Homer Jackson Dana Catalog and Brochure Collection, 1915-1950

Homer Jackson Dana attended the State College of Washington (now Washington State University) where he completed a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1915 and a master's degree in 1917. He remained at WSU as an instructor, then returned as a student to complete a second master's degree in mechanical engineering. He continued his association with WSU, first as a consulting engineer, and later as a research engineer until his retirement in 1960. Although his post was as a research engineer, Dana occasionally taught classes, participated in the education of graduate students, and served as director of the Engineering Experiment Station.

Dana's interest in engineering led to a series of experimental projects, including researching the effect of heavy automobile traffic on roads and highways, solving refrigeration and heat transfer and storage problems, and designing the Mason City Project to measure the amount of electricity a community consumed. He was awarded patents for multiple devices, including an emotional stress meter (lie detector) and a prototype home freezer. Together with Hubert V. Carpenter, he founded one of the first educational radio stations in the United States in 1922. The radio station, located in Pullman, WA, was originally named KFAE, becoming KWSC in 1926, and KWSU in 1969.