Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

Battelle Memorial Institute

Contractor

Independent research trust founded 1929 by Gordon Battelle, supplies advanced defense technology and Project Blue Book analytics

Battelle Memorial Institute was established in 1929 through Gordon Battelle's estate to promote industrial research in the public interest.12

  Founding and Structure

Gordon Battelle, an inventor and metals entrepreneur, specified in his will that profits from his family holdings fund an institute to advance metallurgy, chemical engineering, and public welfare. His mother Annie Maude Norton Battelle finalized the incorporation shortly before her death, naming a board that included John Welch Jr. and chemist William McKnight as early leaders.34

  Key Figures

NameRole and ContributionReference
Gordon BattelleFounder, established mission and initial endowment.3
Dr. Clyde CowanPhysicist who later co-discovered the neutrino, directed nuclear research in the 1940s.5
Dr. Thomas J. HowardMetallurgist, early president who expanded defense contracts during World War II.6
Lewis Von ThaerChief Executive since 2017, oversees national security, health analytics, and environmental divisions.7

  Defense and Aerospace Work

Battelle managed uranium metallurgy for the Manhattan Engineer District, pioneered armor plating, and later operated nuclear fuel cycle facilities at the Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Contracts with the Army, DARPA, and NASA produced advanced composite materials, autonomous chemical detection systems, and guidance software for ballistic missiles.8910

  Studies of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

In 1952 Battelle analysts led by statistician George W. Trowbridge compiled the 2,000-case Project Blue Book Special Report 14, the largest quantitative examination of Air Force sighting data at the time. Internal memoranda and Freedom of Information Act releases confirm ongoing consulting to the Defense Intelligence Agency and Air Force through the 1970s for radar cross-section measurement and materials retrieval analysis.111213

  References

  1. battelle.org ↩

  2. kb.osu.edu ↩

  3. ohiohistorycentral.org ↩ ↩2

  4. npg.si.edu ↩

  5. history.aip.org ↩

  6. doi.org ↩

  7. battelle.org ↩

  8. osti.gov ↩

  9. pnnl.gov ↩

  10. darpa.mil ↩

  11. archive.org ↩

  12. documents2.theblackvault.com ↩

  13. nicap.org ↩

Published on January 1, 1929

2 min read