Stanford University School Of Engineering
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Stanford University School of Engineering is one of the schools of
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. The current dean is
Jennifer Widom Jennifer Widom (born ) is an American computer scientist known for her work in database systems and data management. She is notable for foundational contributions to semi-structured data management and data stream management systems. Since 2017 ...
, the former senior associate dean of faculty affairs and computer science chair. She is the school's 10th dean.


Organization and academics

The school of engineering was established in 1925, when Stanford organized the previously independent academic departments into a school. The original departments in the school were: * Civil engineering, one of the original university departments (1891), later to become civil and environmental engineering * Electrical engineering, taught as a subject prior to being established as a department in 1894 * Mechanical engineering, one of the original university departments (1891) * Mining and metallurgy, established in 1918 and eventually disbanded in 1945


Departments added afterwards

* Aeronautics and astronautics, started as aeronautical engineering in 1958 * Chemical engineering in 1961 (split from chemistry) * Computer science, established in 1965 in the school of humanities and sciences, but moved to the school of engineering in 1985 * Materials science and engineering in 1961 (originally known as materials science) * Management science and engineering in the 1950s (originally industrial engineering) * Bioengineering in 2002


Current departments at the school

*
Aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...
and
astronautics Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the practice of sending spacecraft beyond atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science is its overarching field. The term ''astronautics' ...
*
Bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number ...
(also in the School of Medicine) *
Chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...
* Civil and
environmental engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering Academic discipline, discipline related to environmental science. It encompasses broad Science, scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiolo ...
* Computer science * Electrical engineering * Materials science and engineering * Management science and engineering *
Mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
In addition, the Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering is an interdisciplinary program.


List of deans

# Theodore J. Hoover (1925–1936) # Samuel B. Morris (1936–1944) # Frederick E. Terman (1944–1958) # Joseph M. Pettit (1958–1972) # William M. Kays (1972–1984) # James F. Gibbons (1984–1996) # John L. Hennessy (1996–1999) # James D. Plummer (1999–2014) # Persis Drell (2014–2016) # Thomas Kenny (interim dean) (2016–2017) #
Jennifer Widom Jennifer Widom (born ) is an American computer scientist known for her work in database systems and data management. She is notable for foundational contributions to semi-structured data management and data stream management systems. Since 2017 ...
(2017–current)


Department of Electrical Engineering

The Stanford Department of Electrical Engineering, also known as EE; Double E, is a department at Stanford University. Established in 1894, it is one of nine engineering departments that comprise the school of engineering, and in 1971, had the largest graduate enrollment of any department at Stanford University. The department is currently located in the David Packard Building on Jane Stanford Way in
Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...
.


History


Early developments (1800s–1940s)

