Arthur D. Little, 1931-1971, Undated

While employed at Arthur D. Little, Dr. Vonnegut built upon his research in atmospheric science. The majority of his work focused on electrification of clouds, thunderstorms, and the behavior of lightning, he also looked at behaviors of gases but on a much smaller scale. Besides pursuing his own research, Dr. Vonnegut worked on a number of advisory projects for the United States government. These projects focused on the relationship between aircrafts and lightning. The main focus was on how aircrafts detect and avoid lightning when flying in a storm.

The series contains data, reports, correspondence, press releases, photographs, newspaper clippings, drawings, figures, and handwritten notes. The arrangement reflects Dr. Vonnegut’s original filing system. Materials are first filed by item type and then by subject. In cases where different types of materials were filed together, Dr. Vonnegut’s arrangement was maintained to reflect how he used and viewed the materials. This is most prevalent in correspondence files. Correspondence is sometimes paired with clippings or reports. If the correspondence was separated from the items it was originally paired with, the archivist maintained this arrangement.