Mill Talk: Dirt & Disorder:The Origins of Contamination Control in Industry

Wed Jan 14 2026 at 07:00 pm to 08:00 pm UTC-05:00

Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation | Waltham

Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation
Publisher/HostCharles River Museum of Industry & Innovation
Mill Talk: Dirt & Disorder:The Origins of Contamination Control in Industry
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Through the19th and 20th centuries, precision manufacturing found that cleanliness allowed order to be established, and with order, control.
About this Event

Mill Talk: Dirt & Disorder:The Origins of Contamination Control in Industry

presented by Dan Holbrook

This talk will outline the origins of the need for contamination control in industry and of some of the basic elements of modern contamination control. As technologies and medicine became more complex and precision in both material inputs and production processes more crucial, dirts of various sorts had to be controlled. Over the course of the later 19th and throughout the 20th centuries, precision manufacturing, food processing, gases, medicine, glass, and materials for both tube-based and solid state electronics found that cleanliness and purity allowed order to be established, and with order, control.


Speaker Bio: Dan Holbrook is Professor Emeritus of History at Marshall University, Huntington, WV. He holds a BA in American Studies from Brandeis University and MA and PhD in History from Carnegie Mellon University. His scholarly work has revolved around the generation and dissemination of knowledge in the early years of the American semiconductor industry and on the history of contamination control.

Links:

https://marshall.academia.edu/DanHolbrook

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, 154 Moody Street, Waltham, United States

Tickets

USD 0.00

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