The History of Columbia Engineering

From its beginning as King’s College in 1754, Columbia valued the academic disciplines of science, engineering, and mathematics. Indeed, some of Columbia’s early alumni were pioneering entrepreneurs and engineers. John Stevens (Class of 1768) developed steam engines that powered both the first steamships to navigate the open ocean and the first steam locomotive.

Follow the development of Columbia Engineering from the founding of the university to its present form as a global center of high-impact research training leaders for tomorrow’s breakthroughs. 

In each section, find a brief narrative overview and then explore the details of the story by reading about the key persons and events of each decade.

A School Is Born: 1754-1870s

From its founding in 1754 as King’s College, Columbia University has always had an engineer’s practical orientation and desire to address real-world problems. Early graduates helped pioneer steam-powered transport and provided direction for the Erie Canal, one of the most ambitious engineering projects of its time. 

In 1864, the School of Mines was opened, providing a more focused center for the development of the applied sciences. Though originally intended to help ensure the supply of the materials demanded by a wartime economy and rapidly industrializing country, it was the beginning of an entity that would soon expand its reach into many other areas.

There were also signs from the beginning of a desire not just to acquire knowledge but to engage with the pressing human needs in the world beyond campus. The first dean of the School, Charles F. Chandler, emerged as a major public health advocate, working with New York City’s Metropolitan Board of Health from 1866 to 1883 to improve living conditions in the city, particularly for the poor. 

  • 1760s
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    John Stevens

    John Stevens Graduates King’s College

    John Stevens, who goes on to play an important role developing steamships and railroads, as well as U.S. patent law, graduates from King’s College, the forerunner of Columbia.

  • 1780s
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    DeWitt Clinton

    DeWitt Clinton and the Erie Canal

    Graduating with Columbia College’s first class, DeWitt Clinton becomes the driving force in building the Erie Canal (1817-25), the largest American engineering project of the early 19th century.

  • 1820s
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    Horatio Allen

    Horatio Allen Graduates from Columbia

    Horatio Allen graduates from Columbia, going on to assemble America’s first steam locomotive, consult on the Brooklyn Bridge, and lead the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

  • 1860s
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    Thomas Egleston Jr

    Thomas Egleston, Jr. Proposes a New School

    Thomas Egleston, Jr., a Yale graduate trained in Paris, proposes a school of metallurgy and mining in New York City, and Columbia College trustee George Templeton Strong champions his idea among other leaders.

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    School of Mines

    School of Mines Opens on Madison Avenue

    On Nov. 15, the Columbia College School of Mines opens in a building on Madison Avenue, with a faculty of three: mining expert Thomas Egleston, Jr., Civil War veteran Francis L. Vinton, and chemist Charles F. Chandler.

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    Charles Chandler

    Chandler Consults with Board of Health

    Charles F. Chandler consults with New York City’s Metropolitan Board of Health to monitor food and drugs, provide free vaccinations, ensure the safety of milk supplies, bring clean water into the city, and enact building codes requiring indoor plumbing.

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    Civil Engineering Building

    Civil Engineering Program Created

    Columbia’s School of Mines institutes an influential degree program in Civil Engineering.

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    Horse carriages in front of a building

    First Graduates Receive Degrees

    The first graduates of the school receive Engineer of Mines (EM) degrees denoting their scientific training in mining.

  • 1870s
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    Elwyn Waller

    First PhD Awarded

    The School of Mines awards the first-ever Columbia PhD, and fourth American PhD in chemistry, to Elwyn Waller (EM 1870), who stays on at Columbia and becomes a professor of analytic chemistry.

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    A group of students

    First Black Student Graduates

    Liberian-born James R. Priest, the first black student to attend Columbia, graduates from the School of Mines. He returns to Liberia to pursue civil engineering, becoming a professor of mathematics, but dies tragically young. Luiz de Souza Barros from Sao Paulo, Brazil is also a member of the class, shown on the left under the '77.

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    A group of miners outside a mine

    Early Global Influence

    Three Japanese students, Yothinosuke Hasegawa PhD 1880, Kiugo Nambu, and Nawokichi Matsui (PhD 1880) are members of this graduating class, each going on to have an affiliation with the University of Tokio (Tokyo), Japan. Graduating that same year is Vicente Felix Pazos, whose work was in Lima, Peru.

