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Bernard Vonnegut Papers, 1828-1997

39.04 cubic ft.
The Bernard Vonnegut Papers document Vonnegut's career as a researcher in the field of atmospheric science with a focus on his time at GE, Arthur Little, and the State University of New York at Albany. The collection includes technical memoranda, research, data, inventions and patent forms, equipment specifications, drawings, figures, handwritten notes, manuscripts, reports, correspondence, publicity materials, course materials, news clippings, photographs, memorabilia, and audio/video materials
Top 3 results in this collection — view all 9
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This series documents the Project Cirrus program, a weather modification initiative undertaken by GE along with the United States Signal Corps, Office of Naval Research, and the United States Air Force, with general oversight handled by the Department of Defense. As part of the effort, Dr. Vonnegut discovered that AgI, Silver Iodide, was a superior nucleation agent. This discovery significantly influenced the science of artificial precipitation and this method came to be adopted as the chief means of "rain making".

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Series 4 documents Dr. Vonnegut's work with the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMIMT) in Socorro, New Mexico. While both were employed at Arthur D. Little, he and fellow scientist Charles Moore were invited to conduct thunderstorm research at Mt. Withington, eventually becoming part of the Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research in Socorro. Moore stayed at NMIMT, and Dr. Vonnegut moved on to the State University of New York at Albany; though their collaborative research continued for the entirety of each other's career.

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Online

This series consists primarily of tornado observations and eyewitness accounts solicited from the general public via newspaper advertisements in areas where tornadoes and severe storms frequently occur. They are filed using the original labeling system employed by Dr. Vonnegut, where the date and place of the observation as well as a brief statement on the phenomena is used to identify the observation. Accounts of severe storms found in multiple publications, biblical references, and other historical observations are also present.