Paul R. Elliker Papers, 1934-1973
Elliker, Paul Reuben, 1911-
1.2 cubic ft.

Scope and Content Note

These papers were created during Elliker's tenure at Purdue University and as chairman of the Department of Microbiology at Oregon State University. They document his research interests and career in teaching. The collection consists of professional correspondence, laboratory notes and tests, teaching curriculum notes, memorabilia, and a published paper.

The collection consists of five series: Series I. Correspondence; Series II. Teaching and Curriculum; Series III. Research Records; Series IV. Papers and Series V. Photograph.

Series I contains correspondence between Elliker and colleagues at Purdue and other universities, companies for which he conducted research, professional organizations and editors of scientific publications. It also includes office files and correspondence related to the Department of Microbiology generated during the time Elliker served as department chair. Series II includes curriculum materials for dairy courses, exams from dairy husbandry classes taught by Elliker, proposed lectures for a dairy technology extension course, and laboratory exercises for food bacteriology courses.

Series III consists of research records pertaining to fat hydrolysis, germicide research, and research that Elliker conducted for Klenzade Products, a Beloit, Wisconsin manufacturer of sanitation chemicals and equipment. Also included in series III is Elliker's research notes on Swiss cheese starter cultures (1934-35). Series IV contains two papers, "Practical Scientific Approach to Cream Quality Improvement," which Elliker presented to the American Butter Institute in 1946 and "The History of the Department of Microbiology", compiled by the faculty and staff of Oregon State University's Department of Microbiology. Series V contains a photograph of a Klenzade products display at a trade show.

Biographical Note

Paul Reuben Elliker was born in 1911 in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. He received his B.S. (1934), M.S. (1935), and Ph.D. (1937) degrees in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin. He joined the faculty of Purdue University's Dairy Husbandry Department in 1940. During the years 1944-1945 Elliker served at Fort Detrick, Maryland in the United State Army's Biowarfare Group. In 1947 he was appointed a member of the faculty in the Bacteriology Department at Oregon State College. He taught at Oregon State until his retirement in 1976, serving as department chair from 1952-1976. His areas of research included germicides, bacterial viruses, aerobiology, nutrition of lactic acid bacteria, and psychrophilic bacteria.

Elliker received numerous awards for teaching and research, including the OSC Sigma Xi All Campus Research Award in 1952 and the American Dairy Science Borden Award in Dairy Manufacturing in 1954. He authored over 136 articles in publications such as the Journal of Dairy Science and the Journal of Milk and Food. He wrote several technical papers for the OSU Agricultural Experiment Station and was the author of Practical Dairy Bacteriology,  published in 1949.

Related Materials

Other materials relating to Paul Elliker can be found in the Microbiology Department Records (RG 191) and in the Memorabilia Collection.

Container Note

The materials are housed in one cubic foot box and in two document boxes.

Inventory