    American Chemical Society

    Chandler presides over the foundation of the American Chemical Society to, he writes, “awaken and develop much talent now wasting in isolation … and ensure a better appreciation of our science.”

    Chandler Founds American Chemist

    Chandler, along with his brother William, also at Columbia, founded the pioneer­ing journal American Chemist, which eventually becomes the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society.

    Expanding Areas and Impact: 1880s-1930s

    The School of Mines quickly expanded from its initial focus. Professors and alumni made contributions to a wide variety of fields, including New York’s first subway line, a key innovation in automatic tabulation, an improved X-ray process, and the invention of FM radio. Early work in nuclear physics and computing positions Columbia at the forefront of emerging technologies that would shape the decades to come.

    During this era, programs in chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering were added as the school’s name was changed to the School of Engineering to reflect its wider reach. 

Expanding Areas and Impact: 1880s-1930s

The School of Mines quickly expanded from its initial focus. Professors and alumni made contributions to a wide variety of fields, including New York’s first subway line, a key innovation in automatic tabulation, an improved X-ray process, and the invention of FM radio. Early work in nuclear physics and computing positions Columbia at the forefront of emerging technologies that would shape the decades to come.

During this era, programs in chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering were added as the school’s name was changed to the School of Engineering to reflect its wider reach. 

  • 1880s
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    A group of electrical engineering students

    School of Electrical Engineering Established

    Columbia establishes the School of Electrical Engineering (EE) with a two-year graduate program as part of the School of Mines. Francis Bacon Crocker 1882 and Michael I. Pupin 1883 teach the first class of 14 students, and begin instructing undergraduates two years later.

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    Winifred Edgerton

    First Woman Receives PhD in Mathematics

    Graduating from Columbia with highest honors, Winifred Edgerton becomes the first woman to receive a PhD in mathematics from an American institution.

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    Frederick R. Hutton

    Hutton Teaches Mechanical Engineering

    Frederick R. Hutton (MS 1876, PhD 1881) teaches the school's first courses in mechanical engineering. He goes on to found the Department of Mechanical Engineering, which in 1897 welcomed four students into a four-year program.

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    William Barclay Parsons

    Parsons Graduates

    William Barclay Parsons graduates, goes on to become chief engineer and designer of New York's first subway line, member of the Panama Canal Commission, chief engineer of the Cape Cod Canal, chief surveyor of China's 1000-km railway from Hanchow to Canton, and a University Trustee. His engineering firm, now Parsons Brinckerhoff, is today one of the world's largest global companies developing the built environment.

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    The signature of Thomas Edison

    Edison Writes In

    Shortly after establishing his company's first central electric station in Manhattan, Thomas Edison writes to Columbia president Barnard suggesting that the University add a course in electrical engineering, and offering to donate some equipment.

  • 1890s
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    Two engineers holding picks

    Henry Krumb Earns Degree

    After receiving financial aid to complete his senior year, Henry S. Krumb earns a degree in mining and goes on to devote his career to improving extracting techniques for gold, silver, and copper, becoming a leader in the field and a benefactor of the School.

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    An X-Ray of a hand

    Pupin’s X-ray Process

    Michael Pupin (CC 1883) develops a process for x-rays that reduces exposure from hours to seconds, and maps buckshot in the hand of an injured patient. Three years later, he significantly advances long distance telephony with his patented loading coils, also known as "Pupin coils."

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    William H. Burr



    Burr Becomes Civil Engineering Chair

    Bridges and canals expert William H. Burr becomes founding chair of the Department of Civil Engineering, and begins consulting extensively on public works in New York City and beyond.

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    A graphic of the Columbia Logo

    Columbia Miners Leading the Way

    The Columbia School of Mines now accounts for more than 46 percent of all graduates from U.S. mining schools. From 1867 to 1892, 871 mining engineers graduate from 16 U.S. mining schools; 402 are Columbia School of Mines alumni.

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    A tabulating machine

    Tabulating Machine Speeds Up Census

    The tabulating machine invented by Herman Hollerith (EM 1879, PhD 1890) reduces the time to process 1890 census data from several years to a few months. Hollerith goes on to found the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896, which merged with three other companies to form what became International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924. Today Hollerith is recognized as the father of modern automatic computation.

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    Robert Peele's Book for Miners

    The Mining Engineer’s Handbook

    Veteran mine engineer and consultant Robert Peele (EM 1883) signs on as Adjunct Professor of Mining. He later authors The Mining Engineer’s Handbook and earns induction into the Mining Hall of Fame.

