Special Collections Department
403 Parks Library
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2140

RS 11/5/14
Carl E. Ekberg, Jr. (1920-2007)
Papers, 1956-2007, undated


Descriptive summary

creator: Ekberg, Carl E., Jr. (1920-2007)
title: Papers
dates: 1956-2007, undated
extent: 1.68 linear feet (4 document boxes)
collection number: RS 11/5/14
repository: University Archives, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

 

Administrative information

access: Open for research
publication rights: Consult Head, Special Collections Department
preferred citation: Carl E. Ekberg, Jr. Papers, RS 11/5/14, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

 

Abstract

Carl E. Ekberg, Jr. was Professor (1959-1988) and Head (1959-1985) of the Department of Civil Engineering at Iowa State University. He conducted research on prestressed concrete structures for highway and railway bridges and was involved with research on steel deck reinforced concrete floors. This collection includes biographical information, correspondence, meeting materials, news clippings, publications, and reports. The collection also contains documents related to many of the professional associations that Ekberg was affiliated including the American Concrete Institute, the American Railway Engineering Association, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. These materials consist of correspondence, meeting minutes, and reports. The collection also contains notes, drafts, and published reports related to Ekberg's research on prestressed concrete structures and steel deck reinforced concrete slabs.

 

Biographical note

Carl Edwin Ekberg, Jr., was born October 28, 1920, to Carl E. and Ruth Elizabeth (Olin) Ekberg in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received his B.C.E. (1943) in civil engineering, his M.S. (1947) in structural engineering, and his Ph.D. (1954) in civil engineering all from the University of Minnesota. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

In 1951, Ekberg was named Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at North Dakota State University. He was hired by Lehigh University, where he achieved the rank of Associate Professor (1956-1959). In 1959, Ekberg accepted an appointment as Professor (1959-1988) and Head (1959-1985) of civil engineering at Iowa State University. He retired as department head in 1985, but served in a teaching and research capacity until his full retirement in 1988. He was named Professor Emeritus.

Ekberg's research activities focused on the improvement of design criteria for structural concrete. At Lehigh, he conducted extensive tests to determine the feasibility of prestressed concrete for highway and railway bridges with particular emphasis on resistance to repeated loading. At Iowa State, he participated in the development of design criteria for concrete floors reinforced with cold-formed steel decking.

Ekberg was greatly respected by his peers. He was named a fellow of both the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Concrete Institute, and held memberships in several other professional organizations including the American Railway Engineering Association, the American Society of Engineering Education, the Iowa Engineering Society, the Osborn Research Club, and the University of Minnesota M-Club. He was also a member of Chi Epsilon, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi and Tau Beta Pi honor societies. He received the Outstanding Service Award (1985) from the Iowa Section of ASCE.

Ekberg married Dorothy Heley of Fergus Falls, Minnesota. They had four children: Carl III, Gretchen, Janet, and Thomas. Carl Ekberg, Jr. died on May 30, 2007, and was buried in the Iowa State University Cemetery.

 

Collection description

This collection (1956-2007, undated) includes biographical information, correspondence, meeting materials, news clippings, publications, and reports. The collection also contains documents related to many of the professional associations that Ekberg was affiliated including the American Concrete Institute, the American Railway Engineering Association, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. These materials consist of correspondence, meeting minutes, and reports. The collection also contains notes, drafts, and published reports related to Ekberg's research on prestressed concrete structures and steel deck reinforced concrete slabs.

 

Related materials

Related collections in the Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library include:

  • Mary Krumboltz Hurd Papers, MS 275
    		•

     

    Organization

    This collection is organized in alphabetical order.

     

    Container list

    Box

    Folder

    Title

    Dates

    1

    1

    Biographical information: general

    1959-1990

    1

    2

    Biographical information: news clippings

    1959-2007

    1

    3

    Biographical information: photographs of civil engineering faculty, staff, students, and research (55 b/w and 3 color)

    1965-1983

    1

    4

    American Concrete Institute: meeting information

    1973

    1

    5

    American Concrete Institute: meeting information - publications, annual conventions

    1984-1985

    1

    6

    American Concrete Institute: meeting information

    1986

    1

    7

    American Concrete Institute: meeting information - correspondence, research, revisions

