The University of Cambridge's Department of Engineering is the largest department at the university. The main site is situated at Trumpington Street, to the south of the city centre of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. The department is currently headed by Professor Colm Durkan.

History

Reverend Richard Jackson of Torrington, a former fellow of Trinity College, died in 1782, leaving a substantial portion of his estate to endow a Professorship of Natural Experimental Philosophy, which eventually became the Professorship of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics. This position was first held in 1875 by James Stuart. The first engineering workshop at Cambridge was constructed in 1878 in a wooden hut measuring fifty by twenty feet built in 1878, which was extended three times along Free School Lane by 1900, serving over 800 students by 1920. The department now has several sites around Cambridge: Cmglee_Cambridge_University_Engineering_Department_Trumpington_St

Cmglee_Cambridge_University_Engineering_Department_Trumpington_St

* The main buildings are located at Trumpington Street and Fen Causeway on the Scroope House site, where most of the

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

teaching in the Engineering Tripos is carried out. The first building on the site, the Inglis Building (since extended and greatly modified twice) was started in 1920, following a large donation from Sir

Dorabji Tata Sir Dorabji Tata (27 August 1859 – 3 June 1932) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist of the British Raj, and a key figure in the history and development of the Tata Group. He was knighted in 1910 for his contributions to indu ...

, and by 1932, the department had completely vacated the Free School Lane site. * The Baker Building was built in front of the Inglis Building and opened by the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

, on 13 November 1952. Further wings were added later, the last one in 1965 including a 334 seat lecture theatre. In 1979, student numbers passed 1,000, before a major increase in 1988 when the undergraduate course was extended from three to four years. * In 2016, the construction of the James Dyson Building was completed in front of the Baker Building, providing additional office space and seminar and meeting rooms for use by the Department. * Various sections that could not easily be accommodated on the main site have moved to the university's

West Cambridge West Cambridge is a university site to the west of Cambridge city centre in England. As part of the ''West Cambridge Master Plan'', several of the University of Cambridge's departments have relocated to the West Cambridge site from the centre ...

site, including the Whittle Laboratory (a

turbomachinery Turbomachinery, in mechanical engineering, describes machines that transfer energy between a Rotor (electric), rotor and a fluid, including both turbines and gas compressor, compressors. While a turbine transfers energy from a fluid to a rotor, ...

laboratory founded by Sir John Horlock in 1973), the Geotechnical Centrifuge Laboratory, the Microelectronics Research Centre (1992), the Electrical Engineering Division Building, and the

Institute for Manufacturing The Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) is part of the Department of Engineering of the University of Cambridge. Location The IfM is located in the Alan Reece building on the University's West Cambridge Site in the United Kingdom. Previously, ...

(IfM). * A few of the smaller buildings on the Old Addenbrooke's Site, in Trumpington Street opposite the Scroope House Site, have been used by the Department from time to time. Currently, the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership is in the end building of that site, 1 Trumpington Street, having expanded and moved there under its previous name of Cambridge Programme for Industry in 1991. * Over the course of the next ten years, the Department plans to consolidate the Department of Engineering entirely on the West Cambridge site.

Notable companies and projects founded by students and alumni

*Full Blue Racing, a student run team which designs, builds and races formula student cars. * Cambridge University Eco Racing, a student run team which designs builds and races solar electric vehicles. * Innocent Drinks, best known for the Innocent Smoothie brand. *

Cambridge Consultants Cambridge Consultants, a part of Capgemini Invent, develops products and services, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy for clients. In 2021, Cambridge Consultants became part of Capgemini Invent. The co ...

, an international technology development and consulting company. * Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company, first manufacturer of the scanning electron microscope.

Undergraduate education

There are approximately 1,200 undergraduate students enrolled in the Department, with roughly 320 undergraduate students admitted each year. All students are enrolled in general coursework during their first two years, which consists of mechanical and structural engineering, as well as materials, electrical, and information engineering. In their final two years of undergraduate work, students can choose to specialize in one of two concentrations (Engineering Tripos or Manufacturing Engineering Tripos), or receive a degree in General Engineering. In the Engineering Tripos, students may further specialise in one or more of nine engineering disciplines: *Aerospace and aerothermal engineering *Bioengineering *Civil, structural, and environmental engineering *Electrical and electronic engineering *Electrical and information sciences *Energy, sustainability, and the environment *Information and computer engineering *Instrumentation and control *Mechanical engineering The Manufacturing Engineering Tripos provides an integrated course in industrial engineering, including both operations and management.

Graduate education

The Department of Engineering currently has about 190 faculty and PI-status researchers, 300

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

s, and 850 graduate students. Post-graduate education consists of both taught courses and research degrees (

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

, and

MRes A Master of Research ( abbr. MRes, MARes, MScRes, or MScR) degree is an internationally recognised advanced postgraduate research degree in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong. In most cases, the degree is designed to prepare s ...

