The Ellis B. Cowling Papers contain files from 1957 to 2013 that include reports, notes, writings, research data, memos, correspondence, and newspaper clippings documenting Ellis B. Cowling's career. There are correspondence, publications, media clippings from newspapers, websites and magazines, drafts and reports from the Ad Hoc Committee at North Carolina State University and photographs all related to the move of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1999. There are also articles, correspondence, grant application materials, presentation materials, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and reports related to Cowling's animal waste research work, pertaining in particular to the Out-of-the-Box Thinking group. Additionally there are articles, background information, brochures, correspondence and news articles related to Cowling's involvement with the installation of Marye Anne Fox as Chancellor of North Carolina State University, the Watauga Seminar and the Faculty Senate. The largest series on the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS) contains annual meetings agendas, correspondence, presentation materials and reports related both directly to SOS and to its collaboration with other organizations. There is also extensive material about the Data Analysis Workshop conducted by SOS. In addition to these paper materials, there are also floppy disks, slides and photographs related to the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS). Finally, there are also audiovisual materials, primarily videotapes and cassette tapes. Most of the cassette tapes contain lectures Cowling gave over the course of a semester to the graduate-level PP [Plant Pathology] 650 course, although it is unclear what the course would have been titled since it no longer exists.
Dr. Ellis B. Cowling was a University Distinguished Professor At-Large Emeritus of Forestry and Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University. Dr. Cowling specialized in biochemistry of wood decay, conservation of essential elements by forest trees, diseases of forest trees and deterioration of timber products, role of nitrogen in coevolution of forest trees and wood-destroying fungi, and integrated management of plant diseases. His other research interests included man-induced changes in the chemical climate and their effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the role of scientists in public decision making. Dr. Cowling helped develop a nationwide system for monitoring acid deposition called the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP). His appointment as the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee of Faculty at North Carolina State University contributed to the preservation and relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina. Dr. Cowling died on September 24, 2021.
Dr. Ellis B. Cowling was a University Distinguished Professor At-Large Emeritus of Forestry and Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University. Dr. Cowling specialized in biochemistry of wood decay, conservation of essential elements by forest trees, diseases of forest trees and deterioration of timber products, role of nitrogen in coevolution of forest trees and wood-destroying fungi, and integrated management of plant diseases. His other research interests included man-induced changes in the chemical climate and their effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the role of scientists in public decision making. Dr. Cowling helped develop a nationwide system for monitoring acid deposition called the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP). His appointment as the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee of Faculty at North Carolina State University contributed to the preservation and relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina.
Born in Waukeegan, Illinois on December 11, 1932, Ellis Cowling grew up in upstate New York. He received his B.S. in Wood Technology from Syracuse University in 1954, his M.S. in Forest Pathology from Syracuse University in 1956, and his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology and Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin in 1959.
Cowling spent a year in Sweden at the University of Uppsala as a United States Public Health Service Postdoctoral Fellow recieving a Filosofie Licensiat in 1960 for Physiologial Botany. Returning to the United States, Dr. Cowling worked as a professor and plant pathologist at Yale University from 1960 to 1965. In 1965, he joined the faculty at North Carolina State University where he remained until his retirement.
While at North Carolina State University, Dr. Cowling worked as a professor of Plant Pathology, Forestry, and Wood and Paper Science. He returned to Sweden for a sabbatical and recieved a Filosofie Doktor in Physiological Botany in 1970. Dr. Cowling spent time as the Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research for the College of Forest Resources from 1978 to 1991, and became the Director of the Southern Oxidants Study in 1993.
Some of Dr. Cowling's more notable honors and awards include election and membership to the National Academy of Sciences in 1973, recipient of the North Carolina Award of Achievement in Science in 1973, recipient of the Oliver Max Gardner Award of the consolidated University of North Carolina in 1981, and election to the Council of the National Academy of Sciences from 1994 to 1997. Dr. Cowling died on September 24, 2021.
The Ellis B. Cowling Papers contain files from 1957 to 2013 that include reports, notes, writings, research data, memos, correspondence, and newspaper clippings documenting Ellis B. Cowling's career. There are correspondence, publications, media clippings from newspapers, websites and magazines, drafts and reports from the Ad Hoc Committee at North Carolina State University and photographs all related to the move of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1999. There is also articles, correspondence, grant application materials, presentation materials, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and reports related to Cowling's animal waste research work, pertaining in particular to the Out-of-the-Box Thinking group. Additionally there is articles, background information, brochures, correspondence and news articles related to Cowling's involvement with the installation of Marye Anne Fox as Chancellor of North Carolina State University, the Watauga Seminar and the Faculty Senate.
The series pertaining to Cowling's work with the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS) is the largest series. This series contains annual meetings agendas, correspondence, presentation materials and reports related directly to SOS. SOS also often collaborated with other organizations such as the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Committee (TNRCC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Science Team, the Spatial Ozone Network (SON) and the North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone (NARSTO), so this series contains similar items about those and other collaborations. There is also extensive material about the Data Analysis Workshop conducted by SOS. In addition to these paper materials, there are also floppy disks, slides and photographs related to the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS).
