George G. Marra was born on March 28, 1915 to Sabino Marra and Lydia Scuccimara in
Summitville, Ohio. He attended Webster High School in Webster, New York, between
1929 and 1934, and received both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science
degrees from New York State College at Syracuse in 1940 and 1942 respectively.
During World War II, Marra served as the Administrative Procurement Inspector
(civilian technologist) in the Wood Aircraft Program with the U.S. Army Air Force.
Marra received his Ph.D. in Forestry from Duke University in 1949, and during this
time he also worked as a Professor of Forest Utilization at West Virginia
University. In 1950, Dr. Marra and his wife Mary Kathleen Headlee came to Washington
State University, where he served as a Professor of Materials Science, Engineering,
and Wood Technology for over thirty years. While at WSU, Dr. Marra helped build a
program in wood technologies, including wood-based composites, building systems, and
nondestructive testing, and was honored with the Distinguished Faculty Award in
1961. Dr. Marra also served as a Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science
in 1968, and as the President of the Forest Products Research Society. Dr. Marra
became the Assistant Director of the Wood Technology Research Division in the
Washington State Institute of Technology in 1967, and later served as the Assistant
Dean for Research in the College of Engineering from 1972 to 1980. Under the
Personnel Act Mobility Program, Dr. Marra joined the USDA Forest Products Laboratory
in Madison as the Deputy Director, between 1980 and 1983. In honor of Dr. Marra's
numerous publications and innovative research on wood technologies and
manufacturing,
This collection contains professional papers of Dr. George G. Marra (1915-1983), a Professor of Materials Science, Engineering, and Wood Technology at Washington State University. The collection primarily consists of papers related to Dr. Marra's research in forestry science and wood manufacturing, including research notes, industry and consulting reports, numerous publications, as well as teaching materials (1950-1980). The collection also contains correspondence, photographs, and papers connected to the Forest Products Research Society, as well as papers related to Dr. Marra's graduate work and employment with the U.S. Army and the USDA.
Preliminary Inventory:
MS.1986.01
Boxes 1-2: Papers related to Marra's graduate work, his employment with the U.S. Army and Washington State University, as well as reports and research connected to consulting work for multiple lumber and wood manufacturing industries, between 1941 and 1982.
Box 3: Papers related to professional organizations, conferences, and research trips, including blueprints, travel receipts, and certificates, as well as materials pertaining to Marra's employment with the USDA, between 1954 and 1980.
Boxes 4-5: Papers related to research, publications, and professional organizations, between 1952 and 1982.
Box 6: Correspondence and papers related to research and publications, between 1943 and 1964.
Box 7: Papers related to research, publications, and lumber industry standards,
between 1964 and 1978, including copies of the journal
Boxes 8-12: Research notes and reports on wood technology, including related photographs, negatives, slides, and newspaper articles, as well as materials connected to speeches given by Dr. Marra and court cases concerning durability and longevity of wood products, between 1951 and 1980.
MS.1986.04
Box 1: Papers related to Dr. Marra's graduate work at Duke University, as well as research related materials connected to the Wood Technology Research Division at WSU, between 1947 and 1972.
Boxes 2-3: Papers related to wood technology research, proposals, and reports, including materials pertaining to the history of the College of Mechanic Arts and Engineering at WSU, between 1937 and 1983, as well as papers connected to the research of Alan Marra on wood bonding.
Box 4: Papers related to research, conferences, and committees on wood technology, as well as overhead projector slides and industry reports.
Box 5: Miscellaneous papers, including research, personal correspondence and writings by Dr. Marra, and biographical sketches.
Boxes 6-8: Papers related to the Forest Products Research Society as well as wood technology research and conferences, between 1965 and 1972.
Boxes 9-10: Papers related to Dr. Marra's teaching at WSU, between 1966 and 1978.
This is an unprocessed collection. Arrangement reflects a pre-existing order from the records’ creators or previous custodians.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Preliminary Guide to the George G. Marra Papers, circa 1937-1983 (MSSM.067)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Donated to the Washington State University Libraries by Mary Kathleen Marra in 1986 (MS.1986.01 and MS.1986.04).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.