Guide to the Jerald E. Christiansen Papers, 1927-1981

Creator:	Christiansen, Jerald Emmet, 1905-
Title:	Jerald E. Christiansen Papers
Dates:	1927-1981 ( inclusive )
Quantity:	11 boxes (5.5 linear feet)
Collection Number:	USU_COLL MSS 310
Summary:	This eleven-box collection consists of Jerald E. Christiansen's professional papers spanning the period from 1927 to 1981 and includes his correspondence, research papers, thesis, working files, and publications. The organization of this material is based on Christiansen's personal filing system.
Repository:	Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Manuscript Collection Merrill-Cazier Library Utah State University 3000 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-3000 Phone: 435 797-2663 Fax: 435 797-2880 Email: scweb@usu.edu
Languages:	Material in English

Biographical Note

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.

Content Description

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.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access :

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Restrictions on Use :

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 Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation :

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.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

Arranged according to Jerald E. Christiansen's personal filing system.

Processing Note :

Processed in June of 2006

Acquisition Information :

The papers in this collection were donated to USU Special Collections in 1994 by Jerald Nelson Christiansen, the son of Jerald E. Christiansen.

Bibliography : Source:

Christiansen’s obituary,The Herald Journal, October 30, 1989, page 4.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Thesis and Research Papers, 1927-1950

(3 boxes, 22 folders)

Container(s)		Description	Dates
		Thesis papers	1927-1935
Box	Folder
1	1	Christiansen, "The Utilization of Logan River for Irrigation and Power," Utah Agricultural College, BS Honors Thesis	1927
1	2	Christiansen, "A Study of the Regulation of Kings River by Storage," U of California, Berkley, MS Thesis	1928
1	3	Christiansen, "A Study of the Distribution of Silt in Open Channels," U of California, Davis, Civil Engineer Degree Thesis	1935
1	4	MS thesis drawings	1928
1	5	Civil Engineer's Degree thesis research papers	1935
1	6	Research papers on heat transfer	1930s
1	7	Diesel engine notes	1933
1	8	Diesel engine notes	1933
		Research papers, reports, correspondence, and award certificates	1933-1981
Box	Folder
2	1	Christiansen, "Modified Venturi Section for Open Channel; Vol. 1," Project 728	1937
2	2	Christiansen, "Modified Venturi Section for Open Channel; Vol. 2," Project 728	1937
2	3	Christiansen, Yallala, and Lowry, "Modified Venturi Section for Open Channel"	1937
2	4	Experiment station project 250, correspondence	1941-1946
2	5	Sevier River evaporation mats	Undated
2	6	Harry B. Walker eulogy	Undated
2	7	Christiansen, "Wire-Wrapped Concrete Pipe"	1941
2	8	Awards and certificates	1931-1975
2	9	USU Distinguished Alumnus Award plaque	1981
2	10	Christiansen, "Progress Report: Water Requirements for Waterfowl Areas Near the Great Salt Lake"	1960
		Research papers on the Howard Slough Refuge, Davis County, Utah	1960-192
Box	Folder
3	1	Water stage record charts for the Howard Slough Refuge	1960
3	2	Water stage record charts for the Howard Slough Refuge	1961
3	3	Water stage record charts for the Howard Slough Refuge	1962
3	4	Water stage record charts for the Howard Slough Refuge	1962

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Working files, 1960-1979

(4 boxes, 55 folders)

Container(s)		Description	Dates
		Working files, A-C	1960-1970
Box	Folder
4	1	AID program, LA, correspondence	1970s
4	2	AID/ICA	1967
4	3	American Society of Agricultural Engineers, correspondence	1970s
4	4	American Society of Agricultural Engineers, committee files, correspondence	1970s
4	5	American Society of Civil Engineers, correspondence and papers	1970s
4	6	Alfaro, Jose F.	1970
4	7	Argentina correspondence	1965-1975
4	8	Armstrong, Ellis	1969-1972
4	9	A – correspondence	1970s
4	10	B – correspondence	1970s
4	11	C – correspondence	1970s
4	12	Carias, Fabio	Undated
4	13	Chase, Daryl, correspondence	1960s
4	14	CIDIAT	Undated
4	15	Correspondence	1969-1971
		Working files, Christiansen’s correspondence	1972-1978
Box	Folder
5	1	Correspondence	1972
5	2	Correspondence	1973
5	3	Correspondence	1974
5	4	Correspondence	1975
5	5	Correspondence	1976
5	6	Correspondence	1977-1978
		Working files, C-F	1960-1979
Box	Folder
6	1	Christiansen, Henry N.	Undated
6	2	CSW Pakistan, W.D. Kemper	1973
6	3	Costa Rica	1973
6	4	CIDIAT – drainage engineering	Undated
6	5	CIDIAT – Meridia, Venezuela	Undated
6	6	CIDIAT – short course, Maracay	1968
6	7	CIDIAT – national short course	1967
6	8	Civil engineering	Undated
6	9	College of Engineering, USU, memos	1960s
6	10	Cususwash project proposal	1970
6	11	D – correspondence	1970s
6	12	Development and Resources Corporation	Undated
6	13	Donnan, William W.	1943
6	14	Drainage, Ubate, and Chiquinquira, Columbia	1965
6	15	E – correspondence	1970s
6	16	El Salvador – Zapatitan Project report	1971
6	17	Engineering Experiment Station, USU	Undated
6	18	Enviro Engineers Inc., correspondence	1970s
6	19	F- correspondence	1970s
6	20	FAO – general correspondence	1960s
		Working files, F-W	1960-1979
Box	Folder
7	1	The Ford Foundation, correspondence and papers	1960s
7	2	Fujioka, Yoshikaza	1970
7	3	Gibson, William; ECI, correspondence	1967-1972
7	4	Golberg, Dan, correspondence and papers	1960s
7	5	Guestbook, USU Alumni Association	1973-1979
7	6	Guatemala trip	1972
7	7	Hansen & Associates, correspondence	1965
7	8	Hansen, Jaughn E., correspondence	1959-1966
7	9	Hagan, Robert M., correspondence	1959-1964
7	10	Hargreaves, George H., correspondence and papers	1970-1971
7	11	Israel trip, correspondence and papers	1970-1975
7	12	Newspaper clippings concerning Christiansen and his work	Undated
7	13	Notebook with list of publications borrowed from Christiansen	Undated
7	14	Water supply outlook for Utah	1963, 1965

