North Carolina State University. College of Engineering

The Exective Committee is composed of the Dean, Assistant Deans, Associate Deans, and the Dean's administrative assistant. The committee's purpose is to approve actions concerning the College of Engineering's curricula, programs, and personnel.

From the guide to the North Carolina State University, College of Engineering Executive Committee records, 1940 - 1987, (Special Collections Research Center)

The Engineer's Council for Professional Development (ECPD) was founded in 1932 to promote the professional growth of future engineers from pre-college counseling through college and initial employment to full status members of the engineering porfession. One of the council's major functions was to accredit engineering curricula at colleges and universities throughout the United States. In 1980, the ECPD was reorganized as The Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), which is part of the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES).

From the guide to the North Carolina State University, College of Engineering Accreditation Commission Records, 1948 - 1986, (Special Collections Research Center)

The purpose of the Faculty Meetings is to make the College of Engineering faculty members aware of issues concerning the administration of the College and to provide an opportunity for discussion.

From the guide to the North Carolina State University, College of Engineering Faculty Meeting minutes, 1924 - 1989, (Special Collections Research Center)

Engineering classes have been taught since the first semester at North North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now North Carolina State University) in 1889. During the next few decades, specialized engineering curricula were developed, and the first engineering departments were formed. In 1923 these were all brought together under the School of Engineering. Subsequent development has resulted in additional departments, centers, and degree programs. During the 1980s the school became the College of Engineering.

From the description of North Carolina State University College of Engineering records, 1889-1999 [manuscript] (North Carolina State University). WorldCat record id: 640153175

From the description of University Archives photograph collection. College of Engineering photographs, 1889-1992 [graphic] (North Carolina State University). WorldCat record id: 539213765

Academic study in engineering dates back to the founding of the university, with a course in "Mechanic Arts" offered during 1889. In 1923, both the School of Engineering and the Engineering Experiment Station were founded. The Experiment Station would later be renamed the Engineering Research Services Division. In 1987 the School was renamed the College of Engineering.

From the description of North Carolina State University College of Engineering publications, 1901-2009 [manuscript] (North Carolina State University). WorldCat record id: 566304276

The mission of the Office of Academic Affairs is to provide undergraduate students with a sound engineering education, advance the understanding and application of scientific principles, enhance economic development, and improve the quality of life of our citizens through teaching, research and outreach programs. Because of our reputation for providing students the opportunity to develop excellent problem-solving and communication skills, our graduates can be found in leadership positions throughout our increasing technological world. The College of Engineering offers 18 undergraduate degrees in 12 academic departments.

From the guide to the North Carolina State University, College of Engineering, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Student Services and Freshman Engineering Records, 1970-1979, (Special Collections Research Center)

The Policy and Procedures Guidelines Manual was written by a School of Engineering Review Committee in 1970, and it was first issued in January 1971. The manual was primarily intended to provide operating guidelines for administrators and secretaries within the School of Engineering. The sections on travel, undergraduate advising, and research grants and contracts were approrriate for use by faculty members.

From the guide to the North Carolina State University, College of Engineering policies and procedures, 1970 - 1980, (Special Collections Research Center)

The North Carolina State University College of Engineering maintains several honors scholarship programs.

From the description of North Carolina State University, College of Engineering, Honors Program records, 1952-1994 [manuscript] (North Carolina State University). WorldCat record id: 566298966

