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Raymond E. Davis papers
WRCA 034
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Title: Raymond E. Davis papers
Date (inclusive): 1931-1956
Collection Number: WRCA 034
Creator:
Davis, Raymond Earl, 1885-1970
Extent:
1.0 linear feet
(1 box)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The collection consists of published and unpublished reports, correspondence, photographs, etc., primarily dealing with concrete
testing for various dams in the U.S. and Turkey.
Languages: The collection is in English.
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives.
Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission
of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable
rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Raymond E. Davis papers (WRCA 034). Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Provenance unknown.
Processed by Randal Brandt, WRCA Technical Services Librarian, 1999.
Collection number updated December 2018. Legacy collection number was DAVIS. This change was part of a project in 2018/2019
to update the collection numbers for collections in the Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Raymond Earl Davis was born in Gorham, Maine, on June 13, 1885, the son of Charles and Elizabeth Gray Davis. His interests
in civil engineering projects were deep rooted at an early age so that even before completing his basic engineering education
he spent several years in the field as a topographer and engineering inspector. Returning to the University of Maine, he received
his B.S. in 1911 and C.E. in 1914. During 1911 through 1917 he became interested in teaching and served as Instructor and
Associate in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois, where he received his M.S. in 1916. This activity was interrupted
by World War I, during which he was a first lieutenant, Engineering Corps, serving as Assistant to the Department Engineer,
Western Department, in charge of collecting and compiling data for the War Department. When the war ended he resumed his career
in teaching, serving for the next two years as Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Nebraska.
His first association with the University of California began in 1920, where his keen interest in the properties of engineering
materials soon resulted in his appointment as Director of the then small Engineering Materials Laboratory, and as Professor
of Civil Engineering.
Professor Davis was a leading researcher in the field of engineering materials and structures. Although he supervised many
important structural research projects such as, (a) the large model studies of the proposed San Francisco-Oakland Bridge to
evaluate its engineering characteristics; (b) tension studies of very heavy riveted joints for long span bridges; and (c)
stability studies of rock-fill dams during earthquakes; and many others, his principal interests were in the field of cement
and concrete, where he was preeminent both as a researcher and a consultant. He was always extremely active in advancing the
work of his profession, serving on many important committees of the American Society for Testing and Materials as well as
the American Concrete Institute, frequently as chairman. He also served as president of the latter organization.
Among the many studies on concrete which he pioneered and for which he won acclaim are (a) volume changes and creep, or plastic
flow of concrete under sustained loads; and (b) the use of pozzolans as a partial replacement of part of the cement in concrete
mixes.
Professor Davis' knowledge in connection with cement and concrete resulted in his advice being sought by many large private
and governmental organizations, such as the Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Metropolitan Water District
of Southern California, in connection with Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, Colorado River Aqueduct, the San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridge, and many other projects. He directed several research projects concerned with engineering materials and structures
during World War II.
Under the direction of Professor Davis, the Engineering Materials Laboratory developed into one of the most important of
its type in the world. In 1969 this laboratory was greatly enlarged for a second time and named Raymond Earl Davis Hall.
Although he retired from his academic duties in 1952, he continued his active participation in technical society matters
and his consulting activities until his death.
Raymond Earl Davis died on June 14, 1970, in Berkeley, one day after his eighty-fifth birthday. Excerpted from
In Memoriam,by G. E. Troxell, H. E. Davis, and J. W. Kelly.
The collection consists of published and unpublished reports, correspondence, photographs, etc., primarily dealing with concrete
testing for various dams in the U.S. and Turkey.
The collection is arranged topically.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Barker Dam (Colo.)
Cement -- Testing
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)
Concrete -- Permeability
Concrete -- Testing
Concrete dams -- Design and construction
Hiwassee Dam (N.C.)
Hoover Dam (Ariz. and Nev.)
Hydrostatic pressure
Norris Dam (Tenn.)
Pine Flat Dam (Calif.)
Sariyar Dam (Turkey)
Williams Dam (Ariz.)
Correspondence
Photographs
Reports