The collection consists of Osborn's personal work and research correspondence, notes, and data, proposals, photographs, reports, and published articles related to his work on the Coleman Meteorite, Hubble Space Telescope and at the National Underground Research Observatory (NURO) at Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff (Ariz.), teaching materials, and biographical information.
The collection is divided into three series: Osborn Papers; CMU Materials; and CMU Physics Department Materials.
The Osborn Papers, 1965-2012, and undated, (2 cubic ft.) consist mainly of his personal work and research correspondence, notes, and data, published articles, teaching materials, and biographical information. Included here are his research proposals, reports, notes, articles, photographs and other related materials on the Coleman Meteorite, and his research projects at both the Hubble Space Telescope and at NURO. Also in this series are his correspondence with Dr. Francisco Fuenmayor and Dr. Antonio Luis Cardenas, both of the Universidad de Los Andes in Merida, Venezuela, 2000-2001 and 1970-1976, respectively, and his correspondence with Juan Jose Claria, 1979-1979. Osborn worked with Claria at the Venezuelan National Observatory, 1973-1976. Claria later became the Director of the National Astronomical Observatory in Cordoba, Argentina. The Claria correspondence is in Spanish.
The CMU Materials, 1959, 2006, (approximately 1 cubic ft.) consists mainly of memos, meeting minutes, reports, and other materials of a substantial nature documenting changes in policy, procedure or interests at CMU that Osborn received while working at CMU. Of note here is the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Report and Assessment, 2000.
The CMU. Physics Department Materials, 1968-2006 (approximately 3.5 cubic ft.), consist mainly of various departmental and other meeting minutes, 1972-2006. Included here are student manuals and study guides for CMU astronomy and physics classes, mainly taught by Osborn, 1976-2005 (Scattered). All of the manuals and guides are by Osborn unless otherwise noted. They include sample class presentation notes, quizzes, study guides, and exams. There are also a few materials he received or helped generate, such as the Off-Campus Observatory Proposal and Study, 1968-1976, Colloquia and Seminar Notes, 1980-2006, and various Department Program Reviews, 1981-1998 (Scattered), and Proposals. A few miscellaneous departmental materials complete the collection.
Processing Notes: Over the years, many of Osborn’s Physics Dept. donations were filed into the Clarke’s CMU Vertical Files for the Physics Dept. With his last donation, all the Physics Dept. files he had donated in the last ten years were merged with his papers. A number of CMU. Faculty Association newsletters, the Courier, were merged into the existing CMU. Faculty Association collection and two OMB reports were merged into the CMU. Miscellaneous Financial Collection. Duplicate materials, mainly minutes, were recycled.