A. B. Amis Papers
Scope and Contents
These documents, publications, photos, and 3-dimensional objects provide insight to the administrative, financial, and social aspects of Radiation, Inc. and Brevard County, FL, from 1950-1970. Materials included were largely written by Amis but may also have been collected from other sources as reference materials (such as memos, correspondence, and personal artifacts). This collection also includes reflective historical materials from c.1995-2018 regarding Radiation, Inc.’s prime years, largely collected from Radiation Old Timer reunions.
Some publications included may be reproductions or copies of originals.
Dates
- 1950-2018
Creator
- Department of Defense (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Some records in this collection may be subject to access restrictions. Some are restricted for privacy concerns and institutional policy. Please contact the repository for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright of these materials is held by Florida Tech and others. It is the responsibility of the user to determine and satisfy copyright. Users must seek written permission from both the Harry P. Weber University Archives & Special Collections and the original copyright holder regarding use of the material and to distribute, publish, post, or display in any way either in print or electronically.
Biographical / Historical
A. B. Amis, III (1928-2018) of Meridian, MS, was one of Radiation, Inc.’s primary technical writers, responsible for constructing many contracts, documents, and publication texts.
Amis graduated from Georgia Tech with Honors (1951) and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, having spent two years in the US Navy studying electronics (1946-1948). Amis was hired at Radiation, Inc. in 1953 as an Associate Principal Engineer, but quickly leveraged his skills as a writer, covering items such as sales presentations, employee evaluations and biographies, and copy for press and media. After retiring from Harris Corp. in 1988, Amis focused on traveling across the country with Frances, his spouse of 60 years. Many of the Radiation Old Timer reunions (1996-2012) were held at Amis’ home in Grant, FL, where he facilitated many of the oral history recordings collected throughout the Radiation, Inc. Archive. After Frances passed in 2009, Amis married fellow Radiator Mel Cox
Extent
1.48 Cubic Feet (7 document boxes)
26.41 Gigabytes (24 discs)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection includes a selection of textual and photographic materials, three-dimensional objects, and digital media collected by A. B. Amis throughout his employment with Radiation, Inc. and Harris Corp. The materials cover topics such as the early space race and engineering developments of the 1960s and 1970s.
Arrangement
The folders are arranged by series according to format (Document, Publication, Photo, 3-D Objects, Digital Media). The subseries describes topical content (i.e., administrative, financial, personal, etc.). Within each subseries, folders are arranged chronologically by date. If a range of dates is present in the materials, the first date in the range is used as the arrangement date. Processing notations are given in square brackets ([bracket]) when required for clarity.
- Series 1. Documents (1950-2014)
- Subseries A: Administrative (1951-1967)
- Subseries B: Financial (1954-1971)
- Subseries C: Personal (1954-1996)
- Subseries D: Historical (1986-2014)
- Series 2. Publications (1952-2007)
- Subseries A: Administrative (1952-1960)
- Subseries B: Press (1952-2014)
- Subseries C: Historical (1979-2015)
- Subseries D: Technical (1961-1971)
- Series 3. Photographs and Ephemera (1954-2006)
- Sub-series A: Technical (1958-1970)
- Sub-series B: Social (1954-2006)
- Sub-series C: Ephemera (c.1960-1980)
- Series 4. 3-D Objects (c.1960-1980)
- Series 5. Digital Media (c.2005-2015)
Accruals
Further accruals may be possible.
- Aeronautics
- Animal Radio Tracking
- Antennas (Electronics)
- Applied Technology
- Artificial satellites in telecommunication
- Asmara (Eritrea)
- Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925-present)
- Brevard County (Fla.)
- Cape Canaveral (Fla)
- Cruise missiles
- Doppler radar
- Employee stock options
- Engineering
- Engineers
- Equipment Bids
- Ho Chi Minh Trail
- International Business Machines Corporation
- Launch Complex 33 Historic Site (N.M.)
- Melbourne (Fla.)
- Meteorological services
- Nimbus Project (U.S)
- Patrick Air Force Base (Fla.)
- Port Malabar (Palm Bay, Fla.)
- Project Telstar
- Radio Telemetry
- Records and correspondence
- TIROS Satellites
- Tactical air navigation
- Technical Writing
- Telecommunication
- United States. National Security Agency
- Vanguard II (Artificial satellite)--Orbit
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio)
Creator
- Department of Defense (Organization)
- Harris Corporation (Organization)
- Boyd, J. A. (Joseph Aubrey) (Person)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Organization)
- Radiation Incorporated (Organization)
- Amis, A. B., III (Alphonso Bobbet), 1928-2018 (Person)
- Cox, M. L., III (Marcus Lafayette, "Mel"), 1926-2002 (Person)
- Hamner, George ("Gant"), 1928-2010 (Person)
- Penn, Raymond Hollen, 1927-2014 (Person)
- Whitman, John G., Jr., 1927-2010 (Person)
- Williams, Lavergne ("Verne"), 1918-2010 (Person)
Source
- Newman, Diane (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Collection Guide of the A. B. Amis Papers
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- C. DeSimone
- Date
- Nov. 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
- Amis, A. B. As I Recall: An Amis Family Scrapbook of Memories.
- Johnson, John, and A. B. Amis. Radiation, Inc.: An Anthology of Defining Stories.
- Perkins, Frank. High Tech Among the Palmettos: The Story of Radiation, Inc. and How It Changed the Face of South Brevard County.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
307 Evans Library
Florida Institute of Technology
150 West University Blvd.
Melbourne FL 32901-6975 USA
(321) 674-8571
(321) 724-2559 (Fax)
archives@fit.edu