Michael Spero was born June 17, 1910, in Newport, Rhode Island. He graduated from Rhode Island State College in 1934 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. During his extensive career as a civil engineer, he was involved in the planning and construction of more than five hundred dams in the United States.
From 1973 to 1975, Spero was employed by the United Nations as Expert, Planning Engineer, and Advisor to the Government of Afghanistan Irrigation and Water Resources Development Authority to draft a plan of development for Afghanistan water resources. The project aimed to raise the economic and agricultural subsistence level of the country through improving its water resources apparatus including the evaluation and restoration of dams, hydroelectric powerplants, and irrigation infrastructures.
The work Spero performed in Afghanistan is unique and vital to researchers because it represents the only internationally sanctioned project that was allowed to take place before the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the consequent rise of the Taliban regime that suspended all foreign activity and banished the Western media from its borders.
Open for research.
Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Michael Spero Papers, Mss. Gr. 156, University of Rhode Island Library.
The first series in this collection consists of class lecture notes, assignments, exercises, and tests. These materials were produced by Spero while he was a student at Rhode Island State College from 1930-1934. Accompanying these materials were a number of textbooks that were separated from the collection during the processing. Series II through VII contain material relating to Spero's work in Afghanistan from 1973-1975. These series are titled "Afghanistan" and subtitled according to the original organization in which the collection was received.
Series I, Rhode Island State College: contains the notes, exercises, assignments and tests taken by Spero during his attendance at Rhode Island State College. The materials consist of notebooks from hydraulics, civil engineering, mechanics, strength of materials, algebra and calculus classes taken in East Hall. Included are also graded problem assignments and tests for mechanics, strength of materials, and hydraulics courses which were taught by Professor Royal Linfield Wales.
Series II, Afghanistan: Plan of Development: consists of project evaluations, geological evaluations of Afghanistan damsites, summary and recommendations reports, letters to the Afghanistan Water and Power Authority, and a plan of operations report by the United Nations Development Program.
Series III, Afghanistan: Planning Reports: provides documentation on the climate, topography, population, economy, and transport accessibility in Afghanistan, and the effects these have on the country's agriculture, irrigation, and manufacturing. The reports and studies in this series address the geological and structural feasibility of dams, reservoirs, and irrigation projects existing in various regions in Afghanistan.
Series IV, Afghanistan: Handwritten Material: contains detailed handwritten project cost-estimate computations and project report drafts.
Series V, Afghanistan: Subject File: consists of records that were kept separate from the material contained in the previous series yet remain an integral part of the Afghanistan Project.
Series VI, Afghanistan: Printed Matter: contains an historical guide of Afghanistan, an English-Afghan dictionary (Dari), a travel book of translated phrases, a color photograph tourist brochure, several Russian industrial pamphlets for Soviet-owned powerplants in Afghanistan with English translation, and a variety of standard and topographical maps.
Series VII, Afghanistan: Photographs: contains 197 photographic slides taken by various engineers working on the Afghanistan project. They served to provide information that helped them develop a complete water resources development plan for Afghanistan. This series also includes three bound logs of photographs with an accompanying report. Spero wrote this report to describe the political and geographical environment depicted in the photographs.
This collection is arranged into seven series:
These papers were donated to the University of Rhode Island Archives by alumnus Michael Spero who graduated from Rhode Island State College in 1934 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.
No further materials are expected for this collection.
This series contains the notes, exercises, assignments and tests taken by Spero during his years at Rhode Island State College. Most of the series consists of notebooks from hydraulics, civil engineering, mechanics, strength of materials, algebra and calculus classes taken in East Hall on the Rhode Island State College campus. There are are also graded problem assignments and tests for the mechanics, strength of materials, and hydraulics courses which were taught by Professor R.L. Wales. The material in the files reflects the state of hydraulic engineering during the depression and was used by engineers to build all the major dams in the United States during that time. This series is filed alphabetically by subject.
This series contains materials relating to Spero's work with the Planning Section of the Irrigation and Water Resources Development Authority in Kabul. The planning program sought to raise the economic id="c15" level in Afghanistan from one of subsistence to sustained yield through a series of internationally cooperative engineering projects aimed at improving agricultural irrigation and building efficient power plants that would aid in the production of export crops and industrial products. The Planning Section also had the responsibility of obtaining the required financial funding from the World Bank and other international monetary organizations.
This series consists of project evaluations, geological evaluations of Afghanistan damsites, summary and recommendations reports, letters to the Afghanistan Water and Power Authority, and a plan of operations report by the United Nations Development Program. The series is filed alphabetically by subject.
The material in this series documents the climate, topography, population, economy, and transport accessibility in Afghanistan, and the effects these have on the country's agriculture, irrigation, and manufacturing. The reports and studies in this series also address the geological and structural feasibility of dams, reservoirs, and irrigation projects existing in various regions in Afghanistan. Also included are program and work analysis reports, minutes of monthly "experts" meetings, the first coordinated committee meeting (1974), and a planning activities log consisting of a chronological monthly outline of the progress and results of project activities undertaken between August 1973 and February 1975. Of interest is correspondence between Spero and the General President of the Irrigation and Water Resources Development Authority, Joma M. Mohammadi, in which Spero declines an invitation by Mohammadi to extend his assignment in Afghanistan, citing irreconcilable ethical and professional discrepancies with the United Nations. The series is filed alphabetically by subject.
This series contains detailed handwritten project cost-estimate computations and project report drafts. These drafts identify the geographic location, terrain, and the general construction strategy for each project. The drafts of cost estimates consist of itemized mathematical formulas representing the cost of the projects. The "Planning Activities" folder contains a blueprint drawing of the excavation plan with project data for the Hari-Rud Project. This series is filed alphabetically by subject.
The Subject File series consists of material that was kept separate from the material contained in the previous series. These files contain selected issues of the Kabul Times along with several clippings, a diagram depicting the legal, economic, and scientific aspects of establishing a water rights system, a compendium of civil engineering reports, a compilation of lectures given at Kabul University, a letter of dissent to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations William Scranton, and a letter to The Wall Street Journal. Both of the aforementioned letters are accompanied by detailed and intriguing reports outlining Spero's political and professional assessments of his experiences in Afghanistan. The newspaper articles and headlines appear to concentrate on official appointments, Soviet-Afghan relations, and President Mohammed Daoud. The series also contains various reports and project studies including one written in Russian with the English translation, a directory of government officials, and numerous project meeting attendance sheets. The series is filed alphabetically by subject.
This series contains an historical guide of Afghanistan, an English-Afghan dictionary (Dari), a travel book of translated phrases, a color photograph tourist brochure, several Russian industrial pamphlets for Soviet-owned powerplants in Afghanistan with English translation, and a variety of standard and topographical maps. The Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) maps were produced by the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center and offer a detailed topographical record of central Asia. The Project Development Plan Map depicts the project sites that were targeted by the Irrigation and Water Resources Development Authority and their topographical and geological conditions. This series is filed alphabetically by subject.
This series contains 197 photographic slides taken by engineers working on the Afghanistan project. They served to provide information that helped them develop a complete water resources development plan for Afghanistan. The slides are housed in two boxes numbered A1-A81 and 1-116 respectively. Each slide has the location, date, and an assigned number written on the frame, and are filed in numerical order.
Of interest are three bound logs of photographs with an accompanying report. This report was written by Spero and contains an introduction to the political and geographical subjects represented in the photographs. Also in these reports, each slide is identified and accompanied by brief contextual and/or descriptive comment. The series is filed alphabetically by subject.