American Academy of Underwater Sciences Records

Finding aid prepared by Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, California, 92093-0175
858-534-2533
spcoll@ucsd.edu
Copyright 2015


Descriptive Summary

Title: American Academy of Underwater Sciences Records
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0773
Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, California, 92093-0175
Languages: English
Physical Description: 1.6 Linear feet (4 archives boxes)
Date: 1956-2015
Abstract: Records of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS), including extensive documentation of the organization's efforts to exempt scientific diving from OSHA commerical diving regulations in the early 1980s, and board meeting minutes.
Creator: American Academy of Underwater Sciences.

OFF-SITE STORAGE

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.

Acquisition Information

Acquired 2015.

Preferred Citation

American Academy of Underwater Sciences Records, MSS 773. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.

Publication Rights

Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.

Administrative History

The mission of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) is to facilitate the development of safe and productive scientific divers through education, research, advocacy, and the advancement of standards for scientific diving practices, certifications, and operations. The AAUS was officially chartered in California in 1983 by individuals and organizations involved in the effort to obtain the scientific diving exemption from OSHA commercial diving standards. In the years since, the AAUS has expanded from the original six organizational members to more than 130 organizational members and over 1100 individual members. Organizational membership includes colleges and universities, government agencies, museums and aquaria, environmental and archaeological consulting firms, and community science groups sharing a common thread of the use of diving as a research tool and a commitment to the health and safety of scientific divers. AAUS produces consensual standards for the training and certification of scientific divers and the operation of scientific diving programs, maintains statistics detailing scientific diving activities and incident rates, conducts annual symposia and topical workshops, and directly supports student research.
Text from http://www.aaus.org/about.

Scope and Content of Collection

Records of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS), including extensive documentation of the organization's efforts to exempt scientific diving from OSHA commerical diving regulations in the early 1980s, and board meeting minutes.
Arranged in three series: Series 1) OSHA EXEMPTION; Series 2) ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS; Series 3) DIVING HISTORY MATERIALS.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

American Academy of Underwater Sciences. -- Archives
Scuba diving
Scuba diving -- Safety measures

 

OSHA EXEMPTION

 

United Bro. of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Afl-Cio v. U.S. Dept. Of Labor, OSHA (82-2509)

Box 1, Folder 1

On petition to review the Secretary of Labor's amendment to his OSHA standards for commercial diving operations - Brief for the Secretary of Labor, and Addenda undated

Box 1, Folder 2

Petition for review of an amendment to an OSHA standard - Brief for petitioner undated

Box 1, Folder 3

AAUS motion for leave of Court to appear as Amicus Curiae in support of the U.S. Dept. of Labor 1983 July

Box 1, Folder 4

Petition for review of an order 1984 April

Box 1, Folder 5

On petition for review of an amendment to a standard of OSHA - Reply brief for petitioner undated

Box 1, Folder 6

Judgement 1984 December 28

Box 1, Folder 7-10

AAUS compilation of documents relative to diving regulation 1976-1984

Box 2, Folder 1

Federal Register - Commercial diving standards 1976-1978

Box 2, Folder 2

Statement of the United Bro. of Carpenters and Joiners of America: The need to improve diving health and safety regulations in the United States 1981 November 2

Box 2, Folder 3

Statement of Barry J. White - Informal public hearing on educational and scientific diving 1982 June 29

Box 2, Folder 4-5

Diving regulations, Department of Labor Hearings, parts 1-2. Washington, D.C. 1982 June 29-30

Box 2, Folder 6-8

Diving regulations, Department of Labor Hearings, parts 1-3. Los Angeles 1982 July 7-9

 

Letters and affidavits supporting proposed exemption

Box 2, Folder 9

1977-1983

Box 3, Folder 1

1984 June-August

Box 3, Folder 2

Phillip Stuart-Sharkey and Lloyd Austin. "Update on the federal regulation of scientific diving" 1985

Box 3, Folder 3

Michael Lang and John M. Duffy. "Scientific diving in the USA" 1985

 

ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS

Box 3, Folder 4

Bylaws undated

Box 3, Folder 5-17

Annual Conferences 1981-1994

Box 3, Folder 18-19

Tax exemptions 1983-1988

Box 3, Folder 20

Introductory newsletter 1985 January

Box 3, Folder 21

Statement of the organization of the AAUS 1986 August

Box 3, Folder 22-27

Board meeting minutes 1988-2005

General note

Missing 1996-1998, 2001.
Box 4, Folder 1

Virtual office binder 2002

Box 4, Folder 2

Legal questions for AAUS panel re: scientific diving definitions and status 2004-2005

Box 4, Folder 3

Scientific diving program compliance review checklist 2006

Box 4, Folder 4

Presentation - Introduction to AAUS and scientific diving 2006-2008

Box 4, Folder 5

DSO training - Statistics presentation 2015

Box 4, Folder 6

Fact sheet, list of presidents, and annual awards summary undated

General note

Includes photographs of awards.
Box 4, Folder 7

Nominating Committee undated

Box 4, Folder 8

Strategic plan documents undated

Box 4, Folder 9

Proposed cave diving standards undated

 

DIVING HISTORY MATERIALS

Box 4, Folder 10

U.S. Divers Aqua-Lung product manuals 1956-1963

Box 4, Folder 11

University of California diving safety manuals 1963, 1967-1978

Box 4, Folder 12

Memorandum, Technical Fact-Finding Committee for December 3 Hannes Keller Dive Experiment 1963 February 14

General note

Report on the death of Christopher K. Whittaker.
 

Los Angeles County, Dept. of Parks and Recreation - Underwater Instructor Certification Course (UICC)

Box 4, Folder 13

Correspondence, planning documents, and reports 1967-1968

General note

Includes open resignation letter from Clint Degn.
Box 4, Folder 14

Proposed basic SCUBA certification requirements undated

Box 4, Folder 15

Underwater Safety Committee 1971

Box 4, Folder 16

Course materials 1972

Box 4, Folder 17

Canadian Diving News 1971

Box 4, Folder 18

Letter from Terry Rioux re: his diving injury ca. 2010