). The majority of research students are enrolled in PhD programs, while around 10 percent follow the one-year MPhil (research) program. The Department has a number of

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British UK Research Councils, Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical scienc ...

(EPSRC) Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs), which follow a 1-plus-3 year model where a one-year MRes course is followed by a three-year PhD. Full funding for four years is provided through these centres. In addition to the CDTs, the Department has a limited number of EPSRC PhD studentships available for both British and EU students.

Research evaluation

The Department was ranked 2nd in 2021 among UK engineering departments by the

Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is ...

(REF). The Department of Engineering was also ranked 2nd in 2014 by REF.

Notable alumni and researchers

;Fellows of the Royal Society * William Dalby * Alfred Ewing * Bertram Hopkinson * Sir Charles Edward Inglis * John Baker * John Horlock * Brian Spalding * Robert Mair * Michael Gaster * Daniel Wolpert * John Arthur Shercliff * John Denton * Alistair MacFarlane * Christopher Calladine * Richard V. Southwell *

Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with co-creating the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 fo ...

* Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell * Sir Bennett Melvill Jones *

Charles Oatley Sir Charles William Oatley (14 February 1904 – 11 March 1996) was Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Cambridge, 1960–1971, and developer of one of the first commercial scanning electron microscopes. He was also a founder mem ...

Harry Ricardo Sir Harry Ralph Ricardo (26 January 1885 – 18 May 1974) was an English engineer who was one of the foremost engine designers and researchers in the early years of the development of the internal combustion engine. Among his many other works, ...

* Andrew Schofield * Ann Dowling *

Zoubin Ghahramani Zoubin Ghahramani FRS (; born 8 February 1970) is a British-Iranian researcher and Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge. He holds joint appointments at University College London and the Alan Turing Institute. and ...

* Keith Glover * Melvill Jones * John Robertson * Mark Welland *

Roberto Cipolla Roberto Cipolla (born 3 May 1963) , FREng, is a British researcher in computer vision and Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Education Cipolla was born in Solihull, England and attended Langley School in ...

* Stephen Young * Gareth McKinley * William Hawthorne * Alec Broers * Kenneth Bray * Andrew Clennel Palmer * Morien Morgan * Christopher Hinton * David J. C. MacKay * Michael F. Ashby * Kenneth L. Johnson * Norman Fleck * Vikram Deshpande ; Members of the Order of Merit *

* Christopher Hinton * Ann Dowling ;Timoshenko Medal Recipients * Richard V. Southwell * Kenneth L. Johnson * James N. Goodier * Norman Fleck ;Notable people for their contributions * John Baker, developer of the plasticity theory of design. * Brian Spalding, a founder of computational fluid mechanics. * Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell, English engineer, best known as the inventor of the

hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

. * Sir Charles Edward Inglis, under whose leadership the department became the largest in the university. * Sir Bennett Melvill Jones, who demonstrated the importance in streamlining in aircraft design. * Ian Liddell, designer of the

Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millen ...

. *

, developer of one of the first commercial

scanning electron microscope A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various signals that ...

s. * Nicholas Patrick, astronaut. * W. E. W. Petter, aeronautical engineer, designer of

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British Army cooperation aircraft, army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operat ...

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilla ...

and the

Folland Gnat The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic aircraft, subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical comb ...

, major contributor to development of the

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

. * Andrew Schofield, pioneer in centrifuge research. * James Stuart, first true professor of engineering at Cambridge, was appointed in 1875. * Constance Tipper, metallurgist, crystallographer and first woman to serve full-time as faculty in the department. * Carol Vorderman, former Countdown host and mathematical television personality. *

, inventor of the

jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine, discharging a fast-moving jet (fluid), jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition may include Rocket engine, rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and ...

. * Reverend Robert Willis, the first Cambridge professor to win an international reputation as a mechanical engineer. * James N. Goodier, co-author of "Theory of Elasticity" with

Stephen Timoshenko Stepan Prokopovich Timoshenko (, ; , ; – May 29, 1972), later known as Stephen Timoshenko, was a Ukrainian and later an American engineer and academician. He is considered to be the father of modern engineering mechanics. An inventor an ...

. * Morien Morgan, sometimes referred to as "the Father of Concorde". * Christopher Hinton, supervised the construction of Calder Hall, the world's first large-scale commercial nuclear power station. * James A. Greenwood, winner of Tribology Gold Medal, known for the Greenwood and Williamson model of contact interfaces. * Bertram Hopkinson, who proposed the Split-Hopkinson pressure bar method to measure the dynamic stress-strain response of materials.

References

{{Authority control 1875 establishments in England Universities and colleges established in 1875 Engineering, Department of Engineering, Department of