Contact Information |
School of Graduate Engineering and Applied Science
A108 Thornton Hall
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400242
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4242
(434) 924-3897
www.seas.virginia.edu
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The University of Virginia takes pride in its continued development of modern engineering education and research. For more than one hundred fifty years, the University has offered regular study in engineering paralleling the rise of the profession to provide engineering leadership in service to the United States and the world.
History
The infusion of applied science into the learned professions was anticipated in the founding of the University. As early as 1825, the Rector and Visitors formally indicated that instruction in military and civil architecture would be a part of the education program of the University. Such courses were offered starting in 1827. Notable members of the early engineering staff were Charles Bonnycastle, trained in military engineering in England, and William Barton Rogers, later co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering instruction was not sought widely by young men from predominantly agricultural areas of the country, however; by 1850, it was announced that the engineering program would be discontinued.
A new and more successful beginning was made in 1865 under the direction of Professor Charles Scott Venable, and by 1869 the University awarded its first degrees in engineering. Instruction was offered in civil and mining engineering until the 1881-1882 session, when engineering became a professional department. William Mynn Thornton became the first dean of engineering in 1905. Under his leadership, three new degree programs were added: mechanical engineering in 1891, electrical engineering in 1897, and chemical engineering in 1908.
Between World War I and World War II, the engineering curricula were revised and strengthened to provide a broader program of study, including the humanities. During both wars, the school offered engineering instruction to members of the armed forces; and ROTC programs for the Navy, Army, and Air Force were introduced during and after World War II.
Reorganization following World War II led again to an extensive revision of all curricula and to the graduate studies now offered. In 1955, two new branches of engineering study were recognized by degrees: aeronautical and nuclear engineering. In the same year, the first doctoral programs were instituted in chemical engineering and engineering physics.
In 1962, the name of the School was changed to the School of Engineering and Applied Science in anticipation of the establishment of the Department of Materials Science (1963), the Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science (1964), and the Department of Biomedical Engineering (1967). The Department of Systems Engineering was established in 1975, and in 1984, Applied Mathematics and Computer Science became separate departments. Further reorganization has led to the present school academic structure with its departments of Biomedical Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Computer Science; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Materials Science and Engineering; Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Systems and Information Engineering; and Engineering and Society. The undergraduate program in engineering science and the graduate program in engineering physics are administered by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Graduate and undergraduate programs in Computer Engineering are administered jointly by the departments of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The School Today
UVA Engineering’s mission is to create and disseminate knowledge in science and engineering for the benefit of society and to educate future leaders in engineering and science for society. The vision is to be recognized as a top school for creating the knowledge and the diverse and globally connected leaders needed to address society’s technological opportunities and challenges.
UVA Engineering’s research strengths are focused in areas such as:
- Creating a sustainable future through engineering solutions that provide new sources of renewable energy;
- Enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of disease and improving healthcare delivery through bioengineering, biomedical data science and neuroscience; and
- Advancing the cyber and physical infrastructure in areas such as smart, connected cities, autonomous transportation systems, cyber-security and high-performance materials.
UVA Engineering is a dynamic ecosystem of diversity innovation in which faculty, students and staff are thought leaders in the construction of new knowledge that is moving diversity into the mainstream of engineering research.
We believe that diversity is not about race, gender and issues of human representation alone. Diversity is excellence expressing itself through the intersection of perspectives and lived experiences. Our expanded definition of diversity includes the many nodes of humanity and experience that make up the essence of who people are—their diversity—and is embedded within UVA Engineering as a foundation on which we live, throughout our work and culture.
Our goal is to nurture all persons within UVA Engineering to act on their connection and responsibility to the global communities of thought, research, learning, leadership and culture.