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Nebraska Project Working Files, 1960-1979

(2 boxes, 16 folders)

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
8	1	Irrigation study reports	Undated
8	2	Dounau, Bill	1960s
8	3	Water quality data	Undated
8	4	Nebraska maps	Undated
8	5	Maps of soil types	Undated
8	6	Working copy of unnamed report	Undated
8	7	State of Nebraska papers	1970s
8	8	Water quality – ASCE	Undated
9	1	Correspondence and papers	1975
9	2	USBR – Nebraska project	1975
9	3	Christiansen, final draft of “Pre-feasibility Study of an Irrigation Project in . . . Nebraska”	1975
9	4	Draft of “Pre-feasibility Study of an Irrigation Project in . . . Nebraska”	Undated
9	5	Draft of “Pre-feasibility Study of an Irrigation Project in . . . Nebraska”	Undated
9	6	Computer data, research data	Undated
9	7	Drainage bulletin essay, draft of	Undated
9	8	Draft of “Basic Principles of Drainage and Salinity”	Undated

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Publications and reports by Christiansen, 1930-1974

(2 boxes, 16 folders and robes)

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
10	1	Christiansen, “Distribution of Silt in Open Channels,” Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, Sixteenth Annual Meeting	1935
10	2	Christiansen and Donnan, “Piezometers for Water Table Determination,” Western Construction News, Vol. 1 # 11, 77-79 (two copies)	1944 November
10	3	Christiansen, “The Uniformity of Application of Water by Sprinkler Systems,” Agricultural Engineering, Vol. 22 # 3, 89-92	1941 March 1941
10	4	Christiansen, “The Development of the Left Bank Lower Moulouya Irrigation Project, Morocco”	1965
10	5	Christiansen, “Drainage and Salinity Problems in the Laguna de la Nava”	1964
10	6	Christiansen and Olsen, “Drainage and Salinity Problems in Irrigated Areas; How to Avoid or Minimize Them,” USU	1974
10	7	Christiansen and Mehta, “Estimation of Pan Evaporation from Climatological Data,” USU	1965
10	8	Christiansen, “Estimation of Pan Evaporation from Climatological Data,” USU	1966
10	9	Christiansen, “Indications of Changing Relations Between Precipitation and Stream Flow with Time,” USU	1967
10	10	Christiansen and Hargreaves, “Irrigation Requirements from Evaporation and Climate Data”	1968
10	11	Christiansen, “Manual on Salinity and Water Quality as Related to Drainage,” USU	1969
10	12	Christiansen, Jurinak, and Grassi, “ Observasiones y Recomendaciones con Respecto a los Problemas de Drenaje y Salinidad”	1968
10	13	Christiansen, “Precipitation and Runoff Trends: Upper Sevier River Basin, Utah,” USU	1964
10	14	Christiansen and Patil, “A Rational Approach to the Estimation of Evaporation . . . from Climatological Data,” USU (two copies)	1961
10	15	Christiansen, “Report on Water Resources Development in Iraq”	1958
10	16	Miscellaneous Papers (mimeograph) by Christiansen	1930-1942
11		Christiansen's graduate robes

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Subjects

Personal Names :
Christiansen, Jerald Emmet,|d1905-

Corporate Names :
University of California, Davis
Utah State University. College of Engineering

Subject Terms :
Sprinkler irrigation

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Guide to the Jerald E. Christiansen Papers,
1927-1981

Overview of the Collection

Biographical Note

Content Description

Use of the Collection

Administrative Information

Detailed Description of the Collection

Subjects

Finding aid/Register created by Zachary R. Jones
©2011

Guide to the Jerald E. Christiansen Papers, 1927-1981

Overview of the Collection

Biographical Note

Content Description

Use of the Collection

Administrative Information

Detailed Description of the Collection

Subjects

Finding aid/Register created by Zachary R. Jones©2011

Guide to the Jerald E. Christiansen Papers,
1927-1981

Finding aid/Register created by Zachary R. Jones
©2011