A Treasure Found

During the 20-year period in which Texas A&M University leased the former Bryan Air Force Base from the federal government, the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) made extensive use of facilities on the site to conduct a wide variety of research activities.  Among the studies which took place there:

• an investigation into the merits of a vibrating energy separator in the preparation of fish protein concentrate for possible human consumption

• studies into the application, design and evaluation of air-moving devices

• developing improved methods of calculating static thrust of propellers, and 

• simulation of a space environment in a Hypervelocity Acceleration Laboratory

But, as time passed and the Research Annex passed from government to university ownership, more and more the site was used for storage.

Rebranding the area as the Riverside Campus coincided with a commitment to invigorate usage of the location, but instead, aside from the work done by TEES and fellow Texas A&M System agencies like the Texas Engineering Extensive Service (TEEX) and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), the venue, more or less, resembled your grandmother’s attic.

A place where "out of site" begot "out of mind."

The Riverside Campus wasn't always an ideal marriage of form and function. And sometimes, things got lost.

David Chapman earned a Bachelor's degree in history from Texas A&M University in 1967. He began working at the school in 1972, starting as a graduate assistant in the Libraries department. He became archivist for the school in 1994 and was named director of the Cushing Memorial Library in 2008. He retired from the school on January 30, 2012, after 38 years of university service. He remains an integral part of the local historical scene.