Audiovisual Recordings and Computer Media

The Odum Papers document the life and career of one of the most important ecologists and environmental scientists in the 20th Century. The collection spans the majority of this life, with materials dating from 1935 to 2003. The bulk of the collection is comprised of Odum's professional files related to his research and educational activities.

The collection is organized into several series of files. The Biographical Files series includes Odum's curriculum vita, lists of his contributions and accomplishments, an oral history interview and miscellaneous materials related to his death and memorial. The series also includes files related to awards and honors, such as the Crafoord Prize and Institute de la Vie award.

Odum's correspondence can be found throughout the collection, but there are three series that contain the majority of his letters, memoranda and electronic mail. The Subject Correspondence series includes files pertaining to colleagues, students, organizations, countries and research topics. There are multiple files related to the Cousteau Society, Biosphere 2, China, the International Society for the Systems Sciences, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and various universities. Correspondents include David M. Scienceman, Dennis Collins, Thomas A. Robertson, Sheng-Fang Lan, Ariel Lugo, and Jan Sendzimir. The Chronological Correspondence series includes letters filed by date from 1955 to 2001. The USA Correspondence series includes files marked by Odum as pertaining to correspondents and subjects in the United States. There is a great deal of overlap between files in all three correspondence series.

Research Projects, one of the largest series in the collection, includes research data, notes, correspondence, graphs, diagrams, and miscellaneous materials pertaining to Odum's research. Research topics with significant coverage include energy transformities, Ecuador, Biosphere 2, emergy, energy analysis, New Zealand, phosphate, the Kissimmee River and Lake Okeechobee. There are numerous files pertaining to the Terrestrial Ecology Program and Odum's rainforest research at the Puerto Rico Nuclear Center in the 1960s, including data, reports, notebooks, and correspondence. The Florida Files series primarily relates to research Odum conducted on Florida springs and other bodies of water in the 1950s and 1970s. Odum pioneered the way to study and measure energy flow in ecosystems quantitatively in his study of Silver Springs in Florida during the 1950s.

The Air Force Files contain materials created by Odum while studying meteorology in Puerto Rico in the Army Air Force and while serving as an instructor at the Air Force Tropical Weather School in Panama. The Proposals series includes research proposals submitted by Odum and his associates, particularly related to the UF Center for Wetlands. The Systems Models series includes models and simulations created by Odum using his symbol language.

The large number of publications and other writings produced by Odum throughout his career are organized in several series. The Journal Articles and Papers series includes writings published and presented by Odum from 1950 to 2002. The Manuscripts and Books series includes published versions of Odum's books, as well as the manuscripts written prior to publication. The Reports series includes project reports created by Odum and his associates. The Chapters series includes chapters written by Odum for publication in books by other authors and editors, as well as some chapters from Odum's own books. The Miscellaneous Writings series includes reviews written by Odum, fragments of larger writings, notes, figures and charts used in publications, and a variety of miscellaneous documents where the author is unidentified. The News Clippings series primarily includes articles by and about Odum, as well as other members of the Odum family.

The Reference Files include publications, papers, clippings, and other materials written by other authors and collected by Odum for reference and research purposes. Similarly, the Writings by Others series includes articles, papers and reports written by other authors and collected by Odum. The Travel Files series includes materials pertaining to some of the trips that Odum made to various countries around the world. The Conference Files include materials pertaining to conferences attended by Odum, including some of the papers presented by Odum at the conferences.

The Courses and Workshops series includes syllabi, assignments, handouts and class notes for course taught by Odum. The majority of the classes were taught at the University of Florida, but other universities are represented. There are files pertaining to American Association for the Advancement of Science at Chautauqua short courses for which Odum served as an instructor. The Lectures, Papers, and Presentations series includes miscellaneous lectures, speeches, and presentations given by Odum.

The University of Florida Files series pertains to Odum's employment and activities at UF for more than three decades. Many of the files are from his tenure as director of the Center for Wetlands and the Center for Environmental Policy. The Family Files series includes correspondence between Odum and his mother, Anna K. Odum; his father, Howard Washington Odum; his brother, Eugene P. Odum, and other family members.

Photographic materials in the collection include prints, negatives and slides. There is one group of Puerto Rico Research photographs, and a small group of Photo Albums and Binders, which contain a combination of photographic prints and images clipped from magazines and other publications. The collection also includes a small number of memorabilia, audiovisual recordings and computer media.