Stanford University opened in 1891, and within the year, courses addressing topics such as electrical currents and magnetism were being taught by professors such as A.P. Carman. Professor Frederic A.C. Perrine was the first faculty to teach the subject of electrical engineering at Stanford, in 1893. In 1983, when F.A.C. Perrine was appointed Stanford's first professor of electrical engineering, the program focused on central generating plants for electricity. Frederic A.C. Perrine, in 1893, made an acknowledgement of gifts to Stanford's Electrical Engineering Department in '' The Stanford Daily'', among them 30 horse power double reduction street-railroad motor, field magnets, and various machines from the
General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...
and wires from American Electrical Works and New England Butt Company. Prior to 1894, electrical engineering had been taught as part of the Physics and Mechanical Engineering curriculum. That year, the EE Department was established in the Engineering Labs. In 1894, the first undergraduate degree in electrical engineering was awarded to Lucien Howard Gilmore of Capron, Illinois. In January 1894, the electrical engineering department proposed building an electrical railroad from the university to
Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...
. Perrine gave the project to students, with the land having been purchased by private owners prior for a railroad that had fallen through. The design proposed no overhead wires, with the plant to be owned by Stanford University, and the engineering and management to be entirely constructed by the different engineering departments at Stanford. A
telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
office was set up in the Electrical Engineering building in 1897 to act as an operator for the Western Union Company. In 1898, it was reported that Perrine was taking a two-year leave of absence from teaching, but would continue to reside in
Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...
and would still have charge of the electrical engineering department. With the advancement of electricity, industry and employment opportunities proved plentiful for those with knowledge in the subject. In 1899, Standard Electrical Company completed one of the world's longest transmission lines. Professor FAC Perrine was the engineer, and the following year, he left academia for industry. When Perrine left in 1898, the department was administered instead by civil or mechanical engineering professors instead until 1905. That year, Harris J. Ryan was named both professor and chair of electrical engineering. Under Ryan, the department began teaching high voltage transmission of electric power. A branch association formed at Stanford University of the
American Institute of Electrical Engineers The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States–based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Inst ...
(AIEE) in 1904, with membership limited to upper classmen in the Stanford Electrical Engineering Department. In 1919, Leonard F. Fuller earned a PhD degree at Stanford's electrical engineering department. Primary faculty of the EE department as of 1923 included Ryan as professor, J.C. Clark as associate professor, H.H. Henline as assistant professor, and two instructors. Henline started the communications laboratory in 1924. In 1925, Stanford established the school of engineering, with all undergraduate degrees in engineering given out by the school instead of the departments with the new change. F.E. Terman joined EE as an instructor, introducing radio courses, and also in 1925, the department opened The Ryan High Voltage Laboratory, financed in large part by Los Angeles and the private power industry. Leonard Fuller returned to Stanford to serve as an acting professor of electrical engineering from 1946 until he retired in 1954.


Government contracts (1940s–1960s)

According to historian Piero Scaruffi, in 1946, Frederick E. Terman became dean of Stanford's engineering school, using his connections with the military and the Office of Naval Research to both start and fund the Electronics Research Lab (ERL). The Korean War in 1950 brought in a new infusion of funds from the Office of Naval Research, and Terman used the money to open the Applied Electronics Library, then opening the adjacent
Stanford Industrial Park Stanford Research Park (SRP) is a technology park established in 1951 as a joint initiative between Stanford University and the City of Palo Alto. It was the world's first university research park. It has more than 150 companies, including Hew ...
nearby for private business. Terman served as head of the electrical engineering department and dean of the school of engineering until he retired in 1965. Meanwhile, Hugh H. Skilling served as the executive head of the electrical engineering department from 1944-1967. In 1947, E. Ginzton in the EE department helped design and build the first
Linear Accelerator A linear particle accelerator (often shortened to linac) is a type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged subatomic particles or ions to a high speed by subjecting them to a series of oscillating electric potentials along a linear ...
. Also that year, a Joint Services Electronics Contract was signed, with the department stating on its website that the contract started "large scale Federal support of Department Research." The department's Microwave Laboratory in 1949 was moved into a new building with Edward Ginzton as director, and was later turned into the Ginzton Laboratory. The department opened its Electronics Research Library (ERL) in 1951, with HP and Gilfillan "significantly" supporting construction until 1956, according to the department. An
IBM 650 The IBM 650 Magnetic Drum Data-Processing Machine is an early digital computer produced by IBM in the mid-1950s. It was the first mass-produced computer in the world. Almost 2,000 systems were produced, the last in 1962, and it was the firs ...
computer was maintained in ERL, which was the only air-conditioned room in the building. In 1955, the department held its first courses in digital and analog computing. In 1955, Stanford merged the Electronics Research Laboratory and the Applied Electronics Laboratory into the Systems Engineering Laboratory, to focus on electronic warfare under Terman. According to Stanford, the Applied Electronics Laboratory (AEL) was constructed in 1958 to "support military classified research in electronic countermeasures."


