André M. Rossfelder Papers, 1947-2006 (SMC 112)

Restrictions: Original audiovisual recordings are restricted. Listening/viewing copies may be available.
OFF-SITE STORAGE: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW TWO TO THREE (2-3) WEEKS FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.

Extent: 4.5 Linear feet (3 cartons, 1 flat box, and 4 films)

Papers of Algerian-born geologist André Rossfelder detail his varied professional and personal interests. Materials include research and subject files, biographical information, photographs, patents, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and film and sound recordings of the Cousteau Diving Saucer. Much of the collection is in French.

André Rossfelder was born in Algeria on May 26, 1925. He joined the French Resistance in 1941, and later served as an officer in the 1st French Paratroop Regiment. After the war, he completed his education, studying geology and chemical engineering at the University of Algiers, where he received both his undergraduate (1947) and doctoral degrees (1960).

Rossfelder was active in oil exploration in Algeria, but, due to political events, was forced to leave the country. He came to the United States in 1965 to work at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in marine geology and ocean technology. In 1969, he joined Tetra Tech Inc., covering a variety of projects including geomarine engineering and marine mineral resources development. Then, from 1972 to 1995, Rossfelder ran his own companies. First he founded Geomarex, with the focus of discovering shallow-water marine mineral resources in the Pacific; then Rossfelder Corp., developing underwater electrical vibrocoring for sediment sampling, underwater coring and sediment coring

Along with his scientific interests, Rossfelder was an honored writer and historian. His published works included Clipperton: L'ile Tragique (1976), Le Onzieme Commandement (2000), and In Search of Longitude: Magellan and the Antimeridian (2010).

André Rossfelder passed away on February 7, 2011.

Papers of Algerian-born geologist André Rossfelder detail his varied professional and personal interests. Materials include research and subject files, biographical information, photographs, patents, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and film and Sound recordings of the Cousteau Diving Saucer. Much of the collection is in French.

The collection is arranged in eight series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) BUSINESS FILES, 4) PATENTS AND DISCLOSURES, 5) WRITINGS, 6) SUBJECT FILES, 7) PHOTOGRAPHS and 8) AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS.

Container List

BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL: Personal documents, résumés, biographical texts, and copies of articles written about Rossfelder. Interviews and other documents in this series are in French.

Box 1 Folder 1
Biographical information
Box 1 Folder 2
Personal documents, membership cards, etc
Box 1 Folder 3
Judgment against André Rossfelder and Jean Garcia, 1963
Box 1 Folder 4
Interview with Rossfelder and Jean-François Kahn, May 2000
Box 1 Folder 5
Hays, Ken - "Guns, Barges and Mud" [article about Rossfelder], 2000

CORRESPONDENCE

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 2) CORRESPONDENCE: Both business and personal letters to and from Rossfelder. General correspondence is arranged chronologically. Identified correspondents with multiple letters are arranged alphabetically. Much of the correspondence is in French. Additional correspondence can be found in the BUSINESS FILES and, in a few instances, in the SUBJECT FILES.

Box 1 Folder 6-7
Miscellaneous correspondents, 1949-2005
Box 1 Folder 8
Daniel, Jean (ed. Caliban), 1949-1950
Box 1 Folder 9
De Condé, Louis, 1994-2000
Box 1 Folder 10
Destandau, Charles, 2000
Box 1 Folder 11
Dib, Mohammed, 1995
Box 1 Folder 12-13
Laffitte, Robert, 1961, 1963, 1992-2002
Box 1 Folder 14
Marine Research & Planning, Inc., 1975-1976
Box 1 Folder 15
Penalva, Georges, 2000
Box 1 Folder 16
Sigaux, Gilbert, 1950s

BUSINESS FILES

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 3) BUSINESS FILES: Documents related to Rossfelder's professional life, including files from two companies founded by Rossfelder - Geomarex, Inc. and Rossfelder Corporation. Materials in this series are in English and are arranged in three subseries: A) Tetra Tech, Inc., B) Geomarex, Inc. and C) Rossfelder Corp.

A) Tetra Tech, Inc.: Reports, memos, correspondence, patent information and plans for a currentmeter, created while Rossfelder worked for the company.

B) Geomarex, Inc.: Correspondence, memos, planning documents, maps, designs and research materials for projects under Rossfelder's first company. Of interest are designs for coring devices and on-water platforms, as well as materials related to the search for phosphates in the Pacific. Materials have been arranged alphabetically by folder title. Photographs and negatives from these files have been separated and can be found in the PHOTOGRAPHS series.

