Joe K. Neel Papers

Collection

Identifier: OGLMC-1004

Scope and Contents

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The Joe K. Neel Papers arrived at the Department in 13 boxes. Documents that pertained to Neel's research were contained in seven boxes grouped by project. Two of the other six boxes contained subject files that were arranged alphabetically. Two other boxes contained correspondence. One of these included correspondence that Neel had arranged by correspondent or by topic, as well as other letters that were arranged chronologically. Neel's arrangement of this box was maintained during processing. A second box of correspondence pertained only to Neel's graduate students. These files were arranged alphabetically by student and transcript materials were removed and shredded. Another box contained the manuscript copy of Neel's book on the Turtle River, A Northern Prairie Stream. Finally, one box contained documents related to Science Institutes held at UND and elsewhere between 1960 and 1964. Because these documents pre-dated Neel's tenure at UND and were related to Professor Kannowski, this box was separated from the Neel Papers and deposited into the Paul B. Kannowski Papers, OGLMC 683 (94-1971).

Dates

created: 1941-1989
Other: Date acquired: 12/28/1984

Creator

Neel, Joe K. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

Biographical or Historical Information

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Joe Kendall Neel was born June 12, 1915 in Tacoma, Virginia, the son of George Frank and Evelyn (Herold) Neel. He grew up in Winchester, Kentucky, where he graduated from high school. He attended the University of Kentucky, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1937 and a Master of Science degree in 1938. From 1942-1946 Neel served in an Army medical entomologist supporting a malaria control program administered by the United States Public Health Service (USPHS). He attained the rank of captain. In 1947 Neel earned a Doctorate Degree (as a Rackham Fellow) from the University of Michigan. His specialty was limnology, the scientific study of bodies of fresh water as it relates to their physical, geographical, and biological features. Neel was a faculty member at the University of Kentucky from 1947-1950. From 1950 to 1963, Neel again worked for the USPHS, as a staff member of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration. As a result of work performed during this tenure, Neel became known as a pioneer in the study of sewage lagoons as well as an expert at identifying invertebrates, microscopic organisms, insects, and larvae in streams. Sponsored by the State Department in 1962, Neel traveled around the world lecturing on waste treatment. A year later he was named the director of the Potamalogical Institute at Louisville, Kentucky, a job he held until 1966. In 1966, Neel accepted a professorship in UND's Biology Department and his limnological expertise led him to become involved in many regional research projects. In North Dakota he studied Grand Forks sewage lagoons, the Upper Missouri River Basin, Devils Lake, and Turtle River. Neel was fascinated by the Turtle River and he documented his seven-year study of it in a 1985 publication entitled A Northern Prairie Stream. In Minnesota, Neel coordinated research performed at Lake Sallie and the Pelican River Basin. He was presented the Sigma Xi Research Award in 1972. Neel was a member of the American Society for Limnology and Oceanography, the Ecological Society of America, the Microscopical Society, and the Water Pollution Control Federation. In 1969 he was one of four UND professors named in the first edition of the World Who's Who in Science. Neel retired from UND after the 1980-81 school year. He died at his Grand Forks home June 22, 1990 at the age of 75. Neel married Erma Bernice Baugh August 20, 1942 in Lexington, Kentucky. The couple had one son, Joseph Neel, Jr.

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