Sub-series 5. Alphabetical Files, 1919-2000, undated

Arranged alphabetically by subject, this sub-series consists of W.L. Badger Associates’ alphabetical subject files. A majority of the files were created by W.L. Badger Associates and the following corporate predecessors: W.L. Badger Consulting Chemical Engineer and Dow Chemical Company’s Consulting Engineering Division. A significant number of files created by W.L. Badger Associates’ joint ventures, Seawater Conversion Corporation and Spintech Industries, Incorporated, are also found in this sub-series. A small number of files created by Swenson Evaporator Company, who retained Walter L. Badger as a consultant for many years, are also preserved here.

The Alphabetical Files document a variety of different types of topics. About a quarter of the files pertain to the firm’s business activities, documenting the consultant work the firm performed for its clients and providing a large amount of technical information on a number of the projects it worked on. Another quarter of the files concern subjects that were of general interest to the firm and its staff. A somewhat smaller portion of files in this sub-series regard the activities of the firm’s joint ventures Seawater Conversion Corporation and Spintech Industries, Incorporated, which document their business activities and provide technical information about the various projects they were involved with. A small, but noticeable, number of files concern the firm’s internal projects, most notably Ferris C. Standiford’s research and development work on falling film multistage flash evaporators. A handful of files pertaining to the professional activities of the firm’s staff, including, but not limited to, participation in conferences and symposiums and writing articles are also preserved here.

The contents of the Alphabetical Files consist mainly of correspondence, reports, blueprints, and notes. A significant amount of graphs, tables, magazine articles, photocopied articles, and article reprints are also found in these files. Government documents, legal documents, miscellaneous printed materials, and a few photographs are preserved in these files as well.