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    Henry S. Munroe

    Department of Mining

    As the diversifying engineering school transitions to the School of Mines, Engineering, and Chemistry, prominent geologist Henry S. Munroe (EM 1869, PhD 1877) signs on to lead the reorganized Department of Mining.

    Chandler Proposes ChemE Program

    Chandler proposes a new four-year program called Chemical Engineering and encounters skepticism and outright opposition from many who believe his vision too radical.

  • 1900s
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    School of Mines

    Building Opens in Morningside

    A new building designated “School of Mines,” financed by mining investor Adolph Lewisohn, opens on the University’s new Morningside campus and remains the home of the Department for half a century.

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    Francis Bacon Crocker

    Crocker Champions Electrical Standards

    Francis Bacon Crocker (EM 1882, PhD 1895), a pioneer in commercial motors and, according to Thomas Edison "one of the outstanding pioneers of the electrical industry," champions international standardization of electrical equipment at the International Electrotechnical Commission in London.

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    A lab filled with chemicals

    New Chemical Engineering Curriculum

    Columbia University Trustees approve a new curriculum in Chemical Engineering, the first integrated curriculum of its kind and soon the basis of similar offerings at other schools.

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    An underground subway

    First Underground Subway Launched

    New York’s first underground subway line is launched; chief engineer for the Interborough Rapid Transit Co. is William Barclay Parsons (EM 1882).

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    Irving Langmuir

    Irving Langmuir Graduates

    Irving H. Langmuir graduates with a degree in metallurgy and goes on to make important advances in filaments, vacuum tubes, and surface chemistry, for which he wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

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    Charles Edward Lucke

    Lucke Joins Mechanical Engineering

    Charles Edward Lucke (PhD'02), an authority in internal combustion engines, joins the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In 48 years at Columbia he files 120 patents and publishes extensively in power generation and engineering thermodynamics.

  • 1910s
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    A book by Arthur F. Taggart

    Taggart Comes to Columbia

    Mineral engineering authority Arthur F. Taggart begins a legendary three decades at Columbia, authoring the ubiquitous Handbook of Mineral Dressing among works on topics including flotation and gravity concentration.

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    Walter Rautenstrach

    Department of Industrial Engineering

    Walter Rautenstrach (CC ‘27), a longtime member of the Mechanical Engineering faculty, creates and chairs a new department of Industrial Engineering, one of the first of its kind in the country.

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    Leo Baekeland on the TIME cover

    Baekeland Comes to Columbia

    Plastics pioneer Leo Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite, receives a special appointment to teach at Columbia and begins a rich tradition in polymeric materials.

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    A. H. Beyer

    Civil Engineering Testing Laboratory

    The school establishes the Civil Engineering Testing laboratory, with concrete construction expert Prof. A. H. Beyer appointed the first director.

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    President Woodrow Wilson

    World War I

    As the U.S. enters World War I, engineering faculty help the war effort by teaching at the Navy Submarine School in New London, while Michael Pupin develops sonar at the request of President Woodrow Wilson.

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    Francis Bacon Crockers helicopter diagram

    Crocker Invents Helicopter

    Professor Francis Bacon Crocker invents (with Peter Cooper Hewitt) and tests one of the nation's first helicopters.

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    A statue in fron of the school of mines

    Le Marteleur

    Constantin Meunier's Le Marteleur, a gift of alumni, is dedicated and stands before the School of Mines, facing Auguste Rodin's Le Penseur in front of Philosophy Hall. It is now a symbol of engineering that followed the School to the Seeley W. Mudd Building.

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    Edwin Howard Armstrong

    Armstrong Joins Faculty

    Edwin Howard Armstrong, Class of 1913, joins the faculty and pursues a patent for his regenerative circuit, allowing better reception of weak radio signals. Later, serving in World War I, he develops the superheterodyne radio receiver, the basis of many modern communications devices.

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    The Panama canal being built

    Panama Canal Opens

    The Panama Canal opens. William H. Burr of the Department of Civil Engineering, and William Barclay Parsons (EM 1882) serve on the commission that oversees the canal's construction.

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    Daniel Dana Jackson

    Chemical Engineering Department Created

    Columbia Trustees approve the creation of the new Department of Chemical Engineering, distinct from the existing Department of Chemistry. Daniel Dana Jackson serves as founding chair.

