In January 1938 UT President Hoskins called together an assemblage of 33 faculty and staff representing 11 of UT’s departments, colleges, experiment stations, and divisions to form a Cotton Institute to coordinate, advance, and support research related to the cotton industry. James P. Hess, UT business manager, was elected chair, and a steering committee was formed, consisting of R. Brooks Taylor, UT Engineering Station; H. E. Hendricks, Agricultural Extension Division; and Newman Hancock, Agricultural Experiment Station. At the meeting Dr. Kenneth Hertel of the Physics Department explained his work on measurement of cotton fibers.