Davis, Raymond Earl, 1885-1970

Biographical Information

Raymond Earl Davis was born in Gorham, Maine, on June 13, 1885, the son of Charles and Elizabeth Gray Davis. His interests in civil engineering projects were deep rooted at an early age so that even before completing his basic engineering education he spent several years in the field as a topographer and engineering inspector. Returning to the University of Maine, he received his B.S. in 1911 and C.E. in 1914. During 1911 through 1917 he became interested in teaching and served as Instructor and Associate in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois, where he received his M.S. in 1916. This activity was interrupted by World War I, during which he was a first lieutenant, Engineering Corps, serving as Assistant to the Department Engineer, Western Department, in charge of collecting and compiling data for the War Department. When the war ended he resumed his career in teaching, serving for the next two years as Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Nebraska.

His first association with the University of California began in 1920, where his keen interest in the properties of engineering materials soon resulted in his appointment as Director of the then small Engineering Materials Laboratory, and as Professor of Civil Engineering.

Professor Davis was a leading researcher in the field of engineering materials and structures. Although he supervised many important structural research projects such as, (a) the large model studies of the proposed San Francisco-Oakland Bridge to evaluate its engineering characteristics; (b) tension studies of very heavy riveted joints for long span bridges; and (c) stability studies of rock-fill dams during earthquakes; and many others, his principal interests were in the field of cement and concrete, where he was preeminent both as a researcher and a consultant. He was always extremely active in advancing the work of his profession, serving on many important committees of the American Society for Testing and Materials as well as the American Concrete Institute, frequently as chairman. He also served as president of the latter organization.

Among the many studies on concrete which he pioneered and for which he won acclaim are (a) volume changes and creep, or plastic flow of concrete under sustained loads; and (b) the use of pozzolans as a partial replacement of part of the cement in concrete mixes.

Professor Davis' knowledge in connection with cement and concrete resulted in his advice being sought by many large private and governmental organizations, such as the Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, in connection with Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, Colorado River Aqueduct, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and many other projects. He directed several research projects concerned with engineering materials and structures during World War II.

Under the direction of Professor Davis, the Engineering Materials Laboratory developed into one of the most important of its type in the world. In 1969 this laboratory was greatly enlarged for a second time and named Raymond Earl Davis Hall.

Although he retired from his academic duties in 1952, he continued his active participation in technical society matters and his consulting activities until his death.

Raymond Earl Davis died on June 14, 1970, in Berkeley, one day after his eighty-fifth birthday. Excerpted from In Memoriam, by G. E. Troxell, H. E. Davis, and J. W. Kelly.

From the guide to the Raymond E. Davis Papers, 1931-1956, (Water Resources Collections and Archives)