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    Henry Hudson Bridge

    Henry Hudson Bridge

    While still a student, David Steinman (PhD'11) designs what becomes New York City's Henry Hudson Bridge. (This photo was taken during the bridge's construction in 1936.) Later founding the firm Steinman Engineers, he designs many landmark bridges throughout the U.S.

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    James Kip Finch

    Finch Joins the Faculty

    James Kip Finch (BS'06, MS'11), an accomplished engineer and prolific author, joins the Civil Engineering faculty, later becoming Department chair and serving as dean of Columbia Engineering. He also serves as director of the ASCE.

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    A signature of Franklin Roosevelt

    Post-Grad Program for Naval Officers

    On the eve of World War I, the school launches a post-graduate program for naval officers led by Charles Edward Lucke. Franklin Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, later sends congratulations for helping win the war.

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    An illustration of the first aquatic plane

    Loening Engineers “Flying Boat”

    Aircraft expert Grover Loening (BA'08, MS'10) engineers the first "short-hulled flying boat," going on to create several novel designs for airplanes, including monoplanes.


    Hixson Joins the Faculty

    Arthur Hixson joins the Chemical Engineering faculty and pioneers studies based on unit operations and process design.


    Cracking Petroleum

    Doctoral student Walter Rittman discovers a revolutionary process for cracking petroleum and is invited to present his findings to a special committee of Congressional leaders and Cabinet members.

  • 1920s
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    A cover by Donald M. Burmister

    Burmister Comes to Columbia

    Donald M. Burmister, a renowned expert in geotechnical engineering, begins a legendary career in the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, researching soil and pavement design and consulting on projects, including the first New York World's Fair.

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    Hyman Rickover

    Father of the Nuclear Navy

    Hyman Rickover, who becomes a four-star admiral credited as "father of the nuclear navy," studies electrical engineering and receives an MS degree in 1929. More than 50 years later, he recalls Columbia as "the first institution that encouraged me to think rather than memorize."

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    A punch card tabulator

    IBM Comes to Campus

    IBM installs punch card tabulators and sorters in Hamilton Hall, enabling sophisticated computation across disciplines.

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    Micheal Pupin's book cover

    Pupin Wins Pulitzer Prize

    Professor Michael Pupin (Class of 1883) wins the Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography, From Immigrant to Inventor.

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    Colin Fink

    Colin Fink’s Chromium Plating

    Colin Fink (CC '03) joins the faculty and soon develops the chromium plating process that becomes standard, beginning a tradition in Columbia electrochemistry.

  • 1930s
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    John R. Dunning

    Managed Nuclear Fission Achieved

    Neutron expert Dean John R. Dunning is on the first team to achieve managed nuclear fission in the United States and makes important advances in gaseous diffusion to separate uranium isotopes for the Manhattan Project.

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    Maurice A. Biot

    Biot Joins Civil Engineering

    Poroelasticity pioneer Maurice A. Biot joins the Civil Engineering faculty, going on to file many patents. He is later elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.

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    Edwin Howard Armstrong

    Armstrong Invents FM Radio

    Professor Edwin Howard Armstrong, Class of 1913, invents wideband frequency modulation (FM) radio, an advance that paves the way for television.

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    A schematic of the radio proximity fuse

     

    Mindlin Joins the Faculty

    Raymond D. Mindlin, considered the most outstanding elastician of his generation, joins the Civil Engineering faculty. In 1946, President Harry Truman awards him the Medal for Merit for his work developing the radio proximity fuse, a detonator used extensively in World War II, and in 1979 he receives the National Medal of Science from President Jimmy Carter. (Image courtesy of NavSource)

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    The cover of Howard Scott's book

    Committee on Technocracy

    With Howard Scott, Walter Rautenstrauch co-founds the short-lived Committee on Technocracy, advocating a more productive and rational society administered by technical experts and engineers.

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    Menelaos D. Hassialis

    Hassialis Joins the Faculty

    Menelaos D. Hassialis (BS'31) begins 47 years on the faculty, consulting on the Manhattan Project, patenting many innovations, and building a global community of mining engineers.

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    Irving Langmuir

    Langmuir Wins Nobel Prize

    Irving Langmuir, Class of 1903, the first to apply the term "plasma" to ionized gases, receives the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his advances in surface chemistry.

