These archives from the MIT Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering department primarily focus on work led by professors Frank M. Lewis and Justin Kerwin, experts in propeller design and related hydrodynamics. Lewis joined the department in 1936 and retired in 1960. Kerwin earned his undergraduate, master's and doctorate degrees at MIT; was appointed assistant professor of naval architecture and marine engineering in 1960; and retired as professor emeritus in 2001.

The documents primarily cover lab research on propellers carried out within the department, beginning in the late 1930s when MIT built a propeller tunnel test facility. Material includes plans, performance charts, performance data, calculations, lab equipment plans and drawings, and related documents. The archives also include similar documents for research on related hydrodynamic structures such as rudders, as well as material about tank tests of sailing yachts led by MIT instructor Halsey Herreshoff around 1967 and 1968.

Title: MIT Marine Propeller- and Tank-Testing Archives

Creators: Professors Frank Lewis, Justin Kerwin, Halsey Herreshoff, and MIT Department of Ocean Engineering

Dates: late 1930s through 1980s

Extent: 4 boxes

Language: English

Repository: MIT Museum

Access: Open for research by appointment

Copyright: No known restrictions.

Credit: Hart Nautical Collection, MIT Museum