Preface

It is the dream of every library to capture the spirit of an author in its collection of his works. The more complex the character, the fuller the life, the more difficult it becomes to translate back from the written record into a sense of the entire personality responsible for that documentation. And as our civilization evolves ever-improving means of writing, editing, and copying by machine, we begin to lose some of the sense of the individual that endures in the holographic correspondence and notes of an earlier time. Those who will study and use the papers of George Michael Low will have the benefit of superb records meticulously assembled, first by their talented author and then by their dedicated archivists. The papers will reveal the development of an inquiring student into a fine engineer, an engineer into an innovative researcher, a researcher into a superb manager. The papers cannot reveal the subtle aura of confidence and attention and loyalty that contribute so much to charisma and leadership. They cannot capture the light wit and natural charm of the man any more than they can display his fierce, driven dedication to absolute excellence in performance of the men, machines, and organizations for which he was responsible.

It is perhaps redundant to note here once more that without George Low in exactly the places he occupied from 1950 to 1976, the United States would not have been able to land men successfully on the Moon beginning in 1969, nor to enter the new Shuttle era of space travel beginning in 1981. His papers will amply demonstrate that he was far from alone in these contributions; the fundamental operating unit in George Low's NASA experience has always been the team, whether he was member, contributor, or leader. But without him, those extraordinary teams would have lacked the final sparks of ingenuity, those extra quanta of strength that finally meant success.

It was a delight to know George Low and a privilege to work with him during NASA's most trying and triumphant years. May every scholar who turns to these papers for information and knowledge also reserve a share of the inspiration and wisdom that characterized the career of George Michael Low.

 

James C. Fletcher
Administrator
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

 

 

 

Introduction

 

The GEORGE M. LOW PAPERS, 1930-1984, contain the largest extant body of material which George M. Low (1926-1984) created and collected. It appears that during George Low's NASA transfers, he culled from his personal office files those files in which he had a particular interest. He mentions in several instances that he wished to write a book, and was collecting materials for this effort. His collecting habits, however, resulted in numerous files being left behind. Some of these papers were subsequently collected by the Federal Records Center and the NASA History Office. (Brief descriptions of these materials are located in Appendix E.) Those materials which George Low brought to Troy when he assumed the RPI presidency, and papers which his office staff packed up upon his death, formed the collection which was donated by Mrs. Mary R. Low to RPI in October 1986. In November of that year, RPI Archives and Special Collections began a project to organize the collection and produce a guide to its contents.

The Papers currently comprise 62.6 cubic feet of manuscript and audio-visual material, 10 cubic feet of books and reports, and 20.4 cubic feet of artifacts. Every effort was made, in organizing the collection, to reproduce George Low's original basic office file structure. During appraisal of the collection, separations were made from the Papers. These included duplicate materials, routine materials available at other repositories, and the bulk of Low's library (see Appendices C and D for listings). In addition, the bulk of the papers relating to George Low's RPI presidential career and his service on numerous boards and committes were segmented from the collection and, in accordance with Institute policy, have been closed to research use. These restricted materials have not been listed or described in this Guide.

Conservation performed on the Papers included: rehousing materials using acidfree supplies; removing non-archival fasteners, such as rubber bands, rusted staples and paper clips; flattening crushed, folded or rolled papers; duplicating audio tapes; placing photographic material into mylar sleeves; and photocopying extrememly acidic or unstable materials onto acidfree paper (some of the original acidic documents have been retained and may be consulted by researchers; see the listing of box 173 following the collection inventory).

The Guide to the George M. Low Papers has been divided into several major components. The Biographical Note and Chronologies provide an overview of George Low's rich and varied life. The Scope and Content Note provides a textual description of the contents of the collection, and the subsequent box and folder listing of the Papers allows researchers to locate specific items of interest. Also of note are the various appendices, including a listing of acronyms and abbreviations, a photograph index to the Low Papers, separations lists, and a brief description of additional Low materials in other repositories. I would like to thank the following individuals who contributed to the George M. Low Papers project: Martin Collins, of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, who consulted with RPI Archives and Special Collections at the start of the project and furnished useful comments on one of the final drafts of the Guide; Elizabeth C. Stewart and John Dojka, past and present RPI Archivists, and Barbara A. Lockett, Director of RPI Libraries, who directed and administered many aspects of the project; Kristine Waldron, RPI Assistant Archivist, and Shirley M. Molloy, who provided valuable research assistance; my extraordinarily able assistant, Michael Gunderloy, whose efficiency, hard work and humor helped us meet our project deadlines; Mrs. Mary R. Low and Mark S. Low, who donated photographic images to illustrate the Biographical Note and who exhibited such interest and excitement in the project; and the Friends of the Folsom Library, who provided funds to aid in the printing of this Guide.

 

Sylvia B. Kennick
Project Archivist
Institute Archives and Special Collections
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute