Bruce Mayer, PE Licensed Electrical & Mechanical Engineer BMayer@ChabotCollege

1. Engineering 10 EngineeringHistory Bruce Mayer, PE Licensed Electrical & Mechanical EngineerBMayer@ChabotCollege.edu

2. BackGround • The Earliest “Technical Drawings” Date Back to About 4000 B.C. With the Fortress Plans of the Chaldean Engineer Gudea • However, The Engineering Discipline Was Not Formalized Until about the 16th Century; We start There

3. European Roots • French Engineering Tradition Resulted From The Strong National Monarchy of the 16th and 17th Centuries. • Tax collection system made possible an enlarged and permanent military--the first major employment base for engineers • First projects: • Fortresses (strong enough to resist artillery). • Road and Bridges (to support movement of armies).

4. French Roots cont. • In 1676 the French minister of war created the CORPS OF ENGINEERS in the French army. • Personnel were recruited from the lower French nobility and the upper middle class • In 1716 the Royal Government Created the Corps of Bridges and Roads. • A Network Of Roads Was Created To Speed Deployment Of Troops

5. Early Engineering Schools • First Schools Founded in France • 1747 – école des Ponts et Chausseses (School of Road and Bridges) • 1749 – école du corps royal du genie (School for Military Engineers) • 1778 - école des mines (School for Mining Engineers) • 1794 - école polytechnique (School for Theoretical and Mathematical Engineering) • By 1800 engineering was an established profession in France

6. Engineering in America • The state remained the primary patron of engineering throughout Europe until Britain's commercial and industrial expansion allowed partnerships and corporations to undertake large and complex projects. • Early American engineering was a blend of French and British engineering traditions.

7. Engineering in America cont. • The outbreak of the American Revolution created asudden demand forengineers. • In 1775 the 2nd Continental Congress established the Corps Of Engineersin the Continental Army.

8. Engineering in America cont. • Until 1783 the Corps of Engineers was lead by, and primarily composed of, French engineers. • The Corps was dissolved along with the army after 1783. • In 1794 Congress authorized the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers and assigned it to the garrison West Point. • This was the First formalized education program for engineers in America.

9. Engineering in America cont. • First major Govt-financed transportation project was the 365-mile-long Erie Canal in 1816. • Many transportationprojects followed,thus increasing theneed for professionally trained engineers.

10. Engineering Workforce Education • Benjamin Wright, Canvass Wright, and James Geddes were hired by the state of New York to oversee the construction of the Erie Canal (1817 to 1820). • They learned engineering by trial-and-error. • Geddes and the Wrights were authorized to hire assistants to help them. • This set the stage for the Engineer apprenticeship training program.

11. Engineering Education cont. • America's Mechanical Engineering needs were met by Engineers trained on-the-job • most starting as machine-shop apprentices • In 1817 superintendent Sylvanus Thayer introduced a standard four-year engineering curriculum at West Point.

12. Engineering Education cont. • In 1865 the Naval Academy established the Department of Steam Engineering, • One of the First Mechanical Engineering Programs In America

13. Civilian Engineering Education • 1820 - Norwich University, first civilian engineering school, founded by Alden Partridge. • 1834 a 3-year program was in place. • 1824 - Renesselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) founded to train teachers to instruct farmers and artisans on the scientific principles of their vocations. • 1835 Started to Award civil engineering degrees • Three-year program in place by 1850

14. American Engineering Education • West Point remained the major source of Engineering Educators until the late 1860's. • The Morrill Act of 1862 established the Land Grant institutions to teach Agricultural and the Mechanical arts. • Land Grant institutions significantly increased the number of Engineering Educational Programs • 70 by 1872 and 85 by 1880

15. American Engineering Education • Mechanical Engineering programs at Land Grant institutions were bolstered when Congress authorized the Navy to detail surplus officers to teach Steam Engineering and Iron and Steel Ship Design (1879 to 1896).

16. Professional Institutions • 1818 - Institution of Civil Engineers founded in Britain, the FIRST Professional Society for Engineers • 1824 - Franklin Institute of Philadelphia was formed to educate crafts persons in the scientific principles of their work • 1867 - The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) was formed.

17. Professional Institutions • 1871 - The American Institute of Mining Engineers was formed when mining engineers split from the ASCE. • 1880 - American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) was formed. • 1884 - American Institute of Electrical Engineers was formed.

18. American Style of Engineering • By the end of the 19th Century the style of engineering in America Diverged From The French and British styles. • American Engineering stressed reduced labor and economy in design • Commercial Focus • The European Style emphasized strength, safety, permanency and Style. • Aesthetic Focus

19. Dawn of the Modern Era • By 1900 • there were 40,000 practitioners of the engineering profession in America. • Four professional societies had emerged • Nearly 100 educational programs in Full Operation

20. Bell Labs – NY, NYCirca 1925 Growth of Engineering in America • The transportation, communication and manufacturing systems designed by engineers in the 19th Century grew into capital-intensive enterprises. • These firms sought to institutionalize and control the inventive process through Industrial Research Laboratories

21. American Engineering Growth • Electrification of America (the utility industry) was accomplished by system builders such as Thomas Edison, Samuel Insull and S.Z. Mitchell. • These and similar systems formed the core of engineering employment. • The engineering sciences developed during the late 1800's were now common • Journals & Societies Proliferated

22. Growth of the USA Profession • 1900 - 40,000 engineers in America (13 engineers per 10,000 workers) • 1950 - 500,000 engineers • 1960 - 128 engineers per 10,000 wrkrs • 1990 - 2,000,000 engineers • By 1950 engineering had become the largest single occupation pursued by American males • Also The second largest occupation claiming professional status.

23. During the Civil War, the Army Corp of Engineers were responsible for building roads and bridges for troop transport. Here the 5th New Hampshire Infantry are building a bridge over the Chickahominy River in Virginia Government Employment • At the turn of the 20th century the Army Corps of Engineers was the major government employer of engineers • few other agencies employed engineers • The Great Depression created new positions for engineers with the birth of public works projects (TVA).

24. Government Employment cont. • World War II and the Cold War further increased federal employment of engineers. • 1900 - 15% of engineers employed by government • 1945 - 40% of engineers employed directly or indirectly by government

25. Institutional Development • 1907 - The American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) Founded • 1908 - Chem Engrs left the American Chemical Society to form the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) • 1932 - The Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education (SPEE) • Later became the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

26. Institutional Development • 1934 - National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) was formed • Focused on economic issues affecting engineers • Responsible for passing legislation to require licensing of engineers. • Taken from The Engineer in America: A Historical Anthology from Technology and Culture edited by Terry S. Reynolds. 1991.

27. All Done for Today EngineersBuildingBridges