• March 7, 1887: After years of debate, legislation was passed establishing the "North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts" (N.C. Senate 29-13). Engineering departments were established.
• October 3, 1889: The College opened for classes. After a long, hard battle to obtain the Federal grant made available for the revolutionary idea of higher education for the working class, the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (A. and M. College, now NC State University) opened its doors. Alexander Q. Holladay was named as the first President. The first student enrolled was Walter J. Matthews, mechanic arts (engineering).
• September 1892: Dr. Wallace Carl Riddick Jr. joined the faculty of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts as professor of mechanics and applied mathematics at a salary of $1,500 per year. He was ecstatic. He wrote in a letter to his sweetheart, "Come on and marry me, Lilly. They're paying me so much money I'll never spend it all." And she did.
• 1893: The first graduating class at N.C. State was 1893 with 19 graduates: 14 completed the course work in "mechanics" ("mechanic arts" or "engineering") to receive the BE degree (Bachelor of Engineering), and the remaining 5 received degrees in agriculture.
• 1895: Wallace Carl Riddick was the College's first professor of civil engineering. He became head of the Department of Civil Engineering and served until 1908.
• 1898: Dr. Riddick served as the first football coach of NC State. [While studying engineering at Lehigh University in the late 1880s, Riddick learned the game of football. Wake Forest College paid his way home at Easter vacation to teach them the game, for this was a new game south of the Mason-Dixon line. On the basis of this arrangement, Riddick claimed to be the first paid football coach in North Carolina.]
• 1899: George T. Winston became the second President of N.C. State. During his tenure, textiles courses were added.
• 1908: Daniel H. Hill was elected the third President, and Riddick was elected Vice President of the college (during this time he continued to teach civil engineering courses as a professor of hydraulics).
• 1910: Winston Hall was the first building primarily devoted to engineering activities; namely, electrical engineering, civil engineering, and the chemical department of the State Experiment Station.
• 1912: The football stadium was named in honor of Riddick, who had served as football coach in 1898 and 1899 and served for many years as a member of the Athletics Council.
• 1916: Riddick was named fourth President of the college. He served until 1923. During his administration, he was instrumental in its reorganization (the name was changed to North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering), dividing it into schools with deans in charge to accommodate rapid program expansion and increased enrollment. The total number of degrees awarded by the College reaches 1,000.
• March 2, 1917: The College name changed from the "North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts" to the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering."
• 1921: Lucille Thomson became the first woman ever to enroll at NC State. She enrolled in electrical engineering. [It is a widely held belief that Katharine Stinson was the first woman to receive an engineering degree from NC State (BSME with aeronautical option, 1941). However, many believe Lucille Thomson was the first woman ever to enroll at NC State. She enrolled in 1921 (electrical engineering). While some records indicate she married and left college before earning her degree, other records say she graduated. Alumnus Dan Stewart, Class of 1923, said he distinctly recalls that Lucille graduated with his class.]
• 1923: Eugene Clyde Brooks became President of NC State. ; Lucille Thomson (according to some records) becomes the first woman ever to graduate (or to get an engineering degree) from NC State. [See 1921 Lucille Thomson entry.]
• May 28, 1923: The School of Engineering was formed, and Riddick was named the first dean (Wallace C. Riddick, Jr., dean from 1923-1937), following his expressed desire to take on this role. The School consisted of the Electrical Engineering Department, Civil Engineering Department, Physics Department, Textile Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. ; [During Riddick's leadership, the school grew to include 12 departments, and the Engineering Experiment Station was established. Riddick, who organized the North Carolina Society of Engineering and the Raleigh Engineers Club, remained Dean of Engineering until he retired in 1937.]
• June 9, 1923: The "Engineering Experiment Station" was established by NC State's Board of Trustees.
• 1924: Departments that were precursors to materials science and engineering were formed in the 1920s. These were Ceramic Engineering (1924), Mining Engineering (1925), and Geology (1927).
• 1929: The Aeronautical Engineering Option was offered for the first time.
• 1930: School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 685.
• March 27, 1931: The Consolidation Act passed, changing NC State's name from the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering" to the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the University of North Carolina."
• 1933: N.M. York became the first editor of Southern Engineer magazine, produced by the Engineers' Council. (In the 1980s the magazine was renamed NC State Engineer.)
• 1934: Col. John W. Harrelson became President of NC State, but he choose the title "Dean of Administration" instead of President. The title was later changed to Chancellor.
• 1935: The Department of Geological Engineering was formed from the geology and mining departments. (Courses in metallurgy in the years before 1954 were taught in the Department of Mechanical Engineering by W. W. Austin.)
• 1937: Wallace Carl Riddick, Jr. retired as Dean of Engineering after 14 years of service. Dean Blake Ragsdale Van Leer became dean. He served until 1942, when he left on military leave. During Van Leer's tenure, he established a service division in Diesel and Internal Combustion Engineering. More departments were established: Industrial, Ceramics, Chemical, Math, Architectural, Geological, Agricultural. The first graduate work in Engineering was offered: engineering mechanics and strength of materials. First accreditation of engineering curricula: ceramic, civil, electrical, mechanical. First honorary engineering degree was given at NC State: Arthur Ernest Morgan, Doctor of Engineering.
• 1940: The Department of Aeronautical Engineering was established. School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 1,180.
• 1941: One of the most significant contributions to the war effort is the Diesel Program, developed by the Mechanical Engineering Department to train naval officers. Katharine Stinson was the first woman to receive an engineering degree from NC State (BSME with aeronautical option, 1941), according to some records. [However, see note under 1921 regarding Lucille Thomson]
• 1942: Blake Ragsdale Van Leer resigned his position as Dean of Engineering for military leave. L. L. Vaughan was named Acting Dean ("acting" was the term for "interim" at that time). He served 3 years. During Vaughan's term (1) Army Special Team Program was conducted at Engineering School (one of four ASTP Centers in US to have an advanced engineering program); (2) NC State became the only engineering school in the South to conduct the Pratt-Whitney Fellows Program to train women as engineering aides; (3) US Bureau of Mines Laboratory was established in the School of Engineering (building transferred to NCSU in 1957); (4) groundwork was laid for establishment of a minerals research laboratory in western part of the state.
• Fall 1944: The North Carolina Engineering Foundation, Inc., "a non-profit organization having for its purpose the development of the State through engineering education and research," was formed by a group of 49 representative engineers, contractors, and industrialists who interested in fostering and promoting ways of improving and developing engineering in North Carolina. (On May 3, 1999, the name changed to "NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc.")
• April 1945: L. L. Vaughan stepped down as Dean of Engineering. J. Harold Lampe became Dean and went on to serve 17 years, the longest tenure of any Dean of Engineering at NC State. During Lampe's years of service (1) among curricula developed to serve special industrial needs were furniture manufacturing and management, construction, heating and air conditioning, and nuclear engineering (aeronautical engineering became an option in the Mechanical Engineering department); (2) department of Engineering Research, Industrial Extension Service, Department of Mineral Industries, Department of Nuclear Engineering, and Engineering Placement Office were established; and (3) three major buildings are constructed: Riddick Engineering Laboratories, Broughton Hall, and Burlington Nuclear Engineering Laboratories.
• June 4, 1946: The Engineering Experiment Station was renamed "Department of Engineering Research" by action of the Board of Trustees.
• July 29, 1946: As part of the School of Engineering, the "State College Minerals Research Laboratory" (now called the Minerals Research Laboratory) began formal operations in Asheville.
• June 1949: Dr. Clifford K. Beck of Oak Ridge accepted the offer to head the Physics Department and proceeded to work on a proposal for a nuclear reactor at NC State College. The initial draft was completed July 5, 1949, and was later revised on March 30, 1950.
• September 1949: Dr. Clifford K. Beck began his term as Physics Department Head. During his tenure (1) Daniels Hall space was renovated for physics, (2) approval to proceed with reactor design was secured from the AEC, (3) appropriation of $50,000 was granted by the 1949 General Assembly, (4) a curriculum in nuclear engineering, with full undergraduate, "fifth-year," and master's programs, was devised and approved.
• 1950: School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 1,690.
• Summer 1950: Dr. Raymond L. Murray joined the Physics staff (Physics was in the School of Engineering at that time) at NC State College. He served as head of the Nuclear Engineering Department from fall 1963 through spring 1974.
• Fall 1950: The newly organized nuclear engineering curriculum was placed into operation, and the first courses in nuclear engineering were given. Plans for construction of a building to house the 10-kW nuclear reactor on the NCSC campus were completed, and construction of the reactor and laboratory building was begun. The Burlington Mills Textile Foundation contributed $200,000 for the project.
• 1951: Riddick Engineering Laboratories building was named in memory of Dr. Wallace Carl Riddick. Frances M. ("Billie") Richardson became the first woman faculty member in the School of Engineering at NC State.
• 1952: The Advisory Council of the School of Engineering was formed, comprising a 15-member group of leaders from the State's industrial, professional, and community life.
• 1953: Carey H. Bostian became President/Chancellor of NC State. First PhD degree in engineering was awarded to Ralph Marshall McGehee. In 1953, the first African-American graduate students enrolled at North Carolina State. Hardy Liston enrolled in mechanical engineering. Robert L. Clemons enrolled in electrical engineering and became the first African American to receive a degree from the university when he received a professional degree in electrical engineering in May 1957 (*see also 1957 below). (Hardy Liston withdrew.)
