Engineering
Celebrating 100 Years of Excellence in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
The MANE 100th anniversary celebration included a panel discussion titled “Transformations in Mechanical Engineering,” featuring prominent department alumni.
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This spring, Rensselaer celebrated the centennial anniversary of the founding of two beloved departments: electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. The world-renowned departments are known for both the ingenuity of their researchers and the quality of their students.
In the early years of the last century, Rensselaer launched the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering. Mechanical grew to include aerospace and nuclear engineering, while electrical expanded to include computer and systems engineering. Graduates of the two departments have gone on to become a NASA astronaut, the co-inventor of the microchip, the judge whose decision paved the way for generic drugs, and other history makers.
“In celebrating the centennial anniversary of electrical and mechanical engineering at Rensselaer, we are celebrating 100 years of outstanding faculty and staff, 10 decades of talented students, and 36,525 days of noteworthy alumni achievements,” says Timothy Wei, acting dean of engineering. “Rensselaer is known for—and will continue to be known for—educating the ‘engineer of tomorrow,’ and graduating leaders who are ready to guide the search for solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.”
| “Rensselaer is known for—and will continue to be known for—educating the ‘engineer of tomorrow,’ and graduating leaders who are ready to guide the search for solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.” |
The Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering (MANE) held a daylong celebration April 24 that included a symposium, titled “Transformations in Mechanical Engineering,” as well as a party on ’86 Field complete with music, games, and food.
The MANE symposium featured several prominent department alumni: John Dulchinos ’84, president and CEO, Adept Technology Inc.; Nancy DeLoye Fitzroy ’49, first woman president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Mark Goldhammer ’71, chief engineer for airplane performance in product development, Boeing Commercial Airplanes; Fred Ling, University of Texas-Austin; Mark Little ’82, senior vice president and director, GE Global Research; Robert Loewy ’47, Georgia Institute of Technology, professor; Van Mow ’62, Columbia University, professor; and Sheldon Weinbaum ’59, City University of New York, professor.
As part of the celebration, MANE held a party with live music on the ’86 Field that included a rare live performance of Commander Cody featuring original band members Andy Stein and MANE professor John Tichy. The party also featured games that re-created student activities and events that took place on campus over the past century.
On April 7, the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ESCE) held a celebration and seminar, titled “Penguins, Pirates, and Polytechnics: Video Games and the Future of Technical Education,” which explored how video games and virtual worlds can better prepare engineers for the next century. The noted speaker was entrepreneur and three-time ECSE alumna Tobi Saulnier ’84, Ph.D. ’95, founder of Troy-based video game developer 1st Playable Productions.
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