    1986

    1

    8

    American Concrete Institute: meeting information

    1986

    1

    9

    American Concrete Institute: meeting information -correspondence, notes

    1987

    1

    10

    American Railway Engineering Association (AREA): meetings

    1978-1983

    2

    1

    American Railway Engineering Association (AREA): meeting minutes

    1981-1983

    2

    2

    American Railway Engineering Association (AREA): meetings

    1986

    2

    3

    American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) standards

    1989

    2

    4

    American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) structural design conference

    1986-1988

    2

    5

    Civil Engineering Computer Planning Committee

    1985

    2

    6

    Civil Engineering Extension Program

    1986-1987

    2

    7

    Committee and research notes

    1959-1978

    2

    8

    Correspondence: AASHO road test and calculations

    1958

    2

    9

    Correspondence: Porter and Ekberg

    1968-1973

    2

    10

    Correspondence: Information regarding the Nuclear Defense Design Summer Institute at the University of Hawaii

    1966

    2

    11

    Correspondence: American Iron and Steel Institute (notes included)

    1970 circa

    2

    12

    Correspondence: Association of American Railroads and related field investigations

    1960-1963

    2

    13

    Correspondence: J.P. Cullen and Son Construction Corp.

    1970 circa

    3

    1

    Correspondence: Maynes (2 color photographs)

    1975 circa

    3

    2

    Correspondence: Wakabayashi, Minoru

    1970 circa-1980

    3

    3

    Correspondence: Physical Facilities Committee

    1986-1987

    3

    4

    Correspondence: Prestressed Concrete Institute

    1980 circa

    3

    5

    Correspondence: Prestressed Concrete Institute

    1983-1984

    3

    6

    Correspondence: Information regarding the Composite Steel Deck Slabs Standard Committee

    1988

    3

    7

    Correspondence: Information regarding foreign travel and faculty improvement leave

    1988

    3

    8

    Compendium of ISU research conducted on cold-formed steel deck reinforced slab systems

    1978

    3

    9

    Drafts: "Inspection report of Downtown Management Parking Ramp"

    1975 circa

    3

    10

    Drafts: "Tentative Recommendations for the Design of Composite Steel Deck Floor Slabs"

    1972-1974

    3

    11

    Iowa Engineering Society: meeting minutes, directory of members

    1959-1983

    3

    12

    Notes: worksheets, presentation slides, reference notes on fatigue of composite prestressed steel beams (includes 11 b/w photographs)

    1960 circa

    3

    13

    Papers: "Fatigue Resistance of Prestressed Concrete Beams in Bending"

    1957

    3

    14

    Papers: "Predicting Fatigue Life of Prestressed Concrete Flexural Members" - drafts, notes, research

    undated

    3

    15

    Papers: "Static and Fatigue Tests on Prestressed Concrete Railway Slabs" - presented at the University of Kansas (includes 10 b/w photographs)

    1961

    4

    1

    Patent for Prestressed Decking

    1987

    4

    2

    Prestressed Concrete Institute: correspondence, meeting information, notes

    1987

    4

    3

    Prestressed Concrete Institute: correspondence, meeting information, notes

    1986-1988

    4

    4

    Proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF)

    1987-1989

    4

    5

    Publications: "Development and Use of Prestressed Flexural Members"

    1965

    4

    6

    Publications: "Flexural Fatigue Tests of Prestressed Steel I-Beams"

    1964-1965

    4

    7

    Publications: "Static and Fatigue Tests on Prestressed Concrete Slabs"

    1959

    4

    8

    Reports: "Field Tests on a Prestressed Concrete Multi-Beam Bridge"

    1956

    4

    9

    Reports: final report - "Fatigue and Residual Stress Investigation of Composite Prestressed Steel Beams"

    1963

    4

    10

    Reports: final report - "Current Design Practice for Bridge Bearing and Expansion Devices"

    1967

    4

    11

    Reports: "High Speed Fatigue Tests on Small Specimens of Plain Concrete"

    1959

    4

    12

    Reports: "Laboratory Investigation of Prestressed Concrete Railway Bridge Beams"

    1963

    4

    13

    Research notes: fatigue

    1984

    4

    14

    Research notes: fatigue resistance of prestressed concrete beams in bending

    1985-1987

    4

    15

    Research projects at Lehigh University presented at World Conference on Prestressed Concrete

    1957

    4

    16

    Research proposals

    1960 circa

    4

    17

    Review of National Science Foundation (NSF) proposal

    1986

    4

    18

    Speeches

    1984

    4

    19

    Strategic Planning Committee

    1981-1987