• March 5,1953: The School of Engineering Advisory Council held its first organizational meeting. Maurice Hill, president of Drexel Furniture Company, Drexel, NC, was elected first chairman.
• September 5, 1953: NC State's School of Engineering today operated the world's first nuclear reactor used for teaching, research and public service (first non-government nuclear reactor). One year later, NC State launched the nation's only doctoral program in nuclear engineering.
• 1954: The first PhDs in ceramic engineering at NC State were awarded to William C. Hackler and Albert D. Indyk. The first PhD in chemical engineering at NC State was awarded to James K. Ferrell. The first PhDs in nuclear engineering at NC State were awarded to Robert Howell Bryan and Hervasio Guimaroes de Carvolho (arguably the first Hispanic student to receive a PhD at NC State).
• July 1, 1954: The Minerals Research Laboratory (MRL) became the responsibility of the School of Engineering. In 1954, the departments of Ceramic Engineering, Geological Engineering, and the Metallurgy Program in Mechanical Engineering were merged to form the Department of Mineral Industries with W. W. Austin as head. Separate degree programs were retained in ceramics, geology, and metallurgy.
• 1956: The first African-American undergraduate students entered NC State; all were engineering students. Walter Holmes enrolled in mechanical engineering with an aerospace option, and Irwin Holmes, Manuel Crockett, and Edward Carson enrolled in electrical engineering.
• 1957: Robert L. Clemons became the first African American to receive a degree from NC State, when he received a professional degree in electrical engineering. (See also 1953.)
• 1958: The Research Triangle Institute at Research Triangle Park was established by NC State, Duke University, and UNC-Chapel Hill.
• 1959: John T. Caldwell became chancellor.
• 1960: Irwin Holmes was the first African American to receive a bachelor's degree from NC State (electrical engineering).
• 1961: The first woman to receive an advanced degree in engineering from NC State was Anna Clyde Fraker (MS in metallurgical engineering) (See also 1967.)
• 1961: Harold Lamonds was named the first head of the Nuclear Engineering Department; he served until 1963.
• 1962: The first PhD in civil engineering at NC State was awarded to Charles Fisher Page.
• June 1962: J. Harold Lampe stepped down as Dean of Engineering after 17 years of service, the longest term for any Dean of Engineering at NC State. Ralph E. Fadum was named Dean of Engineering. During his tenure, 1962-1978, (1) the Center for Acoustical Studies, the Water Resources Research Institute, the Engineering Design Center, and the Center for Marine and Coastal Studies were established; (2) the Department of Mechanical Engineering broadened to include Aerospace Engineering; (3) the Department of Engineering Mechanics and the Department of Materials Engineering were established; and (4) the Cooperative Engineering Education Program and Engineer-in-Residence Program were initiated.
• May 10, 1963: NC State's name changed from the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the University of North Carolina" to "North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina at Raleigh." [Odd, but true, as if a word is missing after "State. " This cumbersome name lasted only two years.]
• 1964: The Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI), a joint federal-state program for the UNC System, was established at NC State. The Dean of Engineering serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WRRI. [Note, University Archives says it was 1965, not 1964.] A new degree was established: the Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering. Long before that, NC State offered an aeronautical option within the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree program.
• 1965: The first PhDs in mechanical engineering at NC State were awarded to Ozer Ali Arnas, Charles Team Carley, Tuncer Cebeci, and Franklin Delano Hart. School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 3,365.
• July 1, 1965: NC State's name changed from the cumbersome "North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina at Raleigh" to "North Carolina State University at Raleigh."
• 1966: James K. Ferrell became head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, which he carefully nurtured to national prominence during his tenure until 1980. During Ferrell's tenure he (1) established within the College of Engineering the Eos computer system, (2) helped organize the Triangle University Computation Center that linked NC State, Duke University, and UNC-Chapel Hill in one of the world's largest university computing centers, (3) directed energy and environmental research programs in the College of Engineering, (4) and later served as the college's associate dean of research and interim dean of engineering.
• 1967: Anna Clyde Fraker became the first woman to receive a PhD in engineering at NC State (ceramic engineering, 1967) and the first woman to receive an advanced engineering degree of any kind at NC State. Geological Engineering left the Department of Mineral Industries to become the Department of Geosciences, in what is now the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
• 1968: The first PhD in engineering mechanics at NC State was awarded to Larry Herbert Royster.
• 1969: The Center for Acoustical Studies was founded by Franklin D. Hart. The Department of Mineral Industries name was changed to Materials Engineering, and the distinctions between ceramics and metallurgy degrees was removed.
• 1970: The first PhD in industrial engineering at NC State was awarded to Manmohan Krishan Wig. The first PhD in materials engineering at NC State was awarded to Walter Jackson Lackey.
• 1972: The first PhD in operations research at NC State was awarded to Sanji Arisawa.
• September 1, 1972: The Nuclear Reactor Program was established.
• 1988: The Mars Mission Research Center was established (according to University Archives, but College of Engineering records show 1989).
• 1989: Christine Grant became the first African-American woman faculty member hired in the College of Engineering and in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
• August 19, 1989: The NSF Engineering Research Center for Advanced Electronic Materials Processing was established.
• August 25, 1989: The Mars Missions Research Center was established (according to College of Engineering records).
• September 30, 1989: Larry K. Monteith resigned as Dean of Engineering to become interim chancellor of NC State University. He became chancellor in May 1990 and served until July 1998.
• October 1, 1989: James K. Ferrell was named Interim Dean of Engineering.
• May 1990: Interim Chancellor Larry K. Monteith became Chancellor.
• 1991: School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 7,236.
• February 1, 1991: The Pollution Prevention Research Center was established.
• July 1, 1991: Dr. James K. Ferrell began serving as Director of the Center for Waste Minimization and Management (Pollution Prevention Center).
• July 22,1991: James K. Ferrell stepped down as Interim Dean of Engineering.
• July 23, 1991: Wilbur L. Meier Jr. was named Dean of Engineering
• January 1, 1992: The Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines was established.
• January 1, 1992: The Center for Transportation and the Environment was established.
• May 8, 1992: The Power Semiconductor Research Center was established.
• July 1, 1992: The Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center was established.
• June 30, 1993: Wilbur L. Meier Jr. stepped down as Dean of Engineering.
• July 1, 1993: Tildon H. Glisson was named Interim Dean of Engineering.
• September 10, 1993: The North Carolina Solar Center was established.
• October 8, 1993: The Center for Nuclear Power Plant Structures, Equipment and Piping was established.
• June 20, 1994: The Transportation Materials Research Center was established.
• June 30, 1994: Tildon H. Glisson stepped down as Interim Dean of Engineering.
• July 1, 1994: Ralph K. Cavin III became Interim Dean of Engineering.
• August 1, 1994: Ralph K. Cavin III became Dean of Engineering.
• October 1994: Groundbreaking for the Engineering Graduate Research Center was held.
• November 2, 1994: The NC Ergonomics Resource Center was established.
• August 22, 1995: The Center for Advanced Computing and Communications (CACC) reformed from the former Center for Communications and Signal Processing, established in 1982.
• December 31, 1995: Ralph K. Cavin III stepped down as Dean of Engineering.
• January 1, 1996: NC State's College of Engineering offered the state's first online, real-time, Internet-based distance-education class to students at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The class was a graduate-level course in ergonomics. ; Sarah A. Rajala became the first woman to be named an associate dean in the College of Engineering. She was named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
• July 31, 1996: John G. Gilligan stepped down as Interim Dean of Engineering.
• August 1, 1996: Nino A. Masnari became Dean of Engineering.
• August 1997: Women in Engineering Program was established.
• October 14, 1997: Grand Opening of the Engineering Graduate Research Center (EGRC) was held.
• July 1998: Larry K. Monteith stepped down as Chancellor; Marye Anne Fox became NCSU's first woman chancellor.
• August 14, 1998: Kenan Center for the Utilization of Carbon Dioxide in Manufacturing was established.
• May 3, 1999: The North Carolina Engineering Foundation, Inc. changed its name to the NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc.
• July 30, 1999: Science and Technology Center for Environmentally Responsible Solvents and Processes was established.
• November 16, 1999: Michael J. Rigsbee was named head of MSE.
• November 2000: The people of North Carolina passed an educational bond issue that provided more than $468 million for the renovation and construction of almost thirty academic buildings on the NC State campus. The bond referendum was a critical step in achieving the College of Engineering's goal of relocating the entire college to Centennial Campus.
• December 8, 2000: Network Technology Institute (NTI) was established. Formerly Multimedia Lab since March 13, 1998.
• March 2002: NC State University was designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency.
• June 17, 2002: NC Ergonomics Resource Center reformulated, previously Ergonomics Center of North Carolina since November 2, 1994.
• May 2, 2003: The Department of Civil Engineering was renamed the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering.
• September 12, 2003: Center for Embedded Systems Research (CESR) was established.
• December 1, 2003: H. Troy Nagle was named interim founding chair of the new joint Department of Biomedical Engineering with UNC Chapel Hill.
• January 1, 2004: Hien T. Tran (Professor of Mathematics) started his term as the new co-director of Operations Research, serving along with Yahya Fathi.
• February 1, 2004: H. Troy Nagle became Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
• June 30, 2004: Alan L. Tharp stepped down as department head of Computer Science.
• July 1, 2004: Mladen A. Vouk began serving as interim head of Computer Science.
• September 2004: Construction on Engineering Building I was completed. The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering began moving in.
• January 1, 2005: James L. Oblinger became NC State University's 13th chancellor.
• March 2005: The Engineering Graduate Research Center (EGRC) was renamed the Larry K. Monteith Engineering Research Center (MRC).
• April 22, 2005: Dedication Ceremony for Engineering Building I was held.

