His doctoral work was on the structure of metallic sulphide minerals using X-ray diffraction.
He set up the apparatus using a modified dental X-ray system after training in England in 1933 at the University of Manchester.
He trained several generations of X-ray crystallographers, was an advisor for Newman Thibault who studied silicon carbide, which became a major area of interest for Ramsdell.
His work on the stacking of silicon carbides led to a systematic way of indicating the arrangements which goes by the name of Ramsdell notation.
Ramsdell married Lois Ethel Calkins, fellow student at Michigan, in 1920 and they had two daughters.