Finally, there are also audiovisual materials, primarily videotapes and cassette tapes. Most of the cassette tapes contain lectures Cowling gave over the course of a semester to the graduate-level PP [Plant Pathology] 650 course, although it is unclear what the course would have been titled since it no longer exists.
Because the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS) was so pervasive throughout Cowling's career, it is likely that there are related materials in other series, particularly in the Animal Waste Research series and the Professional Organization Involvement series. Researchers interested in SOS are encouraged to explore the rest of the collection as well.
The collection is arranged into 6 series:
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.
[Identification of item], Ellis B. Cowling Papers, MC 00435, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Gift of Ellis B. Cowling, 2011 (Accession no. 2011-0259) and of Ellis B. Cowling, 2013 (Accession no. 2013.0100).
Finding aid created by Judy Allen Dodson, 2011 December. Processed and finding aid updated by Krista B. Sorenson, 2012 March. Finding aid updated by Gwynn Thayer, 2013 September. Additional processing completed and finding aid updated by Meaghan Lanier, April 2014.
The collection is organized into six principal series:
Series 1, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, documents Cowling's work on the Ad Hoc Committee for the preservation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Included are the correspondence of Ellis B. Cowling, materials relating to a visit to Cape Hatteras, publications about the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, media clippings from newspapers, websites, and magazines about the Cape Hatteras, the move, and Ellis B. Cowling, information about the lighthouse, drafts and reports from the Ad Hoc Committee at North Carolina State University, information about the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse's move in 1999 and photographs from that time period. The material is dated 1982-2001.
This series is arranged by type of document.
Series 2 documents Cowling's work with animal waste research including correspondence, newsletters, newspaper clippings and reports from the Out-of-the-Box Thinking Group. There are other articles, correspondence, grant application materials, presentation materials and reports from a variety of other groups in which he participating, including the North Carolina Animal Waste Workship, the USDA, Golden LEAF and the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST). Most of the material is dated 1992 to 2006.
This series was arranged according to original order with some attempt to group materials related to the same organization together, such as those related to the Out-of-the-Box Thinking Group meeting.
This series is arranged in the manner that the creator had it arranged, with some attempt to group together items related to the same organization, such as those related to the Out-of-the-Box Thinking Group meeting.
Series 3 documents Cowling's involvement with North Carolina State University. One major component includes articles and background information related to the installation of Marye Anne Fox as Chancellor of the university. There are also background information, brochures, correspondence and news articles related to his participation in the Watauga Seminar and the Faculty Senate. The materials are dated 1986 to 2013.
Because this series contains docments related to three major components - the Installation of Marye Anne Fox as Chancellor, the Watauga Seminar and the Faculty Senate - an attempt was made to maintain the creator's original organization while grouping materials related to these topics together.
Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.
Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.
Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.
Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.
After review, access to the digital copies may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request.
The Special Collections Research Center, NC State University Libraries, has digital copies of some or all of these materials.
Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.
Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.
Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.
Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.
Series 4 documents Cowling's professional organization involvement. This includes articles, correspondence, grant application materials, newsletters, papers and reports related to many organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) and the North Carolina Progress Board. The materials are dated 1957 to 2013.
This series was arranged according to original order with some attempt to group materials related to the same organization together, such as those related to the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP).
Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.
Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.
After review, access to the digital copies may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request.
The Special Collections Research Center, NC State University Libraries, has digital copies of some or all of these materials.
After review, access to the digital copies may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request.
The Special Collections Research Center, NC State University Libraries, has digital copies of some or all of these materials.
After review, access to the digital copies may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request.
The Special Collections Research Center, NC State University Libraries, has digital copies of some or all of these materials.
After review, access to the digital copies may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request.
The Special Collections Research Center, NC State University Libraries, has digital copies of some or all of these materials.
Series 5 is the largest series, documenting Cowling's work with the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS). This series contains annual meetings agendas, correspondence, presentation materials and reports related directly to SOS. SOS also often collaborated with other organizations such as the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Committee (TNRCC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Science Team, the Spatial Ozone Network (SON) and the North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone (NARSTO), so this series contains similar items about those and other collaborations. There is also extensive material about the Data Analysis Workshop conducted by SOS. In addition to these paper materials, there are also floppy disks, slides and photographs related to the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS). The materials are dated 1986 to 2007.
This series was arranged according to original order with some attempt to group materials related to the same organization together, such as those related to the North American Research Stategy for Tropospheric Ozone (NARSTO).
Series 6 contains audiovisual materials, primarily videotapes related to Cowling's work, such as with the North Carolina Progress Board, with animal waste and with the Southern Oxidants Study) and cassette tapes, most of which document lectures Cowling gave for a plant pathology course. Unfortunately PP 650 no longer exists, so it is not clear what the course title would have been, although it was likely a graduate level course since it was above 500. The materials are dated 1972 to 2006.
This series was arranged by type of item and then according to original order for the videotapes and by the discussion number for the majority of the cassette tapes.
Philips CD-R80 40X
“File count is approximate and excludes system files, deleted files, and duplicates that may have been created during processing.”
This collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to digital files may require additional advanced notice.
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[Identification of item], Ellis B. Cowling Papers, MC 00435, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.