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Explore renowed alumni, get a glimpse into the amazing history of mechanical engineering at Rensselaer! (pdf)
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1907
| Mechanical Engineering Department created with Arthur Greene as chair.
| | 1911 | First Mechanical Engineering undergraduate degrees. | | 1914 | Graduate studies begin - First Mechanical Engineering masters degrees. | | 1918 | Student Army Training Corps exists briefly until WWI ends in November. A condensed year-round curriculum is created, allowing students to graduate in two-years. |
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1935
| Palmer Ricketts initiated the construction of the Russell Sage building for the newly established aeronautical and metallurgical engineering courses.
| | 1935 | Aeronautical Engineering Department is created with Paul Hemke as chair. | | 1937 | First Aeronautical Engineering undergraduate degrees. | | 1937 | First Aeronautical Engineering masters degrees. | | | | |
1943-50
The impact of WW II
| - V-5 and V-12 Naval training programs established on campus.
- Curriculum accelerated to 2 2/3 years with three, sixteen week semesters
per year. - The Curtiss-Wright Cadette training program begins. The "cadettes" were women math and science students recruited from top universities by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, a leader in aircraft manufacturing. The women were trained as engineers and technicians "to replace men called to war". The accelerated program was designed by company officials and Dr. Paul Hemke of the Aeronautical Engineering Department.
- GI Bill triples student enrollment.
- Post-war housing accommodates married students and expands the Rensselaer campus.
| | 1946 | Lois Graham and Mary Ellen Rathbun are the first women to earn a Rensselaer degree. Graham went on to be the first woman in the country to receive a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. | | 1955 | Morton Gurtin ‘55
A mechanical engineer turned mathematician, Morton Gurtin received the highest honor
in mechanics, the Timoshenko Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 2004. | | 1956 | First Aeronautical Engineering doctoral degrees. | | 1957 | Rensselaer re-organizes, creating the School of Engineering. | | 1958 | First Mechanical Engineering doctoral degrees. | |
1960
| Nuclear Engineering Department created. | | 1961 | The Gaerttner Linear Accelerator (LINAC), a device for accelerating electrons along straight
lines, was the most powerful ever built at the time of its opening. | | 1962 | First Nuclear Engineering doctoral degrees. | | 1963 | Erwin Gaerttner becomes the first chair of the Nuclear Engineering and Science Department. The LINAC site is expanded with the construction of a two-story Nuclear Engineering and
Science Building. | | 1967 | First Nuclear Engineering undergraduate degrees. | | 1968 | First Nuclear Engineering masters degrees. | | 1975 | Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering join under the name Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanics. | |
| 2002 | Nuclear Engineering joins the Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanics Department, changing the name to the current, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering Department (MANE). | | 2008 | Research expenditures— fiscal year 2008 —$10,651,612 Research areas: - Advanced Materials
- Manufacturing and Robotics
- Microfluidics, MEMS and Heat Transfer
- Nuclear and Alternative Energy
- Aerospace Design
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History