C) Rossfelder Corp.: Correspondence, reports, designs, sketches and notes created under Rossfelder's second company. Files are arranged alphabetically by folder title. Photographs and negatives from these files have been separated and can be found in the PHOTOGRAPHS series.

Tetra Tech, Inc.

Box 1 Folder 17
Drag-Force Currentmeter, 1969
Box 1 Folder 18
Proposal - Design of a Deep-Sea Free Surveying Apparatus, 1969
Box 1 Folder 19
Rextant patents, 1969

Geomarex, Inc.

Box 1 Folder 20
Casings and rods
Box 1 Folder 21
CEPAC I Expedition, 1978
Box 1 Folder 22
CEPAC III Expedition, 1980-1981
Box 1 Folder 23
Charter agreements, 1976-1978
Box 1 Folder 24
Correspondence - Miscellaneous, 1975-1987
Box 1 Folder 25
Correspondence - Wacker, 1979-1990
Box 1 Folder 26
Design notebook - Vibracorers and drilling systems, 1982-1984
Box 1 Folder 27
Equipment weight for lagoon and land work, 1980
Oversize FB-461 Folder 1-4
Indo-Pacific Oceanic Phosphates Study, Final Report - Plates, 1974
Box 1 Folder 28
Manganese nodules of the Pacific - Correspondence and clippings, 1976-1982
Oversize FB-461 Folder 5
Manganese nodules of the Pacific - Map and elevations, ca. 1978
Box 1 Folder 29
P-4 Vibrocorer assembly notes
Box 1 Folder 30
Phosphates of Mataiva, 1978-1988
Box 1 Folder 31
MSS Pinafore platform, 1984-1985
Box 1 Folder 32
Pontoon
Box 1 Folder 33
Vibrocore design

Rossfelder Corp.

Box 1 Folder 34
Actuated core noses, 1988-2006
Oversize FB-461 Folder 6
Actuated core noses - Plans, 1971-2006
Box 1 Folder 35
Company / vibrocoring info
Box 1 Folder 36
Correspondence - Miscellaneous, 1988-1997
Box 1 Folder 37
Correspondence - Aqua Survey, Inc., 1996-2003
Box 1 Folder 38
Coring penetrometer, 1992-1994
Box 1 Folder 39
Conical sand scoop, 1967, 1990
Box 1 Folder 40
DO-1 vibracore
Box 1 Folder 41
Drill rod and casings - Proprietary designs, 1977-1979
Box 1 Folder 42
Equipment and drawings, miscellaneous
Box 1 Folder 43
Equipment rental, 1986-1997
Box 1 Folder 44
Experience / job histories
Box 1 Folder 45
Jetting
Oversize FB-461 Folder 7
Miscellaneous plans, 1990-1994
Box 1 Folder 46
Other vibrocorers, 1982-1996
Oversize FB-461 Folder 8
P-1, modifications for motors U1-1600 - Plans, 1996
Oversize FB-461 Folder 9
P-3 (old) - Plans, 1993-1995
Oversize FB-461 Folder 10
Penetration rate meter - Plans, 1994
Oversize FB-461 Folder 11
Penetration rate record
Box 1 Folder 47
Portable coring frame - Plans, 1992
Box 1 Folder 48
Reef blasting
Box 1 Folder 49-50
Sketches, notes and correspondence with vendors
Box 1 Folder 51
Tripod plans, 1993
Box 1 Folder 52
Vibrocoring notes, 1989-1996
Oversize FB-461 Folder 12
Vibrowaterlift, jetting assembly and implements, 1984-1990
Oversize FB-461 Folder 13
VT-1, #1 - Prototype and plans, 1995-1996

PATENTS AND DISCLOSURES

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 4) PATENTS AND DISCLOSURES: Correspondence, reports, patents and disclosure copies for Rossfelder's many inventions. Files are arranged chronologically by patent date, with files for specific devices found at the end.

Box 2 Folder 1
1960
Box 2 Folder 2-4
ca. 1965-1966
Box 2 Folder 5-7
1966-1976, 1986
Box 2 Folder 8
Free fall sampler, for Bear Creek Mining Company, 1966-1968
Box 2 Folder 9
Worm-screw devices, 1972
Box 2 Folder 10
Free grab - T2, 1972-1974
Box 2 Folder 11
Underwater rig, 1975

WRITING

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 5) WRITINGS: Drafts of unpublished work, research, information and reviews for a number of books, essays and reports by Rossfelder. However, drafts of published books are not included in the collection. Many of the writings in this series are in French. Arranged chronologically.