• 1923 - 1937 : Wallace Carl Riddick
• 1937 - 1942 : Blake Ragsdale Van Leer
• 1942 - 1945 : Lillian Lee Vaughan, Acting
• 1945 - 1962 : John Harold Lampe
• 1962 - 1978 : Ralph Egil Fadum
• 1978 - 1989 : Larry King Monteith
• 1989 - 1991 : James K. Ferrell, Interim
• 1991 - 1993 : Wilbur L. Meier Jr.
• 1993 - 1994 : Tildon H. Glissom, Interim
• 1994 - 1995 : Ralph K. Cavin III
• 1996: John G. Gilligan, Interim
• 1996 - 2006 : Nino A. Masnari
• 2006 - : Louis Martin-Vega

From the guide to the North Carolina State University, College of Engineering, Office of the Dean Records, 1916-2013, (Special Collections Research Center)

The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is a non-profit organization of companies, individuals, and institutions whose purpose is to advance engineering education and its allied branches of science and technology, including the processes of counseling, extension services, learning, public relations, research and teaching.

ASEE's predecessor was the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education (SPEE). SPEE was founded in 1893 to regulate the training of engineers. In 1946, SPEE was reorganized as the American Society for Engineering Educaiton (ASEE).

From the guide to the North Carolina State University American Society for Engineering Education Records, 1959 - 1972, (Special Collections Research Center)

Academic study in engineering dates to the first courses taught at North Carolina State University, in "mechanics" or "mechanical arts." Shortly thereafter, the Mechanics Course was split into the Mechanical and Civil Engineering departments, and was joined by the Physics and Electrical Engineering department.

In 1923, the various engineering departments were united under the newly created School of Engineering. That same year saw the establishment of the Engineering Experiment Station, which later became the Engineering Research Services Division. In 1987 the School of Engineering was renamed the College of Engineering.

Today the College of Engineering consists of fourteen departments and programs and a number of affiliated research units and centers, and maintains extensive academic, research, and extension activities.