Transcending Disciplines and Creating New Ones: 1940s-1980s

As the School of Engineering continued to train leaders across the core disciplines, two important trends became visible during this time. On the one hand, researchers increasingly crossed traditional disciplinary boundaries and applied engineering concepts to areas like medicine, leading to pathbreaking work in artificial organs and the mass production of antibiotics. 

Faculty at Columbia also played leading roles in establishing new fields, including industrial robotics, computer science, kinematics, bioengineering, financial engineering, and nuclear propulsion. 

  • 1940s
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    Anna Longobardo

    First Woman Awarded Engineering BS

    After Columbia Engineering opens to women in 1942, Anna Longobardo (BS'49, MS'52) is the first woman to receive a BS in mechanical engineering from Columbia. She goes on to become the first woman to win the Egleston Medal.

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    Elmer Gaden working on antibiotics

    Mass Production of Antibiotics

    Elmer Gaden (BS'44, MS'47, PhD'49), the father of biochemical engineering, authors his groundbreaking dissertation on providing the optimal amount of oxygen to allow greater fermentation energy for penicillin mold to grow and multiply more rapidly. This research formed the basis for mass production of a wide range of antibiotics, beginning with penicillin.

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    Alfred M. Freudenthal

    Father of Structural Reliability

    Alfred M. Freudenthal, a pioneer in materials' inelastic behavior, joins Civil Engineering. Considered the "father of structural reliability," he writes extensively and consults on various public works projects.

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    Men with an early robot

    Unimate Robot

    Joseph Engelberger (BS'46, MS'49), known as the "father of industrial robotics," partners with George Devol to pioneer the Unimate robot for use on assembly lines and other industrial applications, as well as many other robotics.

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    Sebastian B. Littauer

    Littauer Joins Industrial Engineering

    Sebastian B. Littauer (MA'28) joins the Industrial Engineering faculty. First as a teacher and then as department chair, he establishes and promotes operations research at Columbia.

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    Lotfi A. Zadeh

    Zadeh Receives His PhD

    Lotfi A. Zadeh receives his PhD in electrical engineering and serves on the faculty for 10 years, going on to publish his landmark paper on "fuzzy sets" in 1965, and, in 1973, proposes the theory of fuzzy logic.

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    The first differential operational amplifier

    Differential Operational Amplifier

    John R. Ragazzini (MA'39, PhD'41), who had worked on the Manhattan Project, collaborates with Loebe Julie to develop and build the world's first modern differential operational amplifier at Columbia.

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    Dudley Dean Fuller

    Fuller Comes to Columbia

    Dudley Dean Fuller (BS'45) begins a distinguished career at Columbia studying surfaces and fluid lubrication. He later receives the Egleston Medal for developing the hydrostatic bearing.

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    Hans H. Bleich

    Bleich’s Structural Mechanics

    Hans H. Bleich, an authority in structural mechanics, comes to Civil Engineering for a lengthy tenure studying various structures and designing skyscrapers, bridges, and observatories.

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    Herbert H. Kellogg

    Kellogg Teaches Mineral Engineering

    Herbert H. Kellogg (BS'41, MS'43) signs on to teach mineral engineering and, in 44 years at Columbia, becomes a prominent researcher and passionate advocate for developing the mining industry's environmental awareness.

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    Jewell M. Garrelts

    Garrelts Chairs Civil Engineering

    At the dawn of a postwar boom for public works, Jewell M. Garrelts, designer of numerous bridges, becomes chair of Civil Engineering and works to enhance its global renown.

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    Gloria Reinish nee Brooks

    First Woman Undergraduate Admitted

    Gloria Reinish nee Brooks, a sophomore transfer, becomes the first woman undergraduate admitted to Columbia Engineering when she receives a scholarship to join the Class of 1945 as an Electrical Engineering major. She goes on to teach and returns to Columbia to earn a doctorate in bioengineering.

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    An illustration of the first aquatic plane

    Loening Receives Egleston Medal

    The first person ever to receive a degree in aeronautics in America, Grover Loening (MS'11), is awarded the Egleston Medal for his many achievements in aircraft design, including designing the first "short-hulled flying boat" and serving on advisory boards for Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson.

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    Mario G. Salvadori

    Salvadori Joins the Faculty

    Civil Engineering welcomes Mario G. Salvadori to the faculty. In a long career at Columbia, he authors numerous works on architecture, structural engineering, and applied mathematics.

