Jack C. Riley papers

Collection

Identifier: Coll578

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of papers and images compiled by Jack C. Riley. The majority of materials relate to Electro Scientific Industries (ESI), where Riley worked from the 1950s to the 2000s. These materials include engineering bulletins, instruction manuals, technical articles, slides for presentations, and photographs and negatives of ESI facilities and equipment. Additional materials include papers relating to Riley’s work at the Radio Research Laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts; his work on beam interference, which was also done in Cambridge; published papers by Riley and other electrical engineers; and issues of the publication General Radio Experimenter.

Dates

1942-2005

Creator

Riley, Jack C., 1921-2016 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical Note

Jack C. Riley was born in 1921 in Amarillo, Texas, and moved to Portland, Oregon, in the early 1930s. After studying electrical engineering at Oregon State College (later Oregon State University), Riley undertook postgraduate studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he worked at the Radio Research Laboratory during and immediately after World War II. While in Cambridge, he met Loraine Walter, and they married in 1946. Riley completed his master’s degree in physics and mathematics at Oregon State College. In 1956, he began what would be a long career at the Portland-based firm Electro Scientific Instruments (ESI), where he served as Director of Technical Services from 1956-1964, and then as Consulting Electrical Professional Engineer from 1965-2008. Riley was also a professor of Applied Science and Electrical Engineering at Portland State University from 1967 to 1989. He died in June 2016 in Portland at the age of 94.

Extent

3.42 Cubic Feet (9 letter document cases; 1 slim letter document case)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers and images compiled by Jack C. Riley (1921-2016), who worked as an electrical engineer and was employed by the Portland, Oregon firm Electro Scientific Instruments.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged in four series: Series 1. Work at Cambridge Radio Research Laboratory; Series 2. Career at Electro Scientific Industries (ESI); Series 3. Articles and essays; Series 4. Other papers.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Negatives and transparencies are not available for direct access. Contact library staff for assistance.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Jan Munly, November 2016 (Lib. Acc. 28960).

Separated Materials

35mm roll of film about beam interference was separated to Moving Image Collections and Electro Scientific Industries seminar recordings were separated to Oral History Collections, Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Artifacts were separated to Oregon Historical Society Museum Collections.

Processing Information

Collection was titled "Jack C. Riley collection" prior to 2020. Materials regarding sound system records, previously in Box 6, Folder 1, were discarded in November 2021 due to extensive fire damage.