Rudolph "Rud" J. Lubsen was born January 17, 1908, in Maurice, Iowa, to Mr. and Mrs. P. J. Lubsen. Lubsen received his B.S. (1930) and M.S. (1932) in civil engineering from Iowa State College (University). After graduation, Lubsen was a bridge designer (1930-1931, 1934-1936) for the Iowa State Highway Commission and Instructor (1936-1940) of engineering at Graceland College, Iowa. He also worked as a designer (1932-1933) for the Pittsburgh Steel Company in Des Moines, Iowa.

Lubsen joined the staff at Iowa State College (University) as Instructor (1941-1943) and then Assistant Professor (1943-1948) of theoretical and applied mechanics. He became Assistant Professor (1948-1951) in the department of civil engineering. He was promoted in that department to Associate Professor (1951-1973) and Professor (1973-1975). Lubsen was director of the Iowa State Surveying Summer Camp ("Camp Marston") for a number of years until it closed in the 1960s.

As a Registered Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor, Lubsen was active in a number of professional organizations. He was a member of the Society of Land Surveyors of Iowa, the Iowa Engineering Society, and the American Society of Professional Engineers. Lubsen received the John J. Reineke Service Award (1993) from the Society of Land Surveyors of Iowa, the Outstanding Civil Engineer Award (1992) from the American Society of Engineers, and the Outstanding Engineer Award (1975, 1989) from the Iowa Engineering Society. He taught workshops for practicing surveyors and was a key expert witness in the Missouri River boundary dispute between the State of Iowa and the State of Nebraska.

Rudolph Lubsen married Mayona Johnson of Hawarden, Iowa, on August 30, 1930. Together they had two children: Margaret and Janet. Mayona preceded him in death in 1961. Lubsen married Marie Graham in 1963. Lubsen died on August 2, 1995, in Morrison, Colorado.

The collection (1932-1995, n.d.) contains materials related to Professor Lubsen's career as professor of civil engineering and as a professional engineer. The collection includes biographical material, course notes and assignment problems from civil engineering classes he taught, and materials related to surveying workshops he instructed. The materials related to the surveying workshops contain compiled articles on topics covering basic mathematics, determining angles and latitudes, calculating curves, and taking field notes. Most of the articles were prepared by Lubsen and Richard E. Montag also of the Department of Civil Engineering. A copy of Lubsen's master's thesis is also included in the collection along with a letter from Belgian civil engineer Arthur Vierendeel whose truss design was the focus of Lusben's thesis.

The collection is organized alphabetically.