• March 7, 1887: After years of debate, legislation was passed establishing the "North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts" (N.C. Senate 29-13). Engineering departments were established.
• October 3, 1889: The College opened for classes. After a long, hard battle to obtain the Federal grant made available for the revolutionary idea of higher education for the working class, the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (A. and M. College, now NC State University) opened its doors. Alexander Q. Holladay was named as the first President. The first student enrolled was Walter J. Matthews, mechanic arts (engineering).
• September 1892: Dr. Wallace Carl Riddick Jr. joined the faculty of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts as professor of mechanics and applied mathematics at a salary of $1,500 per year. He was ecstatic. He wrote in a letter to his sweetheart, "Come on and marry me, Lilly. They're paying me so much money I'll never spend it all." And she did.
• 1893: The first graduating class at N.C. State was 1893 with 19 graduates: 14 completed the course work in "mechanics" ("mechanic arts" or "engineering") to receive the BE degree (Bachelor of Engineering), and the remaining 5 received degrees in agriculture.
• 1895: Wallace Carl Riddick was the College's first professor of civil engineering. He became head of the Department of Civil Engineering and served until 1908.
• 1898: Dr. Riddick served as the first football coach of NC State. [While studying engineering at Lehigh University in the late 1880's, Riddick learned the game of football. Wake Forest College paid his way home at Easter vacation to teach them the game, for this was a new game south of the Mason-Dixon line. On the basis of this arrangement, Riddick claimed to be the first paid football coach in North Carolina.]
• 1899: George T. Winston became the second President of N.C. State. During his tenure, textiles courses were added.
• 1908: Daniel H. Hill was elected the third President, and Riddick was elected Vice President of the college (during this time he continued to teach civil engineering courses as a professor of hydraulics).
• 1910: Winston Hall was the first building primarily devoted to engineering activities; namely, electrical engineering, civil engineering, and the chemical department of the State Experiment Station.
• 1912: The football stadium was named in honor of Riddick, who had served as football coach in 1898 and 1899 and served for many years as a member of the Athletics Council.
• 1916: Riddick was named fourth President of the college. He served until 1923. During his administration, he was instrumental in its reorganization (the name was changed to North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering), dividing it into schools with deans in charge to accommodate rapid program expansion and increased enrollment. The total number of degrees awarded by the College reaches 1,000.
• March 2, 1917: The College name changed from the "North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts" to the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering."
• 1921: Lucille Thomson became the first woman ever to enroll at NC State. She enrolled in electrical engineering. [It is a widely held belief that Katharine Stinson was the first woman to receive an engineering degree from NC State (BSME with aeronautical option, 1941). However, many believe Lucille Thomson was the first woman ever to enroll at NC State. She enrolled in 1921 (electrical engineering). While some records indicate she married and left college before earning her degree, other records say she graduated. Alumnus Dan Stewart, Class of 1923, said he distinctly recalls that Lucille graduated with his class.]
• 1923: Eugene Clyde Brooks became President of NC State. ; Lucille Thomson (according to some records) becomes the first woman ever to graduate (or to get an engineering degree) from NC State. [See 1921 Lucille Thomson entry.]
• May 28, 1923: The School of Engineering was formed, and Riddick was named the first dean (Wallace C. Riddick, Jr., dean from 1923-1937), following his expressed desire to take on this role. The School consisted of the Electrical Engineering Department, Civil Engineering Department, Physics Department, Textile Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. ; [During Riddick's leadership, the school grew to include 12 departments, and the Engineering Experiment Station was established. Riddick, who organized the North Carolina Society of Engineering and the Raleigh Engineers Club, remained Dean of Engineering until he retired in 1937.]
• June 9, 1923: The "Engineering Experiment Station" was established by NC State's Board of Trustees.
• 1924: Departments that were precursors to materials science and engineering were formed in the 1920s. These were Ceramic Engineering (1924), Mining Engineering (1925), and Geology (1927).
• 1929: The Aeronautical Engineering Option was offered for the first time.
• 1930: School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 685.
• March 27, 1931: The Consolidation Act passed, changing NC State's name from the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering" to the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the University of North Carolina."
• 1933: N.M. York became the first editor of Southern Engineer magazine, produced by the Engineers' Council. (In the 1980s the magazine was renamed NC State Engineer.)
• 1934: Col. John W. Harrelson became President of NC State, but he choose the title "Dean of Administration" instead of President. The title was later changed to Chancellor.
• 1935: The Department of Geological Engineering was formed from the geology and mining departments. (Courses in metallurgy in the years before 1954 were taught in the Department of Mechanical Engineering by W.W. Austin.)
• 1937: Wallace Carl Riddick, Jr. retired as Dean of Engineering after 14 years of service. Dean Blake Ragsdale Van Leer became dean. He served until 1942, when he left on military leave. During Van Leer's tenure, he established a service division in Diesel and Internal Combustion Engineering. More departments were established: Industrial, Ceramics, Chemical, Math, Architectural, Geological, Agricultural. The first graduate work in Engineering was offered: engineering mechanics and strength of materials. First accreditation of engineering curricula: ceramic, civil, electrical, mechanical. First honorary engineering degree was given at NC State: Arthur Ernest Morgan, Doctor of Engineering.
• 1940: The Department of Aeronautical Engineering was established. School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 1,180.
• 1941: One of the most significant contributions to the war effort is the Diesel Program, developed by the Mechanical Engineering Department to train naval officers. Katharine Stinson was the first woman to receive an engineering degree from NC State (BSME with aeronautical option, 1941), according to some records. [However, see note under 1921 regarding Lucille Thomson]
• 1942: Blake Ragsdale Van Leer resigned his position as Dean of Engineering for military leave. L.L. Vaughan was named Acting Dean ("acting" was the term for "interim" at that time). He served 3 years. During Vaughan's term (1) Army Special Team Program was conducted at Engineering School (one of four ASTP Centers in US to have an advanced engineering program); (2) NC State became the only engineering school in the South to conduct the Pratt-Whitney Fellows Program to train women as engineering aides; (3) US Bureau of Mines Laboratory was established in the School of Engineering (building transferred to NCSU in 1957); (4) groundwork was laid for establishment of a minerals research laboratory in western part of the state.
• Fall 1944: The North Carolina Engineering Foundation, Inc., "a non-profit organization having for its purpose the development of the State through engineering education and research," was formed by a group of 49 representative engineers, contractors, and industrialists who interested in fostering and promoting ways of improving and developing engineering in North Carolina. (On May 3, 1999, the name changed to "NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc.")
• April 1945: L.L. Vaughan stepped down as Dean of Engineering. J. Harold Lampe became Dean and went on to serve 17 years, the longest tenure of any Dean of Engineering at NC State. During Lampe's years of service (1) among curricula developed to serve special industrial needs were furniture manufacturing and management, construction, heating and air conditioning, and nuclear engineering (aeronautical engineering became an option in the Mechanical Engineering department); (2) department of Engineering Research, Industrial Extension Service, Department of Mineral Industries, Department of Nuclear Engineering, and Engineering Placement Office were established; and (3) three major buildings are constructed: Riddick Engineering Laboratories, Broughton Hall, and Burlington Nuclear Engineering Laboratories.
• June 4, 1946: The Engineering Experiment Station was renamed "Department of Engineering Research" by action of the Board of Trustees.
• July 29, 1946: As part of the School of Engineering, the "State College Minerals Research Laboratory" (now called the Minerals Research Laboratory) began formal operations in Asheville.
• June 1949: Dr. Clifford K. Beck of Oak Ridge accepted the offer to head the Physics Department and proceeded to work on a proposal for a nuclear reactor at NC State College. The initial draft was completed July 5, 1949, and was later revised on March 30, 1950.
• September 1949: Dr. Clifford K. Beck began his term as Physics Department Head. During his tenure (1) Daniels Hall space was renovated for physics, (2) approval to proceed with reactor design was secured from the AEC, (3) appropriation of $50,000 was granted by the 1949 General Assembly, (4) a curriculum in nuclear engineering, with full undergraduate, "fifth-year," and master's programs, was devised and approved.
• 1950: School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 1,690.
• Summer 1950: Dr. Raymond L. Murray joined the Physics staff (Physics was in the School of Engineering at that time) at NC State College. He served as head of the Nuclear Engineering Department from fall 1963 through spring 1974.
• Fall 1950: The newly organized nuclear engineering curriculum was placed into operation, and the first courses in nuclear engineering were given. Plans for construction of a building to house the 10-kW nuclear reactor on the NCSC campus were completed, and construction of the reactor and laboratory building was begun. The Burlington Mills Textile Foundation contributed $200,000 for the project.
• 1951: Riddick Engineering Laboratories building was named in memory of Dr. Wallace Carl Riddick. Frances M. ("Billie") Richardson became the first woman faculty member in the School of Engineering at NC State.
• 1952: The Advisory Council of the School of Engineering was formed, comprising a 15member group of leaders from the State's industrial, professional, and community life.
• 1953: Carey H. Bostian became President/Chancellor of NC State. First PhD degree in engineering was awarded to Ralph Marshall McGehee. In 1953, the first African-American graduate students enrolled at North Carolina State. Hardy Liston enrolled in mechanical engineering. Robert L. Clemons enrolled in electrical engineering and became the first African American to receive a degree from the university when he received a professional degree in electrical engineering in May 1957 (*see also 1957 below). (Hardy Liston withdrew.)
• March 5,1953: The School of Engineering Advisory Council held its first organizational meeting. Maurice Hill, president of Drexel Furniture Company, Drexel, NC, was elected first chairman.
• September 5, 1953: NC State's School of Engineering today operated the world's first nuclear reactor used for teaching, research and public service (first non-government nuclear reactor). One year later, NC State launched the nation's only doctoral program in nuclear engineering.
• 1954: The first PhDs in ceramic engineering at NC State were awarded to William C. Hackler and Albert D. Indyk. The first PhD in chemical engineering at NC State was awarded to James K. Ferrell. The first PhDs in nuclear engineering at NC State were awarded to Robert Howell Bryan and Hervasio Guimaroes de Carvolho (arguably the first Hispanic student to receive a PhD at NC State).
• July 1, 1954: the Minerals Research Laboratory (MRL) became the responsibility of the School of Engineering. In 1954, the departments of Ceramic Engineering, Geological Engineering, and the Metallurgy Program in Mechanical Engineering were merged to form the Department of Mineral Industries with W.W. Austin as head. Separate degree programs were retained in ceramics, geology, and metallurgy.
• 1956: The first African-American undergraduate students entered NC State; all were engineering students. Walter Holmes enrolled in mechanical engineering with an aerospace option, and Irwin Holmes, Manuel Crockett, and Edward Carson enrolled in electrical engineering.
• 1957: Robert L. Clemons became the first African American to receive a degree from NC State, when he received a professional degree in electrical engineering. (See also 1953.)
• 1958: The Research Triangle Institute at Research Triangle Park was established by NC State, Duke University, and UNC-Chapel Hill.
• 1959: John T. Caldwell became chancellor.
• 1960: Irwin Holmes was the first African American to receive a bachelor's degree from NC State (electrical engineering).
• 1961: The first woman to receive an advanced degree in engineering from NC State was Anna Clyde Fraker (MS in metallurgical engineering) (See also 1967.)
• 1961: Harold Lamonds was named the first head of the Nuclear Engineering Department; he served until 1963.
• 1962: The first PhD in civil engineering at NC State was awarded to Charles Fisher Page.
• June 1962: J. Harold Lampe stepped down as Dean of Engineering after 17 years of service, the longest term for any Dean of Engineering at NC State. Ralph E. Fadum was named Dean of Engineering. During his tenure, 1962-1978, (1) the Center for Acoustical Studies, the Water Resources Research Institute, the Engineering Design Center, and the Center for Marine and Coastal Studies were established; (2) the Department of Mechanical Engineering broadened to include Aerospace Engineering; (3) the Department of Engineering Mechanics and the Department of Materials Engineering were established; and (4) the Cooperative Engineering Education Program and Engineerin-Residence Program were initiated.
• May 10, 1963: NC State's name changed from the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the University of North Carolina" to "North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina at Raleigh." [Odd, but true, as if a word is missing after "State. " This cumbersome name lasted only two years.]
• 1964: The Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI), a joint federal-state program for the UNC System, was established at NC State. The Dean of Engineering serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WRRI. [Note, University Archives says it was 1965, not 1964.] A new degree was established: the Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering. Long before that, NC State offered an aeronautical option within the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree program.
• 1965: The first PhDs in mechanical engineering at NC State were awarded to Ozer Ali Arnas, Charles Team Carley, Tuncer Cebeci, and Franklin Delano Hart. School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 3,365.
• July 1, 1965: NC State's name changed from the cumbersome "North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina at Raleigh" to "North Carolina State University at Raleigh."
• 1966: James K. Ferrell became head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, which he carefully nurtured to national prominence during his tenure until 1980. During Ferrell's tenure he (1) established within the College of Engineering the Eos computer system, (2) helped organize the Triangle University Computation Center that linked NC State, Duke University, and UNC-Chapel Hill in one of the world's largest university computing centers, (3) directed energy and environmental research programs in the College of Engineering, (4) and later served as the college's associate dean of research and interim dean of engineering.
• 1967: Anna Clyde Fraker became the first woman to receive a PhD in engineering at NC State (ceramic engineering, 1967) and the first woman to receive an advanced engineering degree of any kind at NC State. Geological Engineering left the Department of Mineral Industries to become the Department of Geosciences, in what is now the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
• 1968: The first PhD in engineering mechanics at NC State was awarded to Larry Herbert Royster.
• 1969: The Center for Acoustical Studies was founded by Franklin D. Hart. The Department of Mineral Industries name was changed to Materials Engineering, and the distinctions between ceramics and metallurgy degrees was removed.
• 1970: The first PhD in industrial engineering at NC State was awarded to Manmohan Krishan Wig. The first PhD in materials engineering at NC State was awarded to Walter Jackson Lackey.
• 1972: The first PhD in operations research at NC State was awarded to Sanji Arisawa.
• September 1, 1972: The Nuclear Reactor Program was established.
• 1988: The Mars Mission Research Center was established (according to University Archives, but College of Engineering records show 1989).
• 1989: Christine Grant became the first African-American woman faculty member hired in the College of Engineering and in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
• August 19, 1989: The NSF Engineering Research Center for Advanced Electronic Materials Processing was established.
• August 25, 1989: The Mars Missions Research Center was established (according to College of Engineering records).
• September 30, 1989: Larry K. Monteith resigned as Dean of Engineering to become interim chancellor of NC State University. He became chancellor in May 1990 and served until July 1998.
• October 1, 1989: James K. Ferrell was named Interim Dean of Engineering.
• May 1990: Interim Chancellor Larry K. Monteith became Chancellor.
• 1991: School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 7,236.
• February 1, 1991: The Pollution Prevention Research Center was established.
• July 1, 1991: Dr. James K. Ferrell began serving as Director of the Center for Waste Minimization and Management (Pollution Prevention Center).
• July 22,1991: James K. Ferrell stepped down as Interim Dean of Engineering.
• July 23, 1991: Wilbur L. Meier Jr. was named Dean of Engineering
• January 1, 1992: The Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines was established.
• January 1, 1992: The Center for Transportation and the Environment was established.
• May 8, 1992: The Power Semiconductor Research Center was established.
• July 1, 1992: The Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center was established.
• June 30, 1993: Wilbur L. Meier Jr. stepped down as Dean of Engineering.
• July 1, 1993: Tildon H. Glisson was named Interim Dean of Engineering.
• September 10, 1993: The North Carolina Solar Center was established.
• October 8, 1993: The Center for Nuclear Power Plant Structures, Equipment and Piping was established.
• June 20, 1994: The Transportation Materials Research Center was established.
• June 30, 1994: Tildon H. Glisson stepped down as Interim Dean of Engineering.
• July 1, 1994: Ralph K. Cavin III became Interim Dean of Engineering.
• August 1, 1994: Ralph K. Cavin III became Dean of Engineering.
• October 1994: Groundbreaking for the Engineering Graduate Research Center was held.
• November 2, 1994: The NC Ergonomics Resource Center was established.
• August 22, 1995: The Center for Advanced Computing and Communications (CACC) reformed from the former Center for Communications and Signal Processing, established in 1982.
• December 31, 1995: Ralph K. Cavin III stepped down as Dean of Engineering.
• January 1, 1996: NC State's College of Engineering offered the state's first online, real-time, Internetbased distance-education class to students at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The class was a graduate-level course in ergonomics. ; Sarah A. Rajala became the first woman to be named an associate dean in the College of Engineering. She was named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
• July 31, 1996: John G. Gilligan stepped down as Interim Dean of Engineering.
• August 1, 1996: Nino A. Masnari became Dean of Engineering.
• August 1997: Women in Engineering Program was established.
• October 14, 1997: Grand Opening of the Engineering Graduate Research Center (EGRC) was held.
• July 1998: Larry K. Monteith stepped down as Chancellor; Marye Anne Fox became NCSU's first woman chancellor.
• August 14, 1998: Kenan Center for the Utilization of Carbon Dioxide in Manufacturing was established.
• May 3, 1999: The North Carolina Engineering Foundation, Inc. changed its name to the NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc.
• July 30, 1999: Science and Technology Center for Environmentally Responsible Solvents and Processes was established.
• November 16, 1999: Michael J. Rigsbee was named head of MSE.
• November 2000: The people of North Carolina passed an educational bond issue that provided more than $468 million for the renovation and construction of almost thirty academic buildings on the NC State campus. The bond referendum was a critical step in achieving the College of Engineering's goal of relocating the entire college to Centennial Campus.
• December 8, 2000: Network Technology Institute (NTI) was established. Formerly Multimedia Lab since March 13, 1998.
• March 2002: NC State University was designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency.
• June 17, 2002: NC Ergonomics Resource Center reformulated, previously Ergonomics Center of North Carolina since November 2, 1994.
• May 2, 2003: The Department of Civil Engineering was renamed the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering.
• September 12, 2003: Center for Embedded Systems Research (CESR) was established.
• December 1, 2003: H. Troy Nagle was named interim founding chair of the new joint Department of Biomedical Engineering with UNC Chapel Hill.
• January 1, 2004: Hien T. Tran (Professor of Mathematics) started his term as the new co-director of Operations Research, serving along with Yahya Fathi.
• February 1, 2004: H. Troy Nagle became Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
• June 30, 2004: Alan L. Tharp stepped down as department head of Computer Science.
• July 1, 2004: Mladen A. Vouk began serving as interim head of Computer Science.
• September 2004: Construction on Engineering Building I was completed. The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering began moving in.
• January 1, 2005: James L. Oblinger became NC State University's 13th chancellor.
• March 2005: The Engineering Graduate Research Center (EGRC) was renamed the Larry K. Monteith Engineering Research Center (MRC).
• April 22, 2005: Dedication Ceremony for Engineering Building I was held.

