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Sixty Years of Engineering Excellence
UCLA Engineering Celebrates 60th Anniversary
Nearly sixty years ago, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science welcomed its first engineering
students to the UCLA campus.
When the UCLA College of Engineering was authorized by the California Senate
in 1943, it became the only new engineering college established at a major university
since 1912.
The next year, Llewellyn M. K. Boelter was appointed Dean and would lead the College to greatness during his tenure.
When the College opened its doors in 1945, there were still no permanent engineering facilities at UCLA, and the College had only six engineering instructors.
Just two years later, the College received and installed its first digital differential analyzer and network analyzer. The Institute for Transportation and Traffic Engineering also was established to address instruction and research related to the design, construction, operation
and maintenance of highways, airports, and related infrastructure for public transportation.
By 1952, the College had grown rapidly. There were 65 engineering faculty members, a research staff of 55 and 87 support and technical staff. The College housed four different computers for research, as well as supersonic and
subsonic wind tunnels and a propulsion facility. More than 250 engineering graduate students were enrolled at UCLA, including those in off-campus programs in California and New Mexico. In addition, the UCLA chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, was established in 1952.
By 1961, under Dean Boelter’s leadership, UCLA had become the first
university to have a fully accredited
unified undergraduate curriculum. The School had active educational and research programs in air pollution, solar energy, computer design, automated learning, salt-water reclamation, nuclear engineering, artificial limbs and space flight, among other fields.
During the same period, three additional permanent engineering buildings
had opened on the UCLA campus: Engineering II, the Nuclear Reactor Building and Engineering III, which together housed nearly 600 academic, extension and support staff.
The next decade proved to be equally productive for the College, which became the School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1969, housing seven departments. That same year, UCLA became home to the first node of what later would become the Internet. A month later, a message was sent to the Stanford Research Institute.
In 1973, the School reached a major milestone, awarding its ten-thousandth
engineering degree just 28 years after it opened its doors. The School also
supported dynamic research activities in computer design, ceramics, structures, nuclear reactor safety, earthquake studies, high-speed aerodynamics, hydrogen, air pollution, reverse osmosis and other areas.
By the mid-1980s, the School’s
reorganization was nearly complete, one that emphasized departmental activities.
In 1985, the University approved MS and PhD degrees in aerospace, chemical,
civil, electrical, mechanical and nuclear engineering, as well as in materials
science and engineering.
The School had chosen to focus its expertise on key fields at the forefront of technology - including high-speed, high-frequency electronics, nuclear safety, manufacturing engineering and robotics, artificial intelligence, hazardous waste control, fusion engineering, and water resources. Many of these programs are now recognized nationally for the quality of the personnel and laboratories. During this period, external funding increased significantly, providing support for research activities and state-of-the art instructional labs.
As the School celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1995, it continued to set new standards for engineering excellence. Exceptional new faculty members joined the School, in turn attracting undergraduate and graduate students among the best and brightest in the world. New research programs in microelectromechanical systems, wireless networking and communications, and
biomedical engineering had been added, and plans were underway to add a new
interdepartmental degree program in biomedical engineering.
Just five years later, the School was
dedicated the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science,
honoring three-time alumnus and electrical engineering professor Henry Samueli. He and his wife, Susan, made a $30 million gift to the School, the largest in its history, to support graduate fellowships, teaching awards, term chairs,
capital construction and other priorities.
In 2002, the School added the Department of Bioengineering, and was awarded three highly competitive interdisciplinary research centers: the NSF Center for Embedded Networked Sensing, the NASA Institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration, and the DARPA Center for Nanoscience Innovation for Defense.
The following year, the School was awarded two additional research centers: the MARCO Functional Engineered Nano Architectonics Focus Center and the NSF Center for Scalable and Integrated Nanomanufacturing. The School had taken its place as a leader in embedded systems and sensor networks, nano and microelectromechanical
systems, integrated circuits and systems, and nano, bio and electronic materials.
In 2005, which marks the School’s 60th anniversary, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science is well positioned to create new discoveries that stretch across
engineering and other disciplines such as medicine, the arts, life science and
physical science, and to develop the advanced technologies of the future.
With strong teaching and research
programs, a dedicated faculty and staff, outstanding alumni and state-of-the-art facilities, it is of little surprise that the School is among the top-ranked
engineering programs in the country.
Dynamic activities in embedded networks, bioengineering and nanomanufacturing are certain to produce not only well-trained and innovative graduates, but also the technology that will
transform our daily lives in ways we
cannot yet envision.
Under the leadership of Dean Vijay K. Dhir, the School has launched the Enhancing Engineering Excellence (E3) initiative, which will help ensure its
ability to attract and retain exceptional faculty and students, and provide them with the necessary infrastructure to advance their research and educational endeavors. New engineering buildings - one housing a distance learning center - and renovations of Boelter Hall and Engineering IV will help the School remain on the forefront of engineering research for many years to come.
For more on the School’s history, or to share your memories of UCLA Engineering, please visit
www.engineer.ucla.edu/history/. |
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