Gibbons Plan and AEL occupations (1960s–1970s)

John G. Linvill was appointed EE chair in 1964 and subsequently built the
semiconductor A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping level ...
program at Stanford. In May 1966, after comments by Stanford administration about contracts, there was picketing by students at Stanford University protesting the Electrical Engineering Department's contract with the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
. Heffner kept the nature what he called "purely an engineering research project" secret, stating "we accept grants from donors with whom we do not particularly care to be allied, but we will not refuse a gift if its objectives are worthwhile." In January 1969, chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department John Linvill stated that the department would allow the enrollment of "minority group" students to study for advanced degrees in electrical engineering. In the Gibbons Plan, the students were only allowed partial credits, with their studies financed by their external employers. On April 3, 1969, 700 students voted to occupy the AEL. This formed the April Third Movement, a coalition of Stanford campus organizations, occupied the Applied Electronics Laboratory for nine days, in protest for Stanford doing classified work for the government. 1400 Stanford community members signed a statement of participation. At the time, the lab was linked with classified military electronics research and electronic warfare being used against the Vietnamese people. The students of the April Third Movement occupied the hallways of the Applied Electronics Lab building, shutting down research for the occupation. Students slept on the roof of the lab, with large nightly meetings. The group also used the publishing materials in the basement to product documents linking Stanford trustees to defense contractors. The sit-in ultimately led to the school severing ties with the former Stanford Research Institute and moving its military research off campus. In later 1969, the Applied Electronics Laboratory (AEL), was a part of the Stanford Electronic Laboratory, which was the "research affiliate of the electrical engineering department, especially in doctoral research." That year, AEL director William Rambo admitted after criticism and a sit-in protest that the laboratory was working with the
Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
in matters related to the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. In 1969, Stanford EE classes were broadcast to
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
by the Stanford Instructional Television Network for the first time. In 1971, the electrical engineering department had the largest graduate enrollment of any department at Stanford University.


Recent chairs and research (1980s–2020s)

In 1981, R.L.White was appointed EE chair, with a number of successions over the next two decades. In 1997, James Plummer became the department chair, as the John M. Fluke Professor of Electrical Engineering. He became dean of the overall engineering department in 1999. Mark Horowitz was appointed chair of EE in 2009. Jelena Vučković was the "Fortinet Founders" chair of the department as of 2023, leading the department's Nanoscale and Quantum Photonics (NQP) lab. The department is currently based out of the David Packard Building on Jane Stanford Way in
Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...
. Research is also done out of other locations at Stanford University.


Degrees

The Stanford University Department of Electrical Engineering offers Bachelor of Science degrees with a major in electrical engineering, full-time Master of Science degrees, and doctoral of philosophy (EE PhD) degrees. Degree programs offer some flexible options, such as coterminal BS and MS degrees completed in 5 years. The department has two joint degree programs. The joint EE MS/MBA degree is managed in conjunction with the
Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business is the Postgraduate education, graduate business school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective ...
. The JD/EE MS degree is managed in conjunction with the
Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...
. The department also offers online graduate certificates, and non-degree options (NDO) with four online certificate programs for graduate-level courses.


Research areas

Electrical Engineering is a broad subject. Stanford's EE Department presents their research in 3 core areas, and 2 interdisciplinary areas. * Information Systems & Science * Hardware/Software Systems * Physical Technology & Science * (Interdisciplinary) Energy * (Interdisciplinary) Biomedical


Published work

In late 2021 a team in the department was working on ultra-thin solar cell technology, publishing in ''
Nature Communications ''Nature Communications'' is a peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio since 2010. It is a multidisciplinary journal that covers the natural sciences, including physics, chemistry, earth sciences, medic ...
'' in December 2021, with co-authors including Nassiri Nazif and Alwin Daus. In December 2022, Yecun Wu of the department was a co-author of ''Observation of an intermediate state during lithium intercalation of twisted bilayer MoS2'' published in ''Nature''.


Notable faculty and alumni


References


External links


Official website
{{Stanford University Stanford University schools Engineering schools and colleges in the United States