Compiled by Martha Brinson, Director of Communication, College of Engineering, from a wide variety of sources, including University Archives and personal letters submitted by Mrs. Eugenia Steck, daughter of Dean Riddick. This is a working document. Please check back for updates.

From the guide to the North Carolina State University, College of Engineering Publications, 1901-2013, (Special Collections Research Center)

• March 7, 1887: After years of debate, legislation was passed establishing the "North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts" (N.C. Senate 29-13). Engineering departments were established.
• October 3, 1889: The College opened for classes. After a long, hard battle to obtain the Federal grant made available for the revolutionary idea of higher education for the working class, the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (A. and M. College, now NC State University) opened its doors. Alexander Q. Holladay was named as the first President. The first student enrolled was Walter J. Matthews, Mechanic Arts (Engineering).
• September 1892: Dr. Wallace Carl Riddick Jr. joined the faculty of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts as professor of mechanics and applied mathematics at a salary of $1,500 per year. He was ecstatic. He wrote in a letter to his sweetheart, "Come on and marry me, Lilly. They're paying me so much money I'll never spend it all." And she did.
• 1893: The first graduating class at N.C. State was 1893 with 19 graduates: 14 completed the course work in "Mechanics" ("Mechanic Arts" or "Engineering") to receive the BE degree (Bachelor of Engineering), and the remaining 5 received degrees in agriculture.
• 1895: Wallace Carl Riddick was the College's first professor of Civil Engineering. He became head of the Department of Civil Engineering and served until 1908.
• 1898: Dr. Riddick served as the first football coach of NC State. [While studying engineering at Lehigh University in the late 1880's, Riddick learned the game of football. Wake Forest College paid his way home at Easter vacation to teach them the game, for this was a new game south of the Mason-Dixon line. On the basis of this arrangement, Riddick claimed to be the first paid football coach in North Carolina.]
• 1899: George T. Winston became the second President of N.C. State. During his tenure, textiles courses were added.
• 1908: Daniel H. Hill was elected the third President, and Riddick was elected Vice President of the college (during this time he continued to teach Civil Engineering courses as a professor of hydraulics).
• 1910: Winston Hall was the first building primarily devoted to engineering activities; namely, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and the chemical department of the State Experiment Station.
• 1912: The football stadium was named in honor of Riddick, who had served as football coach in 1898 and 1899 and served for many years as a member of the Athletics Council.
• 1916: Riddick was named fourth President of the college. He served until 1923. During his administration, he was instrumental in its reorganization (the name was changed to North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering), dividing it into schools with deans in charge to accommodate rapid program expansion and increased enrollment. The total number of degrees awarded by the College reaches 1,000.
• March 2, 1917: The College name changed from the "North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts" to the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering."
• 1921: Lucille Thomson became the first woman ever to enroll at NC State. She enrolled in Electrical Engineering. [It is a widely held belief that Katharine Stinson was the first woman to receive an engineering degree from NC State (BSME with aeronautical option, 1941). However, many believe Lucille Thomson was the first woman ever to enroll at NC State. She enrolled in 1921 (Electrical Engineering). While some records indicate she married and left college before earning her degree, other records say she graduated. Alumnus Dan Stewart, Class of 1923, said he distinctly recalls that Lucille graduated with his class.]
• 1923: Eugene Clyde Brooks became President of NC State. Lucille Thomson (according to some records) became the first woman ever to graduate (or to get an engineering degree) from NC State. [See 1921 Lucille Thomson entry.]
• May 28, 1923: The School of Engineering was formed, and Riddick was named the first dean (Wallace C. Riddick, Jr., dean from 1923-1937), following his expressed desire to take on this role. The School consisted of the Electrical Engineering Department, Civil Engineering Department, Physics Department, Textile Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. [During Riddick's leadership, the school grew to include 12 departments, and the Engineering Experiment Station was established. Riddick, who organized the North Carolina Society of Engineering and the Raleigh Engineers Club, remained Dean of Engineering until he retired in 1937.]
• June 9, 1923: The "Engineering Experiment Station" was established by NC State's Board of Trustees.
• 1924: Departments that were precursors to Materials Science and Engineering were formed in the 1920s. These were Ceramic Engineering (1924), Mining Engineering (1925), and Geology (1927).
• 1929: The Aeronautical Engineering Option was offered for the first time.
• 1930: School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 685.
• March 27, 1931: The Consolidation Act passed, changing NC State's name from the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering" to the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the University of North Carolina."
• 1933: N.M. York became the first editor of Southern Engineer magazine, produced by the Engineers' Council. (In the 1980s the magazine was renamed NC State Engineer.)
• 1934: Col. John W. Harrelson became President of NC State, but he choose the title "Dean of Administration" instead of President. The title was later changed to Chancellor.
• 1935: The Department of Geological Engineering was formed from the geology and mining departments. (Courses in metallurgy in the years before 1954 were taught in the Department of Mechanical Engineering by W.W. Austin.)
• 1937: Wallace Carl Riddick, Jr. retired as Dean of Engineering after 14 years of service. Dean Blake Ragsdale Van Leer became dean. He served until 1942, when he left on military leave. During Van Leer's tenure, he established a service division in Diesel and Internal Combustion Engineering. More departments were established: Industrial, Ceramics, Chemical, Math, Architectural, Geological, Agricultural. The first graduate work in Engineering was offered: engineering mechanics and strength of materials. First accreditation of engineering curricula: ceramic, civil, electrical, mechanical. First honorary engineering degree was given at NC State: Arthur Ernest Morgan, Doctor of Engineering.
• 1940: The Department of Aeronautical Engineering was established. School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 1,180.
• 1941: One of the most significant contributions to the war effort was the Diesel Program, developed by the Mechanical Engineering Department to train naval officers. Katharine Stinson was the first woman to receive an engineering degree from NC State (BSME with aeronautical option, 1941), according to some records. [However, see note under 1921 regarding Lucille Thomson.]
• 1942: Blake Ragsdale Van Leer resigned his position as Dean of Engineering for military leave. L.L. Vaughan was named Acting Dean ("acting" was the term for "interim" at that time). He served 3 years. During Vaughan's term (1) Army Special Team Program was conducted at Engineering School (one of four ASTP Centers in US to have an advanced engineering program); (2) NC State became the only engineering school in the South to conduct the Pratt-Whitney Fellows Program to train women as engineering aides; (3) US Bureau of Mines Laboratory was established in the School of Engineering (building transferred to NCSU in 1957); (4) groundwork was laid for establishment of a minerals research laboratory in western part of the state.
• Fall 1944: The North Carolina Engineering Foundation, Inc., "a non-profit organization having for its purpose the development of the State through engineering education and research," was formed by a group of 49 representative engineers, contractors, and industrialists who interested in fostering and promoting ways of improving and developing engineering in North Carolina. (On May 3, 1999, the name changed to "NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc.")
• April 1945: L.L. Vaughan stepped down as Dean of Engineering. J. Harold Lampe became Dean and went on to serve 17 years, the longest tenure of any Dean of Engineering at NC State. During Lampe's years of service (1) among curricula developed to serve special industrial needs were furniture manufacturing and management, construction, heating and air conditioning, and nuclear engineering (aeronautical engineering became an option in the Mechanical Engineering department); (2) Department of Engineering Research, Industrial Extension Service, Department of Mineral Industries, Department of Nuclear Engineering, and Engineering Placement Office were established; and (3) three major buildings were constructed: Riddick Engineering Laboratories, Broughton Hall, and Burlington Nuclear Engineering Laboratories.
• June 4, 1946: The Engineering Experiment Station was renamed "Department of Engineering Research" by action of the Board of Trustees.
• July 29, 1946: As part of the School of Engineering, the "State College Minerals Research Laboratory" (now called the Minerals Research Laboratory) began formal operations in Asheville.
• June 1949: Dr. Clifford K. Beck of Oak Ridge accepted the offer to head the Physics Department and proceeded to work on a proposal for a nuclear reactor at NC State College. The initial draft was completed July 5, 1949, and was later revised on March 30, 1950.
• September 1949: Dr. Clifford K. Beck began his term as Physics Department Head. During his tenure (1) Daniels Hall space was renovated for physics, (2) approval to proceed with reactor design was secured from the AEC, (3) appropriation of $50,000 was granted by the 1949 General Assembly, (4) a curriculum in Nuclear Engineering, with full undergraduate, "fifth-year," and master's programs, was devised and approved.
• 1950: School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 1,690.
• Summer 1950: Dr. Raymond L. Murray joined the Physics staff (Physics was in the School of Engineering at that time) at NC State College. He served as head of the Nuclear Engineering Department from fall 1963 through spring 1974.
• Fall 1950: The newly organized Nuclear Engineering curriculum was placed into operation, and the first courses in Nuclear Engineering were given. Plans for construction of a building to house the 10-kW nuclear reactor on the NCSC campus were completed, and construction of the reactor and laboratory building was begun. The Burlington Mills Textile Foundation contributed $200,000 for the project.
• 1951: Riddick Engineering Laboratories building was named in memory of Dr. Wallace Carl Riddick. Frances M. ("Billie") Richardson became the first woman faculty member in the School of Engineering at NC State.
• 1952: The Advisory Council of the School of Engineering was formed, comprising a 15 member group of leaders from the State's industrial, professional, and community life.
• 1953: Carey H. Bostian became President/Chancellor of NC State. First PhD degree in engineering was awarded to Ralph Marshall McGehee. In 1953, the first African-American graduate students enrolled at North Carolina State. Hardy Liston enrolled in Mechanical Engineering. Robert L. Clemons enrolled in Electrical Engineering and became the first African American to receive a degree from the university when he received a professional degree in Electrical Engineering in May 1957 (*see also 1957 below). (Hardy Liston withdrew.)