    Watson Scientific Computing Lab

    IBM establishes the Watson Scientific Computing Lab at Columbia, under the direction of Wallace Eckert. The following year, lab staff start teaching the first computer science courses in the world that are fully integrated into a university curriculum and continue year to year.

    Association for Computing Machinery

    The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is founded in a meeting at Columbia, where it was originally named the Eastern Association for Computing Machinery.

  • 1950s
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    Two dice

    Probability and Statistical Inference for Engineers

    Morton Klein (MS’52, EngScD’57), among the first to apply quantitative methods to industrial engineering and a giant in operations research, co-authors the seminal text Probability and Statistical Inference for Engineers.

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    Lab equipment

    Leonard Researches Artificial Organs

    Edward F. Leonard pursues pathbreaking research in the engineering and design of artificial organs. Later research will focus on developing wearable ultrafiltration and dialysis devices.

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    Henry S. Krumb

    Henry Krumb School of Mines

    Upon the death of benefactor Henry S. Krumb, Class of 1898, the Trustees recognize his vision and generosity by naming the Department of Mining, Metallurgy and Mineral Engineering the Henry Krumb School of Mines.

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    Mechanical Engineering Handbook

    Baumeister Receives Egleston Medal

    Professor Theodore Baumeister (EngScD'22) becomes editor of Marks' Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers. He goes on to win the Egleston Medal in 1975 for his work in metals and machinery.

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    Herbert Goldstein

    Goldstein’s Classical Mechanics

    Nuclear engineering expert Herbert Goldstein joins the Mechanical Engineering faculty. He authors the textbook Classical Mechanics, since translated into nine languages, and works to increase the public's scientific literacy.

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    Rudolf E. Kálmán

    Kálmán Receives Doctorate

    Rudolf E. Kalman receives his doctorate in electrical engineering, and goes on to co-invent the Kalman filter, an algorithm with applications ranging from aircraft guidance and weather predictions to econometrics.

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    A nuclear submarine

    First Nuclear Submarine

    The world's first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus, is launched, spearheaded by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, (MS'29 EE), the father of the nuclear navy.

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    A supercomputer being operated

    First Supercomputer

    The IBM Naval Ordnance Research Calculator (NORC), the first supercomputer and the most powerful computer on Earth until about 1963, is installed at the Watson Scientific Computing Lab on the fifth floor of 612 West 115th Street, where it was built. NORC executes 15,000 instructions per second and has 3,600 words of random access memory.

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    Cyrus Derman

    Derman Teaches Operations Research

    Statistician Cyrus Derman (PhD'54) begins teaching operations research. In four decades at Columbia, he makes historic contributions to performance analysis and optimization of stochastic systems.

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    Ferdinand Freudenstein

    Father of Modern Kinematics

    Ferdinand Freudenstein (PhD'54), considered the "father of modern kinematics," joins the Mechanical Engineering faculty and goes on to mentor over 500 PhD students in his legendary career.

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    William W. Havens

    Havens Named Professor

    William W. Havens Masters (MS’41 PhD‘46), who had worked with James Rainwater on the Manhattan Project, becomes a full professor, specializing in precise spectrometers.

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    Seymour Melman

    Melman Joins Industrial Engineering

    Economist Seymour Melman (PhD’49) begins more than 50 years on the Industrial Engineering faculty, chairing the department and becoming a prominent critic of nuclear weapons and the military-industrial complex.

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    John R. Ragazzini

    Analysis of Sampled-Data Systems

    Professors John R. Ragazzini and Lofti A. Zadeh publish The Analysis of Sampled-Data Systems, establishing the z-transform method converting time domain signals into complex frequency domain representations. The method becomes standard in digital signal processing and other discrete-time systems.

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    Bruno A. Boley

    Boley Joins Civil Engineering

    Bruno A. Boley, a leading expert in structural mechanics, elastic stability, and thermal stresses, joins the Civil Engineering faculty.

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    Eliahu I. Jury Reading

    First EngScD Degree

    Eliahu I. Jury receives the first EngScD degree awarded at Columbia in 1953, and goes on to develop the advanced, or modified, z-transform method to incorporate ideal delays that are not multiples of the sampling time.

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    Nathaniel Arbiter

    Arbiter Begins 25-Year Tenure

    Nathaniel Arbiter '32 begins a 25-year tenure at Columbia Engineering, winning election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1977 for his work on low-grade ores and new hydrometallurgical processes.

