Yale School Of Engineering
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The Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science is the
engineering school Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve systems. Modern engineering comprises many subfiel ...
of
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. When the first professor of civil engineering was hired in 1852, a Yale School of Engineering was established within the Yale Scientific School, and in 1932 the engineering faculty organized as a separate, constituent school of the university. The school currently offers undergraduate and graduate classes and degrees in
electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
,
chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...
,
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
,
applied physics Applied physics is the application of physics to solve scientific or engineering problems. It is usually considered a bridge or a connection between physics and engineering. "Applied" is distinguished from "pure" by a subtle combination of fac ...
,
environmental engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering Academic discipline, discipline related to environmental science. It encompasses broad Science, scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiolo ...
,
biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME also integrates the logica ...
, and
mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
and
materials science Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials sci ...
.


History


Establishment in the Sheffield Scientific School (1852–1919)

Engineering education Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education ( Dip.Eng.)and (B.Eng.) or ( M.Eng.), and any advanced education and specializations th ...
at
Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
began more than a century before the founding of a School of Engineering. In the first half of the nineteenth century, chemistry professor
Benjamin Silliman Benjamin Silliman (August 8, 1779 – November 24, 1864) was an American chemist and science education, science educator. He was one of the first American professors of science, the first science professor at Yale University, Yale, and the firs ...
made fundamental contributions to the
fractional distillation Fractional distillation is the separation of a mixture into its component parts, or fractions. Chemical compounds are separated by heating them to a temperature at which one or more fractions of the mixture will vaporize. It uses distillation ...
of petroleum, and his son, chemistry professor Benjamin Silliman, Jr., commercialized the process as a fuel source. In 1852, William A. Norton moved from Brown University to become Yale's first Professor of Civil Engineering, which established a faculty of engineering at Yale. In 1854, two years after Norton's appointment, engineering became part of the new Scientific School, renamed the Sheffield Scientific School in 1860 in honor of
Joseph Earl Sheffield Joseph Earl Sheffield (June 19, 1793 – February 17, 1882) was an American railroad magnate and philanthropist. Sheffield was born in Southport, Connecticut, the son of Paul King Sheffield, a shipowner, and his wife Mabel (née Thorpe). ...
. In 1863, Yale granted the first American Ph.D. in engineering to J. Willard Gibbs, who later taught at Yale and became one of the founders of the field of
thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed b ...
. Professor Norton was joined by physicist
Chester Lyman Chester Smith Lyman (January 13, 1814 – January 29, 1890) was an American teacher, clergyman and astronomer. Early life and education He was born in Manchester, Connecticut, to Chester and Mary Smith Lyman. Chester is the descendant of Richard ...
in 1859, by mechanical engineering professor William P. Trowbridge in 1870, and A. Jay DuBois in 1877, who succeeded Trowbridge. By the end of the century, the Engineering Department had three sub-departments: civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. The last of these fields was introduced at Yale by Charles S. Hastings and Henry A. Bumstead in the 1880s.


School foundation, dissolution, and revival (1919–)