• March 5,1953: The School of Engineering Advisory Council held its first organizational meeting. Maurice Hill, president of Drexel Furniture Company, Drexel, NC, was elected first chairman.
• September 5, 1953: NC State's School of Engineering today operated the world's first nuclear reactor used for teaching, research and public service (first non-government nuclear reactor). One year later, NC State launched the nation's only doctoral program in Nuclear Engineering.
• 1954: The first PhDs in Ceramic Engineering at NC State were awarded to William C. Hackler and Albert D. Indyk. The first PhD in Chemical Engineering at NC State was awarded to James K. Ferrell. The first PhDs in Nuclear Engineering at NC State were awarded to Robert Howell Bryan and Hervasio Guimaroes de Carvolho (arguably the first Hispanic student to receive a PhD at NC State).
• July 1, 1954: The Minerals Research Laboratory (MRL) became the responsibility of the School of Engineering. In 1954, the departments of Ceramic Engineering, Geological Engineering, and the Metallurgy Program in Mechanical Engineering were merged to form the Department of Mineral Industries with W.W. Austin as head. Separate degree programs were retained in ceramics, geology, and metallurgy.
• 1956: The first African-American undergraduate students entered NC State; all were engineering students. Walter Holmes enrolled in Mechanical Engineering with an aerospace option, and Irwin Holmes, Manuel Crockett, and Edward Carson enrolled in Electrical Engineering.
• 1957: Robert L. Clemons became the first African American to receive a degree from NC State, when he received a professional degree in Electrical Engineering. (See also 1953.)
• 1958: The Research Triangle Institute at Research Triangle Park was established by NC State, Duke University, and UNC-Chapel Hill.
• 1959: John T. Caldwell became chancellor.
• 1960: Irwin Holmes was the first African American to receive a bachelor's degree from NC State (Electrical Engineering).
• 1961: The first woman to receive an advanced degree in engineering from NC State was Anna Clyde Fraker (MS in Metallurgical Engineering). (See also 1967.)
• 1961: Harold Lamonds was named the first head of the Nuclear Engineering Department; he served until 1963.
• 1962: The first PhD in Civil Engineering at NC State was awarded to Charles Fisher Page.
• June 1962: J. Harold Lampe stepped down as Dean of Engineering after 17 years of service, the longest term for any Dean of Engineering at NC State. Ralph E. Fadum was named Dean of Engineering. During his tenure, 1962-1978, (1) the Center for Acoustical Studies, the Water Resources Research Institute, the Engineering Design Center, and the Center for Marine and Coastal Studies were established; (2) the Department of Mechanical Engineering broadened to include Aerospace Engineering; (3) the Department of Engineering Mechanics and the Department of Materials Engineering were established; and (4) the Cooperative Engineering Education Program and Engineer-in-Residence Program were initiated.
• May 10, 1963: NC State's name changed from the "North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the University of North Carolina" to "North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina at Raleigh." [Odd, but true, as if a word is missing after "State. " This cumbersome name lasted only two years.]
• 1964: The Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI), a joint federal-state program for the UNC System, was established at NC State. The Dean of Engineering serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WRRI. [Note, University Archives says it was 1965, not 1964.] A new degree was established: the Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering. Long before that, NC State offered an aeronautical option within the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree program.
• 1965: The first PhDs in Mechanical Engineering at NC State were awarded to Ozer Ali Arnas, Charles Team Carley, Tuncer Cebeci, and Franklin Delano Hart. School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 3,365.
• July 1, 1965: NC State's name changed from the cumbersome "North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina at Raleigh" to "North Carolina State University at Raleigh."
• 1966: James K. Ferrell became head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, which he carefully nurtured to national prominence during his tenure until 1980. During Ferrell's tenure he (1) established within the College of Engineering the Eos computer system, (2) helped organize the Triangle University Computation Center that linked NC State, Duke University, and UNC-Chapel Hill in one of the world's largest university computing centers, (3) directed energy and environmental research programs in the College of Engineering, (4) and later served as the college's associate dean of research and interim dean of engineering.
• 1967: Anna Clyde Fraker became the first woman to receive a PhD in engineering at NC State (Ceramic Engineering, 1967) and the first woman to receive an advanced engineering degree of any kind at NC State. Geological Engineering left the Department of Mineral Industries to become the Department of Geosciences, in what is now the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
• 1968: The first PhD in Engineering Mechanics at NC State was awarded to Larry Herbert Royster.
• 1969: The Center for Acoustical Studies was founded by Franklin D. Hart. The Department of Mineral Industries name was changed to Materials Engineering, and the distinctions between ceramics and metallurgy degrees was removed.
• 1970: The first PhD in Industrial Engineering at NC State was awarded to Manmohan Krishan Wig. The first PhD in Materials Engineering at NC State was awarded to Walter Jackson Lackey.
• 1972: The first PhD in operations research at NC State was awarded to Sanji Arisawa.
• September 1, 1972: The Nuclear Reactor Program was established.
• 1988: The Mars Mission Research Center was established (according to University Archives, but College of Engineering records show 1989).
• 1989: Christine Grant became the first African-American woman faculty member hired in the College of Engineering and in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
• August 19, 1989: The NSF Engineering Research Center for Advanced Electronic Materials Processing was established.
• August 25, 1989: The Mars Missions Research Center was established (according to College of Engineering records).
• September 30, 1989: Larry K. Monteith resigned as Dean of Engineering to become interim chancellor of NC State University. He became chancellor in May 1990 and served until July 1998.
• October 1, 1989: James K. Ferrell was named Interim Dean of Engineering.
• May 1990: Interim Chancellor Larry K. Monteith became Chancellor.
• 1991: School of Engineering enrollment (undergraduate and graduate combined) was 7,236.
• February 1, 1991: The Pollution Prevention Research Center was established.
• July 1, 1991: Dr. James K. Ferrell began serving as Director of the Center for Waste Minimization and Management (Pollution Prevention Center).
• July 22,1991: James K. Ferrell stepped down as Interim Dean of Engineering.
• July 23, 1991: Wilbur L. Meier Jr. was named Dean of Engineering
• January 1, 1992: The Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines was established.
• January 1, 1992: The Center for Transportation and the Environment was established.
• May 8, 1992: The Power Semiconductor Research Center was established.
• July 1, 1992: The Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center was established.
• June 30, 1993: Wilbur L. Meier Jr. stepped down as Dean of Engineering.
• July 1, 1993: Tildon H. Glisson was named Interim Dean of Engineering.
• September 10, 1993: The North Carolina Solar Center was established.
• October 8, 1993: The Center for Nuclear Power Plant Structures, Equipment and Piping was established.
• June 20, 1994: The Transportation Materials Research Center was established.
• June 30, 1994: Tildon H. Glisson stepped down as Interim Dean of Engineering.
• July 1, 1994: Ralph K. Cavin III became Interim Dean of Engineering.
• August 1, 1994: Ralph K. Cavin III became Dean of Engineering.
• October 1994: Groundbreaking for the Engineering Graduate Research Center was held.
• November 2, 1994: The NC Ergonomics Resource Center was established.
• August 22, 1995: The Center for Advanced Computing and Communications (CACC) reformed from the former Center for Communications and Signal Processing, established in 1982.
• December 31, 1995: Ralph K. Cavin III stepped down as Dean of Engineering.
• January 1, 1996: NC State's College of Engineering offered the state's first online, real-time, Internetbased distance-education class to students at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The class was a graduate-level course in ergonomics. Sarah A. Rajala became the first woman to be named an associate dean in the College of Engineering. She was named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
• July 31, 1996: John G. Gilligan stepped down as Interim Dean of Engineering.
• August 1, 1996: Nino A. Masnari became Dean of Engineering.
• August 1997: Women in Engineering Program was established.
• October 14, 1997: Grand Opening of the Engineering Graduate Research Center (EGRC) was held.
• July 1998: Larry K. Monteith stepped down as Chancellor; Marye Anne Fox became NCSU's first woman chancellor.
• August 14, 1998: Kenan Center for the Utilization of Carbon Dioxide in Manufacturing was established.
• May 3, 1999: The North Carolina Engineering Foundation, Inc. changed its name to the NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc.
• July 30, 1999: Science and Technology Center for Environmentally Responsible Solvents and Processes was established.
• November 16, 1999: Michael J. Rigsbee was named head of MSE.
• November 2000: The people of North Carolina passed an educational bond issue that provided more than $468 million for the renovation and construction of almost thirty academic buildings on the NC State campus. The bond referendum was a critical step in achieving the College of Engineering's goal of relocating the entire college to Centennial Campus.
• December 8, 2000: Network Technology Institute (NTI) was established. Formerly Multimedia Lab since March 13, 1998.
• March 2002: NC State University was designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency.
• June 17, 2002: NC Ergonomics Resource Center reformulated, previously Ergonomics Center of North Carolina since November 2, 1994.
• May 2, 2003: The Department of Civil Engineering was renamed the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering.
• September 12, 2003: Center for Embedded Systems Research (CESR) was established.
• December 1, 2003: H. Troy Nagle was named interim founding chair of the new joint Department of Biomedical Engineering with UNC Chapel Hill.
• January 1, 2004: Hien T. Tran (Professor of Mathematics) started his term as the new co-director of Operations Research, serving along with Yahya Fathi.
• February 1, 2004: H. Troy Nagle became Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
• June 30, 2004: Alan L. Tharp stepped down as department head of Computer Science.
• July 1, 2004: Mladen A. Vouk began serving as interim head of Computer Science.
• September 2004: Construction on Engineering Building I was completed. The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering began moving in.
• January 1, 2005: James L. Oblinger became NC State University's 13th chancellor.
• March 2005: The Engineering Graduate Research Center (EGRC) was renamed the Larry K. Monteith Engineering Research Center (MRC).
• April 22, 2005: Dedication Ceremony for Engineering Building I was held.

