Swanson School of Engineering

Swanson School of Engineering
TypePublic
Established1846; 178 years ago (1846)
DeanSanjeev Shroff (interim)
Academic staff
216 (tenure and non-tenure)
Undergraduates2,764
Postgraduates834
Location, ,
US
CampusOakland
Endowment$197.2 million (2016)
Websitewww.engineering.pitt.edu

The Swanson School of Engineering is the engineering school of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846, the Swanson School of Engineering is the second or third oldest in the United States.

History

Benedum Hall and the Engineering Auditorium (in the foreground) is the primary home of the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.

The Swanson School of Engineering evolved out of the Western University of Pennsylvania, the former name of the University of Pittsburgh, offering specialized engineering subjects to students, although they were still required complete their classical requirements. The first graduates in these engineering subjects were Isaac Morley and J. B. Stilly in 1846. Separate degree programs in mechanical and civil engineering were announced in 1868, and four year degrees resulting in separate engineering degrees were first implemented in 1870. The school was the university's response to the years surrounding the Civil War that transformed Pittsburgh's industrial base from regional to international.

Degrees in civil engineering and mechanical engineering were offered beginning in 1868. Mining engineering was added in 1869 and Electrical Engineering in 1890. In 1909, the metallurgical engineering department was established, followed by the chemical engineering department and the world's first petroleum engineering department in 1910, with its first degree conferred in 1915. The undergraduate cooperative education program was also initiated that year. The industrial engineering department was established in 1921 and the safety engineering program in 1930. The bioengineering department was added in 1998.

In 2007 the school was renamed to the Swanson School of Engineering after John A. Swanson, founder of the computer software firm ANSYS, donated $41.3 million to the school.

Academics

The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation is attached to Benedum Hall

The Swanson School of Engineering offers undergraduate, graduate degrees, and doctorates in 6 academic departments:

Academic programs offered by the school include bioengineering, chemical engineering, petroleum engineering, civil engineering, mining engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, engineering science, industrial engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, and nuclear engineering.

Research centers housed in the school include:

  • The Center for Energy
  • The Center for Research Computing
  • The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation
  • The Petersen Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering
  • The Lubrizol Innovation Laboratory (a partnership of the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department and Lubrizol)

Center for Energy

The University of Pittsburgh Center for Energy is a research center housed in the Swanson School of Engineering that is dedicated to improving energy technology development and energy sustainability. Comprising more than 70 faculty members and 200 students and postdocs, the center was scheduled to be housed on a floor of Benedum Hall undergoing a $15 million renovation. The center was created in 2008 to bring together energy innovators across a range of engineering and academic disciplines. It also sought to develop stronger collaborations with energy industry partners in the Western Pennsylvania. The center's faculty focus on five key areas of research that include energy delivery and reliability, carbon management and utilization, high-temperature and other advanced materials, energy efficiency, and unconventional gas resources.

Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation

In 2003, through funding from Jack Mascaro, the Heinz Endowments, and the George Bevier Estate, the Swanson School of Engineering established the Mascaro Sustainability Initiative, resulting in the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI).

Deans

The Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering is the home of the Swanson School's Department of Bioengineering

Ten individuals have served in the position of the Dean of the School of Engineering over its history.

Deans of the Swanson School of Engineering
Years Dean
1882–1908 Daniel Carhart
1910–1927 Frederick L. Bishop
1927–1950 Elmer A. Holbrook
1951–1963 G. Raymond Fitterer
1965–1973 Harold E. Hoelscher
1973–1985 Max L. Williams
1986–1993 Charles A. Sorber
1994–1996 H.K. Chang
1996–2018 Gerald D. Holder
2018–2022 James R. Martin II
2022– Sanjeev Shroff (interim)

Current Department Chairs

  • Bioengineering - Sanjeev Shroff
  • Chemical and Petroleum - Steven R. Little
  • Civil and Environmental - Radisav Vidic
  • Electrical and Computer - Alan D. George
  • Industrial - Lisa Maillart (interim)
  • Mechanical and Materials Science - Brian Gleeson

Current Associate Deans

  • Academic Affairs - Mary Besterfield-Sacre
  • Faculty Excellence - Anne Robertson
  • Graduate Education - Robert Parker
  • International Initiatives - Minking Chyu
  • Research - David Vorp
  • Strategic Initiatives - Heng Ban

Notable alumni and faculty

Reginald Fessenden helped to pioneer wireless communications while at Pitt

See also

40°26′38″N 79°57′31″W / 40.443811°N 79.958488°W / 40.443811; -79.958488


This page was last updated at 2024-01-09 09:19 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari