George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
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| G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering | |
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| Established: | October 13, 1885[1] |
| Dean: | Bill Wepfer |
| Faculty: | 80 |
| Staff: | 55 |
| Students: | 2,370[2] |
| Undergraduates: | 1,674[2] |
| Postgraduates: | 696[2] |
| Location: | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Website: | www.me.gatech.edu |
The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering is the oldest and second largest department in the College of Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Departmental programs are accredited by ABET[3]. According to US News & World Report, the school ranks 6th in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering, 7th in Graduate Mechanical Engineering, and 11th in Undergraduate Nuclear and Radiological Engineering[4].
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[edit] History
- See also: History of Georgia Tech
In October 1888 the Georgia School of Technology opened its doors and admitted its first engineering class: 129 mechanical engineering students enrolled in Tech's first degree program. As part of their education these early students worked at trades such as forging, woodworking, machining, and mechanical drawing. The products of these shop exercises were then sold to the public to produce income for the School.
The first Head (starting in 1888) and Professor of Mechanical Engineering was John Saylor Coon, a graduate of Cornell University and a charter member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He held this position for 35 years until his retirement in 1923. For eight years mechanical engineering was the only degree offered at Tech, and Dr. Coon saw to it that classes were challenging---so challenging that only 28 of the original students earned degrees. Uncle Si, as Professor Coon was known, set high standards, which became a precedent at Tech.
Over the years, the mechanical engineering program expanded and changed. By 1896, the contract system of shops had been abandoned. Free from the need to render a profit on instructional time, Dr. Coon implemented an educational format which, while it retained elements of hands-on shop training, placed more stress on the emerging tenets of quantification and analysis. Dr. Coon revised the curriculum, describing a mechanical engineering program that emphasized design, mathematics, and problem solving. Prominent here was a senior thesis, which was an experimental laboratory project emphasizing design and testing. Increasing emphasis was given to higher mathematics, theoretical science, and original research. The experimental project requirement survives today as the capstone experimental engineering course.
The notion that an engineer was a technical master first and a businessman second permeated the curriculum of Georgia Tech at the turn of the century. Mechanical engineering students conducted efficiency tests for businesses in Atlanta and experiments using campus facilities. Practical projects at local businesses became a significant part of the educational process at Georgia Tech, especially after the Cooperative Program officially began in 1912. This continues to be the largest optional program of its kind in the country. About forty percent of all mechanical engineering undergraduate students at Georgia Tech are involved in the program. In addition, there is a Graduate Co-op Program, an International Co-op Program, an Undergraduate Professional Internship Program, and a number of study-abroad programs for students to gain international experience.
Tech graduated its first two students, with bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering, in 1890. The first MSME was authorized in 1922, and a doctoral program was added in 1946. The first MS degrees were awarded in 1925, and the first Ph.D.'s were granted in 1950. Georgia Tech was renamed the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1948. Women were admitted in 1952, and the campus was voluntarily integrated in 1962. In 1949, the Department of Mechanical Engineering officially became the School of Mechanical Engineering with its own director and administrative staff. In 1985 the School was named for its benefactor, distinguished Atlanta business and civic leader, the late George W. Woodruff (class of 1917).
The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering is the only academic institution to be recognized as the a Mechanical Engineering Heritage Site by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers[5].
[edit] Degrees Offered
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.M.E.)
- Bachelor of Science in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering (B.S.N.R.E.)
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Regional Engineering (RME)
- Master of Science (M.S.), an undesignated degree
- Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.)
- Master of Science in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering (M.S.N.E.)
- Master of Science in Medical Physics (M.S.M.P.)
- Master of Science in Paper Science and Engineering (M.S.PSE)
- Master of Science in Bioengineering (M.S.BioE)
- Doctor of Philosophy
[edit] Facilities
The G.W. Woodruff School occupies eight buildings;
- Fuller E. Callaway, Jr. Manufacturing Research Center (MARC)
- Manufacturing Related Disciplines Complex (MRDC)
- J. Erskine Love Jr. Manufacturing Building (MRDC II)
- Frank H. Neely Research Center
- Parker H. Petit Biotechnology Building
- Institute of Paper Science and Technology
- IPST Centennial Engineering Building
- Student Competition Center (Tin Building).
[edit] Research
The Woodruff School faculty prepared 166 proposals for a value of more than $51 million and received 122 awards valued at $12 million in 2007. On an annual basis, Woodruff School faculty are responsible for more than $30 million a year in externally funded grants and contracts. Woodruff School faculty are divided into self-selected research groups. In addition, the faculty participate in more than a dozen interdisciplinary and Institute-wide centers on campus, many of which are led by Woodruff School faculty. The Woodruff School provides challenging research experiences for students in areas beyond the typical core of mechanical engineering programs. The research experience of the faculty is brought to the classroom, giving students a sense of the excitement of ME and the cutting edge nature of the discipline. At the undergraduate level, students can work with a faculty member on a research or special project. In addition, the School requires a senior experimental design course (capstone design) where students work in groups. The objective of this course is to design, build, and conduct an ME related project. Technology licensing activities are a result of research. At Georgia Tech in 2006, this resulted in 365 inventions, software and copyright disclosures, 84 patent applications, and 38 patents issued. Current Woodruff School faculty hold 185 U.S. patents. First-page patent plaques of each invention are prominently displayed in the lobby of the MRDC Building.
[edit] References
- ^ "A Walk Through Tech's History", Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine Online, Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
- ^ a b c The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering:School Facts. School of Mechanical Engineering. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
- ^ ABET. ABET. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
- ^ The Annual Report of the George W Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. G.W. Woodruff School. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
- ^ The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. ASME International. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
[edit] External links
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