Each center, committee, department, institute, laboratory, office, and program of the College of Engineering is required to submit an annual report covering its activities to the Office of the Dean. The Office of the Dean publishes and submits a summary of the College's activities to the Chancellor of the University.

From the guide to the North Carolina State University, College of Engineering Annual Reports, 1889-2005, (Special Collections Research Center)

Operations Research (OR) is the use of the scientific methodology in studying systems whose design or operation require human decision making. OR provides the means for making the most effective decisions - some of which are mainly concerned with design, while others are mainly operational in nature. The strength and versatility of OR stems from its diagnostic power through observation and modeling, as well as from its prescriptive power through analysis and synthesis.

OR is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing on (and contributing to) the techniques from many fields, including the mathematical sciences, engineering, economics and the physical sciences. OR practitioners have successfully solved a wide variety of real world problems - varying from the optimal design of telecommunications networks in the face of uncertain demand, to the planning for an optimal deployment of armed forces during wartime. Most importantly, new applications are continually arising, most notably in computer and telecommunication technology, in the financial and economic community, in medicine, in education, to name just a few. Many of these new applications originate from relatively recent societal problems, such as food and energy production and distribution, health maintenance, environmental pollution control, and software production.

The interdisciplinary nature of Operations Research is reflected in the OR Programs at NC State University. The faculty who teach OR courses, supervise OR students and take part in the administration of the program have their academic appointments in a number of departments not only in the Colleges of Engineering and Physical and Mathematical Sciences but also in the Colleges of Management, Forestry, and Textiles. OR courses are crosslisted with other departments; OR students have TA and RA positions in many departments, including the departments of computer science, electrical and computer engineering, industrial engineering, mathematics and statistics.

The program offers three advanced degrees - the Master of Operations Research (MOR) Degree, the Master of Science (MSc) Degree and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree. Students may customize their program of study by doing research with any OR faculty member who, as we have already mentioned, have their academic appointments in a variety of departments.

Co-directors of the OR program have been Yahya Fathi (COE) and Negash Medhin (PAMS).

From the guide to the North Carolina State University, College of Engineering, Operations Research Program Records, 1964-1991, (Special Collections Research Center)