Louis H. Roddis papers, 1823-1990

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Summary

Creator:
Roddis, Louis H. (Louis Harry), 1918-
Abstract:
Collection reflects career of Louis H. Roddis in the general field of energy with emphasis on policy and strategic issues. Topics include electric power, gas resources, petroleum, water power, energy conservation, the energy crisis of the 1970s, nuclear power, and alternative energy sources. Primarily documented in the collection are developments with nuclear power and within the nuclear industry including materials related to the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island accidents. The collection also reflects Roddis' participation in a variety of public service, charitable, industrial, and trade organizations.
Extent:
50 Linear Feet
159.4 linear feet 95,000 Items
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
RL.01102

Background

Scope and content:

The Louis H. (Louis Harry) Roddis Papers span the years 1823 to 1990 with the bulk of the materials dating from the 1970s and 1980s. The collection reflects Roddis's distinguished career in the general field of energy with emphasis on policy and strategic issues. Topics include electric power, gas resources, petroleum, water power, energy conservation, the energy crisis of the 1970s, and alternative energy sources. Primarily documented in the collection are developments with nuclear power and within the nuclear industry. The collection also reflects Roddis's participation in a variety of public service, charitable, industrial, and trade organizations. Materials in the collection include reports, speeches, testimonies, rebuttals, annual reports, articles, clippings, studies, photographs, meeting minutes and agendas, memoranda, legal briefs, writings, and printed materials. The collection documents his involvement with the US government on various energy issues, Roddis's interest in the human safety aspect of the energy industry, his professional interests in utility companies of which he was a board member, and his private work as a consulting engineer. Correspondents include US government agencies, US and international utility company executives, and colleagues from professional organizations. US government agencies and committees represented in the collection include the Department of Energy, the Energy Research Advisory Board, the Atomic Industrial Forum, the Federal Energy Administration, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Energy Research and Development Administration.

The series in the Roddis papers document following broad topics: energy sources and alternatives, nuclear energy, issues of utility companies, US energy policies, professional and government energy organizations, and Roddis's work as a consulting engineer and authority in the energy field.

Energy sources and alternatives are topics included in the following series: Fossil Energy; Solar Energy; Oceans and Policy; Energy Conservation; Energy Sources; and Transportation Energy.

Series which pertain to nuclear energy include Atomic Energy History; Fast Breeder Reactors; Nuclear Power Industry; Environmental Radioactivity; Nuclear Fuel Cycle; Waste Disposal and Proliferation; Floating Nuclear Ship Power / PropulsionPlants; Nuclear Power Plant Siting; Three Mile Island Accident; Human Factors; and Chernobyl.

The US Utility History; Consolidated Edison History; International Utilities; US Utility Rates and Financing; Transmission and Distribution; Detroit Edison; Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority; Puerto Rico Water Resource Authority; Long Island Lighting Company; and Washington Public Power Supply series relate to key issues for utility companies.

The Energy Policy; Energy Statistics; Science and Technology Policy; and Energy and the Environment series cover US energy policies.

Professional and government energy organizations represented in the collection are found in the following series: Institute of Nuclear Power Operations; Committee on Nuclear and Alternative Energy Systems; Energy Research and Development Administration; Energy Research and Development Planning; Energy Research Advisory Board (ERAB); Panel and Committee Reports of ERAB; Other Government Agencies Material; Other; Electric Power Research Institute; Atomic Industrial Forum; North American Electric Reliability Council; Edison Electric Institute; Committees and Panels; Gas Research; and Renewable Energy Institute.

The Pacific Sierra; Anti-Trust Cases; International Nuclear Energy Systems Company; Exxon; J. V. Neely; Gould; Speeches; Donavan Hamester and Rattien; Contracts; John J. McMullen Associates; Berlin Energy Congress; Testimonies and Depositions; and Liquefied Natural Gas Imports seriesdocument Roddis's work as a consulting engineer and authority in the energy field.

The material in the Miscellaneous Series overlaps with other series found throughout the collection. Topics include nuclear energy, the utility industry, professional organizations, marine energy, reports from power plants and utility companies such as the North Carolina Energy Corporation, energy conferences, and the U.S.S. Nautilus which Roddis was involved in designing.

Biographical / historical:
Missing Title
Date Event
1918, Sept. 9
Born in Charleston, S.C.
1935-1939
Received B.S. from U. S. Naval Academy
1939-1955
Officer on Active Duty in the United States Navy
1942-1944
Received M.S. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1946-1947
Attended Post-Doctorate Level Classified Training Course in Nuclear Reactors, Clinton Laboratories of the Manhattan Engineering District, now Oak Ridge National Laboratory
1946-1947
Worked at Project Officer in the Navy Nuclear Program for the Development of the Nuclear Power submarines, the Nautilus and the Sea Wolf
1947-1955
Assisted Nuclear Reactor Design U.S.S. Nautilus, Department of Navy
1955-1958
Deputy Director of Division of Reactor Development, Atomic Energy Commission
1957
Director of Nuclear Activities at the General Public Utilities Organization (later Service Company and the GPU Nuclear Corporation)
1958-1967
President and CEO of Pennsylvania Electric Company, Subsidiary of General Public Utilities (GPU), Johnstown, Pa.
1959-1969
Board Chairman, CEO, and Director of the Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation, a Subsidiary of GPU
1967-1969
Chairman of Pennsylvania Electric Company, Director of Nuclear Power Activities at General Public Utilities Corporation, New York City
1969-1973
President of Consolidated Edison
1973-1974
Vice Chairman of Consolidated Edison
1974-1975
Worked as Consultant to the Adminstrator of the U. S. Federal Energy Administration
1975-1976
President and CEO of John J. McMullen Associates
1976-
Private Consulting Engineer
1991, Sept. 15
Died, Charleston, S.C.
Custodial history:

The Louis H. (Louis Harry) Roddis Papers were donated to the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library by Louis H. and Alice Roddis in 1982, 1984, 1991, and 1992. Processing of this collection was supported in part by gifts from Louis H. Roddis.

Processing information:

Processed by: Katherine Rose, Keary Wagner, Jason Stipanov, Erik Meadows, Allan Freyer, Elizabeth Scott, Robyn Bissette, Brad Siegele, William Rose

Completed September 1996

Much of the collection is in the order that Roddis arranged and indexed it. His index forms the appendix. Some materials that are more appropriate for the general library have been removed for possible inclusion. Series that Roddis did not index are arranged primarily the way the materials were sent to the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Note that a portion of the Three Mile Island Series is found towards the end of the collection in boxes 98-100.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in the Louis H. (Louis Harry) Roddis Papers have not been transferred to Duke University. For further information, see the section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Louis H. (Louis Harry) Roddis Papers, 1823-1990.