Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives
Jerald E. Christiansen papers
UUS_COLL MSS 310
11 boxes
5.5 linear feet
1927-1981
This eleven-box collection consists of Jerald E. Christiansen's professional papers spanning the period from 1927 to 1981, and it includes his correspondence, research papers, thesis, working files, and publications. The organization of this material is based on Christiansen's personal filing system.
Material in English
Processed in June of 2006.
The papers in this collection were donated to USU Special Collections and Archives in 1994 by Jerald Nelson Christiansen, the son of Jerald E. Christiansen.
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Jerald E. Christiansen papers must be obtained from the Special Collections and Archives manuscript curator and/or the Special Collections and Archvies department head.
Initial Citation: Jerald E. Christiansen papers USU_COLL MSS 310, Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.
Following Citations: USU_COLL MSS 310, USUSCA.
Jerald Emmett Christiansen was born April 9, 1905 in Hyrum, Utah the son of Jeremiah Josiah and Emily Josephine Israelsen Christiansen. In 1923 Christiansen enrolled at Idaho State College, Pocatello (now Idaho State University) where he earned an AD in 1925. That fall he enrolled at the Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University) and received a BS with Honors in engineering in 1927 and was valedictorian of his class. The following semester Christiansen pursued graduate studies at University of California, Berkeley from where he earned his MS in civil engineering in 1928. His thesis was entitled "A Study of the Regulation of Kings River by Storage." The following summer on July 17, 1929, Christiansen married Rebecca Henderson Nelson in the Logan LDS Temple and they later had two sons, Jerald N. and Henry N. Christiansen.
In the fall of 1928, Christiansen accepted a faculty position at University of California, Davis where he worked until 1941. During this period, Christiansen pioneered studies in the science of sprinkler irrigation. In 1935 Christiansen obtained a civil engineer's degree from University of California, Davis, and his final report was entitled "Distribution of Silt in Open Channels." In 1942 he accepted a USDA position at the Regional Salinity Laboratory at Riverside, California, where he worked for four years. In 1946 Christiansen returned to Utah State University to serve as dean of engineering and acted in this capacity until 1957. From 1957 until his retirement in 1975, Christiansen worked at Utah State University both teaching and conducting research. In 1975 Utah State University awarded Christiansen an honorary doctorate degree.
Over the course of Christiansen's career, he worked on irrigation and engineering projects in Europe, South America, and the Middle East. He was also actively involved with various scholarly organizations, in local and civic affairs, and with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was awarded the Royce J. Tipton Award in 1976 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Christiansen died at his home in Logan, Utah on October 28, 1989.
This eleven-box collection consists of Jerald E. Christiansen's professional papers spanning the period from 1927 to 1981. This collection contains Christiansen's correspondence, research papers, thesis, working files, and publications. The organization of this material is based on Christiansen's personal filing system.
- Collection at a Glance;
- Boxes 1-3: Christiansen's thesis, research papers, and working files, 1927-1950.
- Boxes 4-7: Working files, A-W, 1960-1979.
- Boxes 8-9: Nebraska Project files, 1965-1979.
- Box 10: Publications and reports authored and co-authored by Christiansen.
- Box 11: Christiansen's graduate robes.
Arranged according to Jerald E. Christiansen's personal filing system.
Christiansen's obituary, The Herald Journal , October 30, 1989, page 4.
Sprinkler irrigation
Colleges and Universities
Thesis and Research Papers
1927-1950
(3 boxes, 22 folders)
Thesis papers
1927-1935
Christiansen, "The Utilization of Logan River for Irrigation and Power," Utah Agricultural College, BS Honors Thesis
1927
1
1
Christiansen, "A Study of the Regulation of Kings River by Storage," U of California, Berkley, MS Thesis
1928
1
2
Christiansen, "A Study of the Distribution of Silt in Open Channels," U of California, Davis, Civil Engineer Degree Thesis
1935
1
3
MS thesis drawings
1928
1
4
Civil Engineer's Degree thesis research papers
1935
1
5
Research papers on heat transfer
1930-1939
1
6
Diesel engine notes
1933
1
7
Diesel engine notes
1933
1
8
Research papers, reports, correspondence, and award certificates
1933-1981
Christiansen, "Modified Venturi Section for Open Channel; Vol. 1," Project 728
1937
2
1
Christiansen, "Modified Venturi Section for Open Channel; Vol. 2," Project 728
1937
2
2
Christiansen, Yallala, and Lowry, "Modified Venturi Section for Open Channel"
1937
2
3
Experiment station project 250, correspondence
1941-1946
2
4
Sevier River evaporation mats
undated
2
5
Harry B. Walker eulogy
undated
2
6
Christiansen, "Wire-Wrapped Concrete Pipe"
1941
2
7
Awards and certificates
1931-1975
2
8
USU Distinguished Alumnus Award plaque
1981
2
9
Christiansen, "Progress Report: Water Requirements for Waterfowl Areas Near the Great Salt Lake"
1960
2
10
Research papers on the Howard Slough Refuge, Davis County, Utah
1960-1962
Water stage record charts for the Howard Slough Refuge
1960
3
1
Water stage record charts for the Howard Slough Refuge
1961
3
2
Water stage record charts for the Howard Slough Refuge
1962
3
3
Water stage record charts for the Howard Slough Refuge
1962
3
4
Working files
1960-1979
(4 boxes, 55 folders)
Working files, A-C
1960-1970
AID program, LA, correspondence
1970-1979
4
1
AID/ICA
1967
4
2
American Society of Agricultural Engineers, correspondence
1970-1979
4
3
American Society of Agricultural Engineers, committee files, correspondence
1970-1979
4
4
American Society of Civil Engineers, correspondence and papers
1970-1979
4
5
Alfaro, Jose F.
