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Jack C. Riley papers, 1942-2005
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Riley, Jack C., 1921-2016
- Title
- Jack C. Riley papers
- Dates
- 1942-2005 (inclusive)19422005
- Quantity
- 3.42 cubic feet, (9 letter document cases; 1 slim letter document case)
- Collection Number
- Coll 578
- Summary
- Papers and images compiled by Jack C. Riley (1921-2016), who worked as an electrical engineer and was employed by the Portland, Oregon firm Electro Scientific Instruments.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Jack C. Riley was born in 1921 in Amarillo, Texas, and moved to Portland, Oregon, in the early 1930s. After studying electrical engineering at Oregon State College (later Oregon State University), Riley undertook postgraduate studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he worked at the Radio Research Laboratory during and immediately after World War II. While in Cambridge, he met Loraine Walter, and they married in 1946. Riley completed his master's degree in physics and mathematics at Oregon State College. In 1956, he began what would be a long career at the Portland-based firm Electro Scientific Instruments (ESI), where he served as Director of Technical Services from 1956-1964, and then as Consulting Electrical Professional Engineer from 1965-2008. Riley was also a professor of Applied Science and Electrical Engineering at Portland State University from 1967 to 1989. He died in June 2016 in Portland at the age of 94.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of papers and images compiled by Jack C. Riley. The majority of materials relate to Electro Scientific Industries (ESI), where Riley worked from the 1950s to the 2000s. These materials include engineering bulletins, instruction manuals, technical articles, slides for presentations, and photographs and negatives of ESI facilities and equipment. Additional materials include papers relating to Riley's work at the Radio Research Laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts; his work on beam interference, which was also done in Cambridge; published papers by Riley and other electrical engineers; and issues of the publication General Radio Experimenter.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Jack C. Riley papers, Coll 578, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Collection is arranged in four series: Series 1. Work at Cambridge Radio Research Laboratory; Series 2. Career at Electro Scientific Industries (ESI); Series 3. Articles and essays; Series 4. Other papers.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Jan Munly, November 2016 (Lib. Acc. 28960).
Preservation Note
Negatives and transparencies are not available for direct access. Contact library staff for assistance.
Processing Note
Collection was titled "Jack C. Riley collection" prior to 2020. Materials regarding sound system records, previously in Box 6, Folder 1, were discarded in November 2021 due to extensive fire damage.
Separated Materials
35mm roll of film about beam interference was separated to Moving Image Collections and Electro Scientific Industries seminar recordings were separated to Oral History Collections, Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Artifacts were separated to Oregon Historical Society Museum Collections.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series 1: Work at Cambridge Radio Research Lab, 1942-1947Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1-2 | Connector blueprints |
1942-1943 |
| 1 | 3 | Radio Research Lab engineering notes |
1943 |
| 1 | 4 | Water Calorimeter records |
1945 |
| 1 | 5 | Radio Research Lab records |
1945 |
| 1 | 6-7 | Beam interference records |
1946-1947 |
Series 2: Career at Electro Scientific Industries (ESI), 1958-1992Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Subseries 1: General papers |
circa 1956-1986 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 3 | 1-2 | Assorted engineering bulletins, instruction manuals, and papers
Materials kept in original order.
|
1960-1963 |
| 5 | 1 | Policy paper, "Operation of the Project Team" |
1960 |
| 5 | 2 | Catalog |
1962 |
| 5 | 3 | Catalogs |
1969; 1971 |
| 5 | 4 | Memos and other office papers |
circa 1965 |
| 5 | 5 | Indices of technical reports and manuals |
1965-1966; undated |
| 5 | 6 | Resistor manufacturing |
1986 |
| 5 | 7 | SR 1060 test data |
1986 |
| 5 | 8 | Directory |
1986 |
| 5 | 9 | Stationery and publicity materials |
undated |
Subseries 2: ESIAC Algebraic Computer |