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    Edward C. Kendall

    Kendall Wins Nobel Prize

    Edward C. Kendall, '08, PhD'10, known for his notable contributions to biochemistry and medicine, receives the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his investigations of the adrenal cortex and isolation of cortisone.

    Frank DiMaggio Joins Civil

    Frank L. DiMaggio (BS'50, MS'51, PhD'54) joins Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics for a renowned career studying fluid structure interaction, dynamic responses of submerged structures, and constitutive modeling of soils.

  • 1960s
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    Blood Cells

    Mechanics of Blood Flow

    Pioneering Biomedical Engineering Professors Richard Skalak and Shu Chien produce groundbreaking work in the mechanics of blood flow, bone growth, white blood cell responses to infections and biological implications and responses to implants.

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    C.K. Chu

    Computational Fluid Dynamics

    C.K. Chu develops finite difference approximations of the equations of fluid dynamics and coins the now-standard phrase, "Computational Fluid Dynamics."

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    A music synthesizer

    Moog Demonstrates Synthesizer

    Robert Moog (BS'57) demonstrates his groundbreaking music synthesizer, the first voltage-controlled subtractive synthesizer played via keyboard, to an audience of audio engineers.

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    Strength of Materials Lab

    Strength of Materials Laboratory

    The Strength of Materials Laboratory is established by a generous endowment from Robert A.W. Carleton ('04), an Egleston Scholar and builder of numerous subway and rail tunnels in New York City.

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    Guy Longobardo

    Physiological Control Systems

    Guy Longobardo (BS'49, MS'50, EngScD'62) teaches a course on physiological control systems, Columbia's first in bioengineering. He later wins the Egleston Medal for his pioneering work on unstable respiratory disorders.

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    An illustration of a miner

    International Conference on Strata Control

    Celebrating its centennial and continuing vitality, the School of Mines hosts a groundbreaking international conference on strata control in New York City.

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    Carl F. Kayan

    Kayan Receives Campbell Award

    Carl F. Kayan ('24), a pioneer in the fields of heat transfer and refrigeration cycle technology, receives the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers' (ASHRAE) prestigious E. K. Campbell Award.

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    Robert Gross

    Plasma Physics Lab Established

    Robert Gross and C.K. Chu lead efforts to establish the Plasma Physics Laboratory to research high-temperature and fusion plasmas. The lab receives a major expansion in 1975.

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    Vittorio Castelli

    Castelli Joins Mechanical Engineering Faculty

    Vittorio Castelli, later honored with the Egleston Medal as an "engineering wizard, guru, advisor, and sage," joins Mechanical Engineering and begins research that advances technologies including computer memory and color printers.

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    Seeley W. Mudd building

    Mudd Building Opens

    The Seeley W. Mudd building opens as the new home of Columbia Engineering, bringing together faculty who had been scattered across the Morningside campus.

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    Leon Lidofsky

    Lidofsky’s Nuclear Science

    Leon Lidofsky (MS'47, PhD'52) signs on to teach nuclear science and engineering at Columbia, researching nuclear physics, radiative transport, and medical applications of radiation.

    Shinozuka Joins Civil Engineering

    Probabilistic mechanics expert Masanobu Shinozuka (PhD'60) joins the Civil Engineering faculty and serves as a leading authority in field theory, risk-assessment methodology, and structures resistant to disasters.

    Industrial and Management Engineering

    Recognizing advances in the field and its own scholarship, Industrial Engineering becomes the Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, and establishes one of the country's first degree programs in operations research.

    Operations Research Expands

    Morton Klein and Morton Friedman of the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics collaborate to expand the operations research program, renaming it "Mathematical Methods in Engineering and Operations Research."

  • 1970s
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    Joseph F. Traub

    Computer Science Department Established

    Columbia Engineering establishes the Department of Computer Science with leading researcher Joseph F. Traub (PhD'59) as founding chair.

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    Ferdinand Freudenstein

    Freudenstein Elected to NAE

    Higgins Professor Ferdinand Freudenstein is elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

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    Raymond D. Mindlin

    Mindlin Receives National Medal of Science

    Professor Raymond D. Mindlin receives the National Medal of Science from President Carter. He was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering in 1966 for his work in mechanics of solids and the National Academy of Sciences in 1973 for advancements in applied physical science.

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    Industrial Engineering & Operations Research

    Operations Research Renamed

    As Operations Research becomes ever-more indispensable to managing complex enterprises, the department is renamed the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR).

