George Burnet was trained as a chemical engineer and served as professor and head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Iowa State University. Burnet also served as Chairman of the Department of Nuclear Engineering during a period when it merged with and later split from the Department of Chemical Engineering. He also served as a Senior Scientist at Ames Laboratory. Burnet's chief research interests were in fertilizer technology, engineering education methods and development, coal waste utilization, process chemistry, and liquid metal technology. This collection contains biographical information, a laboratory research notebook, and a commencement speech on science and technology delivered by Burnet.

George Burnet was born to George and Myrtle (Hutchinson) Burnet of Fort Dodge, Iowa, on January 30, 1924. He received his B.S. (1948), M.S. (1949), and Ph.D. (1951) in chemical engineering from Iowa State College (University).

Burnet joined the staff at Iowa State as an Instructor (1950-1951) in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He worked briefly in the private sector as a Process and Project Engineer (1951-1956) for Commercial Solvents Corp. He returned to Iowa State as an Associate Professor (1956-1958) of chemical engineering and was soon promoted to Professor (1958-1995). He was named Anson Marston Distinguished Professor (1975) He served in administrative roles as Head (1961-1973) of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Head (1973-1978) of the combined Departments of Chemical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering, and Chair (1978-1983) of the Department of Nuclear Engineering when they later were separated. During the mid-1990s, Burnet served as Acting Dean of the College of Engineering. He also served as Senior Engineer (1958-1995) and as Chief (1961-1973) of the Chemical Engineering Division at Ames Laboratory.

As a researcher, Burnet initially showed interest in fertilizer technology and petrochemistry. Later in his career he focused on engineering education methods and development, coal waste utilization, process chemistry, and liquid metal technology. Burnet received a number of honors and awards including the Faculty Citation (1968) from Iowa State, the National Service Award (1975) from Omega Chi Epsilon, the Outstanding Professor Award (1982) from the ISU Engineering Council, the Benjamin Garver Lamme Gold Medal (1982) from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and the Linton E. Grinter Award (1984) from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Burnet also served a number of these organizations in various capacities including as President (1976-1977) of ASEE and as President (1970-1972) of Omega Chi Epsilon.

George Burnet married Betty A. Riggs of Wesley, Iowa. Together they had six children: Kathryn, Betty Jo, Dolores, Joan, Elaine, and George, Jr. Betty died in 1993 and George later married Agatha Huepenbecker. Agatha had served as Head of the Department of Textiles and Clothing at Iowa State for many years.

This collection (1948-2007) contains biographical information, notes on departmental rankings, a laboratory research notebook, and a speech on science and technology. The biographical information includes curriculum vitae, Iowa State faculty information forms, news clippings, and press releases. The laboratory notebook includes data related to research conducted for Burnet's thesis on the effect of pressure on sedimentation rates. The speech on science and technology was presented at Iowa State's fall commencement ceremony in 1978.

The collection is organized alphabetically.