1960 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 2 | 1 | Papers |
1960 |
| 2 | 2 | Graphs |
circa 1960 |
| 2 | 3 | Instruction manual |
1960 June |
Subseries 3: ESI engineering bulletins |
1958-1963 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 2 | 4 | Bulletins 11-19 |
1958-1962 |
| 2 | 5 | Bulletins 20-21; Bulletin 23 |
1959-1961 |
| 2 | 6 | Bulletin 22 and related papers |
1960 |
| 2 | 7-8 | Bulletins 3-38 |
1960-1963 |
| 2 | 9 | Bulletins 23, 29, 30, 34 |
1962-1963 |
Subseries 4: Instruction manuals |
1961-1986 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 3 | 3 | ESI Model 270 (rough draft) |
1961-1962 |
| 3 | 4 | Model 707B |
1964 |
| 3 | 5 | RV 722 |
1964 |
| 3 | 6 | ESI Model 1040 A |
1965 |
| 3 | 7 | ESI Model 1045 |
1965 May |
| 3 | 8 | ESI Model 1045 A1 |
1966 |
| 4 | 1-2 | Information Services computer |
1970 |
| 4 | 3 | Model 242D |
1972 |
| 4 | 4 | Hurco Test Unit |
1983 |
| 4 | 5 | ESI Model SR 1060 |
1986 |
| 4 | 6 | Model 250 Independence Bridge (annotated) |
undated |
Subseries 5: Technical reports and articles |
1959-1972 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 4 | 7 | Unnumbered reports and assorted articles |
1959-1965 |
| 4 | 8 | Reports 1-21 |
1963-1964 |
| 4 | 9 | Reports 7-8 |
1964 |
| 4 | 10 | Reports 6, 8, 14, 17 |
1965-1967 |
| 4 | 11 | Articles |
1965-1967 |
| 4 | 12 | Article by Edward J. Swenson, George D. Vincent, and Jack C. Riley, "Laser Resistor Trimming Analysis Using a Resistive Sheet Analogy" |
1972 |
Subseries 6: Images |
1958-1992 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 7 | 4 | Polaroid photographs of ESI facilities |
1971; undated |
| 7 | 5-6 | Photographs of ESI laboratory and facilities |
circa 1960-1975 |
| 7 | 7-8 | Unlabeled photographs |
circa 1960-1980 |
| 7 | 9-10 | Slides of instruments |
1962 February 26-March 27 |
| 7 | 11 | Jack C. Riley slides |
1962 April 20-30 |
| 8 | 1 | Slides of ESI transistor and transformer |
1962 April |
| 8 | 2 | Slides of instruments |
1962 April |
| 8 | 3 | Slides of ESI models |
1964-1965 |
| 8 | 4-5 | Slides for talks |
1958-1962 |
| 8 | 6 | Slides for talks |
1971; 1975 |
| 8 | 7 | Slides for talks |
undated |
| 8 | 8 | Slides and notes related to Portland State University faculty |
1983; undated |
| 9 | 1 | Slides and negatives |
1992 |
| 9 | 2 | Film positives |
undated |
| 9 | 3 | Negatives of instruments |
undated |
| 9 | 4-5 | Negatives and transparencies |
undated |
| 9 | 6-8 | Negatives |
undated |
| 10 | 1 | Negatives |
undated |
| 10 | 2 | Negatives of ESI facilities |
undated |
Series 3: Articles and essays, 1960-1986Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Subseries 1: Articles by Jack C. Riley |
1967-1971 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 5 | 10 | Article published in issue of IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, "The Accuracy of Series and Parallel Connections of Four-Terminal Resistors" |
1967 |
| 5 | 11 | Article published in issue of ISA Transactions, "Making Accurate Measurements of Resistive Network Radios" |
1971 |
Subseries 2: Articles by others |
1960-1986 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 5 | 12 | Articles by Mere L. Morgan |
1960-1961 |
| 6 | 1 | Article by A. F. Dunn, "Calibration of a Kelvin-Varley Voltage Divider" |
circa 1963 |
| 6 | 2 | Reviews of A. F. Dunn's paper |
1963-1964 |
| 6 | 3 | Article by Warren Welcome, "Analyze Servos with Spice" |
1986 |
Series 4: Other papers, 1945-2005Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 6 | 4 | Correspondence and personal papers |
1945-1947 |
| 6 | 5 | Reminiscence, "A Day at the Cambridge Field Station" |
undated |
| 6 | 6-7 | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) meeting |
1965 |
| 6 | 8 | Inquiry from Roy Lang about restoring an ESI Model 1045 A1 voltage measuring system |
2001 |
| 6 | 9-10 | Issues of General Radio Experimenter |
1955-1958 October |
| 7 | 1 | Issues of General Radio Experimenter |
1962-1965 |
| 7 | 2 | Catalogs for non-ESI companies |
1961-1965 |
| 7 | 3 | Technical models from non-ESI companies |
2005; undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Business enterprises--Oregon--Portland
- Electric apparatus and appliances
- Electrical engineering--Oregon--Portland
- Research--Massachusetts--Cambridge
- Research--Oregon--Portland
Personal Names
- Riley, Jack C., 1921-2016
Corporate Names
- Electro Scientific Industries (Portland, Or.)
- Radio Research Laboratory (Cambridge, Mass.)
Form or Genre Terms
- correspondence
- technical manuals
