The materials include correspondence, publications, awards, newsclippings, visual materials, photograph album, reports, lecture notes, telegrams, certificates, a guest book and memorabilia. Most of Cole's papers consist of correspondence files with information on his fellowships, lectures, and conferences. Some photocopies of news clippings and photographs are interfiled with related correspondence. There is some personal correspondence from Cole to his wife; a report written by Cole on the "All Soviet Union Conference on Physics Dielectrics" held in Moscow in 1958; and a memorial by Cole in honor of his brother, Kenneth Cole. Several files contain photographs and negatives relative to Cole's work at WHOI on underground explosives. Ephemera include a First Day Issue of a coronation stamp from June 1953, biographical information, and some of Cole's notes and record-keeping. Among the numerous awards is the President's Certificate of Merit, signed by President Truman for his work done between September 1941 and December 1945.