The establishment at the University of Michigan of the Gaging and Measuring Laboratory by the Army Ordnance Department as a part of the Detroit District Ordnance Office was approved by the Regents in February, 1936, with Professor Boston, as Custodian, having immediate supervision. In the event of a national emergency, however, the direction of the laboratory will come under the supervision of the officer in charge of the Detroit District Ordnance Office.
The laboratory, installed in Room 2311 of the East Engineering Building, is used for the instruction of ordnance reserve officers during the summer, ordnance students of the R.O.T.C. unit, students of the University, and to render service to industry.
The equipment owned by the War Department was removed during World War II and returned to the University in 1948. At that time a classroom in the East Engineering Building was converted into a second gage laboratory, and an air-conditioning unit was installed so that the room could be used for precision measurements at controlled temperature and humidity. This laboratory, together with the original room housing the gage equipment owned by the University, offers complete facilities for precision measurement and the checking of gages as well as for instruction in this work.