The Harmer E. Davis Transportation Library, operated by the Institute of Transportation Studies, was named to honor Davis, 90, a professor emeritus of civil engineering and the Beverly Hickok, who was hired by Davis in 1948 to start a transportation library, acquired an impressive specialty collection before retiring in 1980. Today, the library's collection consists of more than 150,000 volumes, 125,000 microfiche and 3,000 current serial titles, plus manuscripts, archives, maps and aeronautical charts.

At an April 22 dedication ceremony, the institute's Berkeley director Adib Kanafani said, "Today we dedicate one of our best assets to a man who for so long gave us his best."

Davis received his BS and master's degrees in civil engineering from Berkeley before joining the faculty in 1930. Working with Professor Raymond E. Davis in the early days of geotechnical engineering, he helped develop cements that could meet specific needs of major public works projects such as the Bonneville Dam. He also was involved in soil tests that helped to determine the design of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

In 1947, concern about the poor condition of California highways prompted the California Legislature to fund a university institute to reconcile the latest research in transportation with state plans for highways and air fields. Davis became the institute's first director--a job he held until he retired in 1973.