Box 2 Folder 12
"417" - Edited typescript, 1947
Box 2 Folder 13
Les Hommes-Frontières (1949) - Information and reviews
Box 2 Folder 14
Fin de Chantier (1952) - Information and reviews
Box 2 Folder 15
Rocade-Sud (1953) - Information and reviews
Box 2 Folder 16-18
English / French Fisheries Technical Dictionary, ca. 1954
Box 2 Folder 19
Provisional Map of the Algerian Continental Margin (1954)
Box 2 Folder 20
La Mer où Tout Commence (1956) - Information and reviews
Box 2 Folder 21
L'Algérie à  Bàâtir (1959) - Information, reviews and correspondence
Box 2 Folder 22
Morphométrie des Sédiments Meubles (1958)
Box 2 Folder 23
Le Metier de Geologue Maritime, ca. 1961
Box 2 Folder 24
Rossfelder's foreword for "Outline for a Memoir," by General Joseph Vuillemin, 1971
Box 2 Folder 25-28
Le Plan Gorgone - Typescript and manuscript drafts, ca. 1972
Box 3 Folder 1
Le Plan Gorgone - Notes and research, undated
Box 3 Folder 2
Le Plan Gorgone - Correspondence, 1972-1979
Box 3 Folder 3
Implosive Anchor Feasibility Study, 1973
Box 3 Folder 4
Le Onzième Commandement (2000) - Information and reviews, 2000-2001
Box 3 Folder 5
Response to "Ils n'ont toujours rien compris!" article by Philippe Plonchard d'Assac, 2001
Box 3 Folder 6
"Pour un Soldat Ennemi" - Edited typescript, undated
Box 3 Folder 7
Various articles and notes

Reprints

Box 3 Folder 8
1956-1957, 1960-1961
Box 3 Folder 9
1966 -1967
Box 3 Folder 10
1970-1971, 1980

SUBJECT FILES

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 6) SUBJECT FILES: Correspondence, notes, clippings and research material on a variety of subject matter, from Algerian oil to the 1968 STYX Expedition. The series, arranged by folder title, contains both personal research and professional files. The bulk of these files contain materials written in French.

Box 3 Folder 11
13 Mai
Box 3 Folder 12
Algeria - Oil drilling
Box 3 Folder 13
Algerian losses, 1999-2000
Box 3 Folder 14
Annotated maps
Box 3 Folder 15
Aquatic toxicology - Notes
Box 3 Folder 16
Centre de Geologie Marine et de Sedimentologie, 1959-1960
Box 3 Folder 17
CNR [National Council of the Resistance], Mont Faron, etc., 1971-2000
Box 3 Folder 18
Feraoun, Mouloud, 1957-2003
Box 3 Folder 19
Gardener Atoll and Amelia Earhart, 1992
Box 3 Folder 20
Laffitte, Robert
Box 3 Folder 21
Navigation and positioning systems
Box 3 Folder 22
Oudinot, George, 2001
Box 3 Folder 23
Oued Gueterini (ship), 1988-1990
Box 3 Folder 24-25
Société RAFAL, 1947-1955
Box 3 Folder 26
STYX Expedition, 1968-1969

PHOTOGRAPHS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 7) PHOTOGRAPHS: Mainly snapshots, both color and black/white, of research locations, ships and equipment.

Box 3 Folder 27
Algerian oil
Box 3 Folder 28
Baie des Pirogues, Baie Ngo
Box 3 Folder 29
Charter vessels
Box 3 Folder 30
Dredging
Box 3 Folder 31
Duncan in Peru
Box 3 Folder 32
Geomarex Inc. - Manganese nodules of the Pacific work, undated
Box 3 Folder 33
Geomarex Inc. - Mataiva
Box 3 Folder 34
Geomarex Inc. - MSS Pinafore platform project
Box 3 Folder 35
Manned subs
Box 3 Folder 36
Miscellaneous and unidentified
Box 3 Folder 37
Rossfelder Corp - R/V Tovuto, Fiji, 1990
Box 3 Folder 38
Rossfelder Corp - V-T 1, #1, 1997 February

AUDIOVISUAL RECORDINGS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 8) AUDIOVISUAL RECORDINGS: Reel-to-reel sound recordings and 16mm films. These appear to document Scripps Institution of Oceanography's research using the Cousteau Diving Saucer in the 1960s.

Box 3 Folder 39
Reel-to-reel sound recordings - Coronado and Mugu Canyon (no. 353) dives, Westinghouse Cousteau Diving Saucer

Cousteau Diving Saucer - 16mm films

Oversize FS-157
UCSD trial dive
Oversize FS-158
Cousteau Diving Saucer #1
Oversize FS-159
Cousteau Diving Saucer #2
Oversize FS-160
Cousteau Diving Saucer #3