The records document the work of Thomas Wayland Vaughan as director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The correspondence series includes correspondence, minutes, budget reports, proposals, and memoranda. The subject files include correspondence on organizations and committees. This series includes material documenting Vautghann's work with the National Research Council. The speeches and reports series includes manuscripts and other copies of Vaughan's published and unpublished scientific papers, speeches, and reports.