a member of Phi Kappa Phi
and Pi Delta Epsilon; a contributor to The Technique
in 1918 and 1919; Assistant Editor (1922) and Editor-in-Chief (1923) of the Blue Print
; Captain, R.O.T.C; and President, Emerson Chemical Society. Vaughan subsequently earned a Master of Science
in ceramic engineering
from the University of Illinois
in 1925.
Vaughan returned to Georgia Tech and became an assistant professor of ceramic engineering
, the second faculty member in that department (the first bring Professor Arthur V. Henry). The Ceramic Engineering Department is a distant predecessor to Georgia Tech's modern School of Materials Science and Engineering in the Georgia Tech College of Engineering
. In Spring 1935, Vaughan was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa
.
started a Research Club at Tech that met once a month. One of the monthly subjects, proposed by Vaughan, was a collection of issues related to Tech, such as library development, and the development of a state engineering station. This group investigated the forty existing engineering experiments at universities around the country, and the report was compiled by Harold Bunger
, Montgomery Knight, and Vaughan in December 1929. Their report noted that several similar organizations had been opened across the country at other engineering schools and were successful in local economic development
.
In 1933, S. V. Sanford, president of the University of Georgia, proposed that a "technical research activity" be established at Tech in order to boost the state's struggling economy in the midst of the Great Depression
. President Marion L. Brittain
and Dean William Vernon Skiles
asked for and examined the Research Club's 1929 report, and moved to create such an organization. $5,000 in funds ($ today) were allocated directly from the Georgia Board of Regents
and the station started operation on July 1, 1934.
Also in 1939, Vaughan became the director of the School of Ceramic Engineering, which raised his salary to $4,200 ($ today). He was the director of the station until 1940, when he accepted a higher-paying job as head of the Regional Products Research Division of the Tennessee Valley Authority
and was replaced at EES by Harold Bunger
(the first chairman of Georgia Tech's chemical engineering department). The ceramics department was subsequently (but temporarily) discontinued due to World War II
, and all of the current students found wartime employment. The department would be reincarnated after the war under the guidance of Lane Mitchell
.
Ceramic engineering
Ceramic engineering is the science and technology of creating objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials. This is done either by the action of heat, or at lower temperatures using precipitation reactions from high purity chemical solutions...
at the Georgia School of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
and the founder and first director of what is now the Georgia Tech Research Institute
Georgia Tech Research Institute
The Georgia Tech Research Institute is the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
.
Education
Vaughan graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering chemistryChemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
in 1923. While at Georgia Tech, Vaughan was a member of Phi Kappa Phi
Phi Kappa Phi
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society established 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study and to promote the "unity and democracy of education"...
and Pi Delta Epsilon; a contributor to The Technique
The Technique
The Technique, also known as the "Nique," is the official student newspaper of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia and has referred to itself as "the South's liveliest college newspaper" since 1945...
in 1918 and 1919; Assistant Editor (1922) and Editor-in-Chief (1923) of the Blue Print
Blueprint (yearbook)
Blueprint is Georgia Tech's official student yearbook. It was established in 1908 and is the second oldest student organization on campus. Their staff meets Thursday nights at 7 pm in Room 137 of the Student Services Building.-History:...
; Captain, R.O.T.C; and President, Emerson Chemical Society. Vaughan subsequently earned a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in ceramic engineering
Ceramic engineering
Ceramic engineering is the science and technology of creating objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials. This is done either by the action of heat, or at lower temperatures using precipitation reactions from high purity chemical solutions...
from the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
in 1925.
Career
Ceramic engineering
Ceramic engineering is the science and technology of creating objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials. This is done either by the action of heat, or at lower temperatures using precipitation reactions from high purity chemical solutions...
, the second faculty member in that department (the first bring Professor Arthur V. Henry). The Ceramic Engineering Department is a distant predecessor to Georgia Tech's modern School of Materials Science and Engineering in the Georgia Tech College of Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology College of Engineering
The College of Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technologyprovides formal education and research in more than 10 fields of engineering, including:...
. In Spring 1935, Vaughan was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa, or ΟΔΚ, also known as The Circle, or more commonly ODK, is a national leadership honor society. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, by 15 student and faculty leaders. Chapters, known as Circles, are located on over 300...
.
Establishment of GTRI
In 1929, some Georgia Tech faculty members belonging to Sigma XiSigma Xi
Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit honor society which was founded in 1886 at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a handful of graduate students. Members elect others on the basis of their research achievements or potential...
started a Research Club at Tech that met once a month. One of the monthly subjects, proposed by Vaughan, was a collection of issues related to Tech, such as library development, and the development of a state engineering station. This group investigated the forty existing engineering experiments at universities around the country, and the report was compiled by Harold Bunger
Harold Bunger
Harold Alan Bunger was the head of Georgia Tech's chemistry department and the director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1940 until his death in 1941....
, Montgomery Knight, and Vaughan in December 1929. Their report noted that several similar organizations had been opened across the country at other engineering schools and were successful in local economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
.
In 1933, S. V. Sanford, president of the University of Georgia, proposed that a "technical research activity" be established at Tech in order to boost the state's struggling economy in the midst of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. President Marion L. Brittain
Marion L. Brittain
Marion Luther Brittain, Sr. was an American academic administrator and president of the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1922 to 1944. Brittain was born in Georgia and, aside from a brief stint at the University of Chicago for graduate school, spent most of his life serving the educational...
and Dean William Vernon Skiles
William Vernon Skiles
William Vernon Skiles was a professor of mathematics and dean at the Georgia Institute of Technology...
asked for and examined the Research Club's 1929 report, and moved to create such an organization. $5,000 in funds ($ today) were allocated directly from the Georgia Board of Regents
Georgia Board of Regents
The Georgia Board of Regents oversees the University System of Georgia as part of the state government of Georgia in the United States. The University System of Georgia is composed of all state public institutions of higher education.-History:...
and the station started operation on July 1, 1934.
Director of GTRI
Vaughan was selected as the acting director of the Engineering Experiment Station in April 1934, and hired 13 part-time faculty and a few graduate assistants. Vaughan was instrumental in securing GTRI's first permanent building, known then as the Research Building but later expanded and renamed the Thomas Hinman Research Building.Also in 1939, Vaughan became the director of the School of Ceramic Engineering, which raised his salary to $4,200 ($ today). He was the director of the station until 1940, when he accepted a higher-paying job as head of the Regional Products Research Division of the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
and was replaced at EES by Harold Bunger
Harold Bunger
Harold Alan Bunger was the head of Georgia Tech's chemistry department and the director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1940 until his death in 1941....
(the first chairman of Georgia Tech's chemical engineering department). The ceramics department was subsequently (but temporarily) discontinued due to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and all of the current students found wartime employment. The department would be reincarnated after the war under the guidance of Lane Mitchell
Lane Mitchell
Lane Mitchell was a ceramic engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the head of the Department of Ceramic Engineering there, now known as Georgia Tech's School of Materials Science and Engineering.-Education:Born in Atlanta, Mitchell attended the Georgia Institute of Technology ,...
.