1970
4
6
Argentina correspondence
1965-1975
4
7
Armstrong, Ellis
1969-1972
4
8
A – correspondence
1970-1979
4
9
B – correspondence
1970-1979
4
10
C – correspondence
1970-1979
4
11
Carias, Fabio
undated
4
12
Chase, Daryl, correspondence
1960-1969
4
13
CIDIAT
undated
4
14
Correspondence
1969-1971
4
15
Working files, Christiansen's correspondence
1972-1978
Correspondence
1972
5
1
Correspondence
1973
5
2
Correspondence
1974
5
3
Correspondence
1975
5
4
Correspondence
1976
5
5
Correspondence
1977-1978
5
6
Working files, C-F
1960-1979
Christiansen, Henry N.
undated
6
1
CSW Pakistan, W.D. Kemper
1973
6
2
Costa Rica
1973
6
3
CIDIAT – drainage engineering
undated
6
4
CIDIAT – Meridia, Venezuela
undated
6
5
CIDIAT – short course, Maracay
1968
6
6
CIDIAT – national short course
1967
6
7
Civil engineering
undated
6
8
College of Engineering, USU, memos
1960-1969
6
9
Cususwash project proposal
1970
6
10
D – correspondence
1970-1979
6
11
Development and Resources Corporation
undated
6
12
Donnan, William W.
1943
6
13
Drainage, Ubate, and Chiquinquira, Columbia
1965
6
14
E – correspondence
1970-1979
6
15
El Salvador – Zapatitan Project report
1971
6
16
Engineering Experiment Station, USU
undated
6
17
Enviro Engineers Inc., correspondence
1970-1979
6
18
F - correspondence
1970-1979
6
19
FAO – general correspondence
1960-1969
6
20
Working files, F-W
1960-1979
The Ford Foundation, correspondence and papers
1960-1969
7
1
Fujioka, Yoshikaza
1970
7
2
Gibson, William; ECI, correspondence
1967-1972
7
3
Golberg, Dan, correspondence and papers
1960-1969
7
4
Guestbook, USU Alumni Association
1973-1979
7
5
Guatemala trip
1972
7
6
Hansen & Associates, correspondence
1965
7
7
Hansen, Jaughn E., correspondence
1959-1966
7
8
Hagan, Robert M., correspondence
1959-1964
7
9
Hargreaves, George H., correspondence and papers
1970-1971
7
10
Israel trip, correspondence and papers
1970-1975
7
11
Newspaper clippings concerning Christiansen and his work
undated
7
12
Notebook with list of publications borrowed from Christiansen
undated
7
13
Water supply outlook for Utah
1963-1965
7
14
Nebraska Project Working Files
1960-1979
(2 boxes, 16 folders)
Irrigation study reports
undated
8
1
Dounau, Bill
1960-1969
8
2
Water quality data
undated
8
3
Nebraska maps
undated
8
4
Maps of soil types
undated
8
5
Working copy of unnamed report
undated
8
6
State of Nebraska papers
1970-1979
8
7
Water quality – ASCE
undated
8
8
Correspondence and papers
1975
9
1
USBR – Nebraska project
1975
9
2
Christiansen, final draft of "Pre-feasibility Study of an Irrigation Project in . . . Nebraska"
1975
9
3
Draft of "Pre-feasibility Study of an Irrigation Project in . . . Nebraska"
undated
9
4
Draft of "Pre-feasibility Study of an Irrigation Project in . . . Nebraska"
undated
9
5
Computer data, research data
undated
9
6
Drainage bulletin essay, draft of
undated
9
7
Draft of "Basic Principles of Drainage and Salinity"
undated
9
8
Publications and reports by Christiansen
1930-1974
(2 boxes, 16 folders and robes)
Christiansen, "Distribution of Silt in Open Channels," Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, Sixteenth Annual Meeting
1935
10
1
Christiansen and Donnan, "Piezometers for Water Table Determination," Western Construction News, Vol. 1 # 11, 77-79
1944 November
10
2
(two copies)
Christiansen, "The Uniformity of Application of Water by Sprinkler Systems," Agricultural Engineering, Vol. 22 # 3, 89-92
1941 March
10
3
Christiansen, "The Development of the Left Bank Lower Moulouya Irrigation Project, Morocco"
1965
10
4
Christiansen, "Drainage and Salinity Problems in the Laguna de la Nava"
1964
10
5
Christiansen and Olsen, "Drainage and Salinity Problems in Irrigated Areas; How to Avoid or Minimize Them," USU
1974
10
6
Christiansen and Mehta, "Estimation of Pan Evaporation from Climatological Data," USU
1965
10
7
Christiansen, "Estimation of Pan Evaporation from Climatological Data," USU
1966
10
8
Christiansen, "Indications of Changing Relations Between Precipitation and Stream Flow with Time," USU
1967
10
9
Christiansen and Hargreaves, "Irrigation Requirements from Evaporation and Climate Data"
1968
10
10
Christiansen, "Manual on Salinity and Water Quality as Related to Drainage," USU
1969
10
11
Christiansen, Jurinak, and Grassi, " Observasiones y Recomendaciones con Respecto a los Problemas de Drenaje y Salinidad"
1968
10
12
Christiansen, "Precipitation and Runoff Trends: Upper Sevier River Basin, Utah," USU
1964
10
13
Christiansen and Patil, "A Rational Approach to the Estimation of Evaporation . . . from Climatological Data," USU
1961
10
14
(two copies)
Christiansen, "Report on Water Resources Development in Iraq"
1958
10
15
Miscellaneous Papers (mimeograph) by Christiansen
1930-1942
10
16
Christiansen's graduate robes
undated
11