In the first half of the twentieth century, a gradual reorganization of engineering education at Yale took place with the integration of Sheffield programs with
Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
and
Graduate School Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...
and, in 1932, the creation of a School of Engineering. In 1961, the school was reduced to a department within Yale College. Though a new
Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981) was a Hungarian-American modernist architect and furniture designer. He moved to the United States in 1937 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1944. At the Bauhaus he designed the Was ...
–designed engineering building was opened in 1970, the demotion of the school caused Yale's engineering programs to atrophy. University administrators discussed entirely restructuring, or possibly eliminating, the faculty in the early 1990s. The appointment of D. Allan Bromley as Dean of Engineering in 1994 provided much-needed momentum. Bromley, a nuclear physicist and science adviser to U.S. President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
, was a forceful advocate for engineering at Yale. New programs in biomedical and environmental engineering were introduced during his tenure. Bromley also instituted the Sheffield Fellowship, to recognize technological leaders, the Sheffield Distinguished Teaching Awards, and the "Select Program", a five-year combined B.S. M.Eng. degree program, all named to honor the Sheffield Scientific School. In 2000, Paul A. Fleury was appointed Dean. The department received renewed university investment beginning in the same year, when Yale President Richard Levin announced a $500 million capital investment in sciences and engineering at Yale. The Malone Engineering Center was opened in 2005 to expand campus facilities for biomedical engineering and teaching, establishing a separate Department of Biomedical Engineering. The building was named by businessman John C. Malone for his father. In 2008, T. Kyle Vanderlick was appointed Dean and the school was reestablished as the School of Engineering & Applied Science. In 2009, Vanderlick created the Advanced Graduate Leadership Program, a unique and competitive program designed to provide doctoral students with experiences and training beyond the research lab. In July 2010, the school was reorganized by the University. The Department of Mechanical Engineering was renamed the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and the Department of Chemical Engineering was renamed the Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering to showcase both degree programs. The Department of Applied Physics became an independent department within the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. In 2011, John C. Malone made a $50 million gift to the School, endowing 10 professorships. In 2012, the School opened the Center for Engineering Innovation & Design. Vanderlick was reappointed by the University for a second term in 2013. In March 2015, Yale's Department of Computer Science joined the University's four engineering departments as part of the School of Engineering & Applied Science. In June 2016, construction began on an underground teaching concourse that will physically link the Department of Computer Science to other main engineering buildings. The 10,000-square-foot space is designed specifically for undergraduate engineering laboratories and hands-on learning experiences. Engineering at Yale experienced a renaissance during Vanderlick's tenure as dean. Interest and enrollment in Yale's engineering programs flourished and numerous student groups centered on engineering were created. Notably, the School has consistently maintained one of the highest percentage of engineering bachelor's degrees awarded to women in the nation. Vanderlick led the recruitment of more than 30 new faculty members and paved the way for vital capital improvements to include extensive research space and state-of-the-art teaching facilities. Fundraising during Vanderlick's time as dean reached record highs for the School, including gifts of $50 million for 10 new endowed faculty chairs, $26 million to create and sustain the Center for Engineering Innovation & Design, $20 million for growth in computer science, and $10 million for the new undergraduate teaching concourse scheduled to open in fall 2017. In January 2017, it was announced that Vanderlick would return full-time to teaching and research after her term as dean concludes. In a message to the University community, President Peter Salovey praised Vanderlick's energy and creativity as well as her success in bringing to life the “cool nature of engineering.” Salovey also noted that Vanderlick “excelled in carrying out her charge to reinvigorate engineering at Yale” and credited her for the university's reemergence “as a national leader in engineering education and research.” In 2023, Yale announced a "historic investment in engineering" encompassing several major construction projects over the next 10 to 15 years, on sites already owned and occupied by the university.


Buildings


Deans

Source: * Robert Doherty, 1932–1936 * Samuel W. Dudley, 1936–1948 * Walter J. Wohlenberg, 1948–1955 * Dana Young, 1955–1961 * Felix Zweig, 1961–1966In memoriam, Felix Zweig, Yale Bulletin and Calendar, Volume 36, Number 6, October 12, 2007
/ref> * D. Allan Bromley, 1994–2000 * Paul A. Fleury, 2000–2007 * T. Kyle Vanderlick, 2008–2017 * Jeffrey Brock, 2019–present


See also

*
Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
*
Glossary of engineering This glossary is split across multiple pages due to technical limitations. By alphabetical order * Glossary of engineering: A–L * Glossary of engineering: M–Z By category * Glossary of civil engineering * Glossary of electrical and e ...
*
List of Yale University people Yalies are persons affiliated with Yale University, commonly including alumni, current and former faculty members, students, and others. Here follows a list of notable Yalies. Alumni For a list of notable alumni of Yale Law School, see List ...
* Yale Science & Engineering Association


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science Universities and colleges established in 1852 Engineering schools and colleges in the United States Engineering universities and colleges in Connecticut Faculty of Engineering Yale University 1852 establishments in Connecticut