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    Cyril M. Harris

    Avery Fisher Hall Acoustics

    Electrical Engineering's Cyril M. Harris, according to the New York Times "the pre-eminent acoustical engineer in the United States," redesigns the acoustics of Avery Fisher Hall at New York City's Lincoln Center. During his career he fine-tunes the sound at over 100 of America's highest-profile musical venues.

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    Charles Bonilla

    Bonilla Receives Kern Award

    Charles Bonilla, founder and director of the Nuclear Heat Transfer Research Facility, is the inaugural recipient of the Kern Award from AIChE for his outstanding contributions to the field of heat transfer.

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    Dudley D. Fuller

    Fuller Receives Hersey Award

    Professor Dudley D. Fuller (MS'46), world-renowned tribologist and inventor of the hydrostatic bearing, receives the ASME Mayo D Hersey Award for research contributions in fluid lubrication and, in 1978, is awarded the Tribology Gold Medal from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers "in recognition of his research in the field of fluid lubrication."

    Joint MS in Operations Research and MBA

    The Department of Industrial and Management Engineering partners with Columbia Business School to offer a joint MS in Operations Research and MBA.

    Applied Physics and Nuclear Engineering

    Dean Peter Likins' proposal combines the Plasma Physics Committee, an interdepartmental doctoral program, with the existing Division of Nuclear Science and Engineering to form the Applied Physics and Nuclear Engineering (APNE) Department.

    Somasundaran Appointed

    Ponisseril Somasundaran, an expert in colloids and surfaces, is appointed associate professor of mineral engineering. In over forty years at Columbia, he makes major advances in mineral flotation, fine particles processing, and enhanced oil recovery.

    Bioengineering Institute Established

    A University-wide Bioengineering Institute was established under Dr. William Nastuk, professor of physiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, to improve access by engineering students to bioengineering research groups within Columbia.

  • 1980s
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    Gertrude Neumark

    Doping Process Patented

    Gertrude Neumark patents the process of non-equilibrium doping that greatly advances light-emitting and laser diodes and enables technology like sharper laser printers, increased-capacity DVDs, and better screens.

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    Richard Skalak

    Skalak Elected to NAE

    Professor Richard Skalak joins a long list of Civil Engineering faculty elected to the National Academy of Engineering, including Professors Mindlin, Boley, Bleich, Salvadori, and Shinozuka.

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    Van C. Mow

    Mow Comes to Columbia

    Van C. Mow, a pioneer in the field of biomechanics, comes to Columbia to become the first joint faculty appointment between Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Engineering School.

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    Williamsburg Bridge

    Williamsburg Bridge Cables

    Bridge and structural dynamics expert and longtime Civil Engineering faculty member Maciej P. Bienek leads an investigation of the cable system on the Williamsburg Bridge, achieving a critical extension of its service life.

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    Donald R. Goldfarb

    Goldfarb Begins Tenure

    Donald R. Goldfarb, co-inventor of the BFGS algorithm for solving nonlinear optimization problems and an expert in network flows, begins a lengthy tenure as chair of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. He later wins the Khachiyan Prize for lifetime contributions to the field of optimization.

    Father of Digital Seismic Data Processing

    Enders A. Robinson, considered the father of digital seismic data processing, is appointed professor of applied geophysics, the same year he is elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

    Mining & Mineral Resources Research

    The School of Mines establishes the New York Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute, led by Tuncel M. Yegulalp (EngScD'68), an authority in mineral economics and low-emission power plants.

    Lai Joins Mechanical Engineering

    W. Michael Lai joins Mechanical Engineering as a joint appointment with the medical school to study orthopaedic bioengineering. He goes on to formulate triphasic theory for modeling charged hydrated biological tissues and receives the Lissner Medal from ASME.

    Artificial Intelligence in Process Engineering

    A pioneering workshop on Artificial Intelligence in Process Engineering is held at Columbia, the first such conference in the emerging field.

    Center for Telecommunications Research

    Columbia Engineering receives a major grant from the NSF to establish the Center for Telecommunications Research to develop integrated networks capable of carrying data, graphics, voice and video. It is led by Professors Mischa Schwartz and Thomas Stern.

    IEEE’s Top Faculty of All Time

    IEEE selects top 10 Electrical Engineering educators of all time; three Columbia faculty members make the list: Professors Michael Pupin, Jacob Millman, and Mischa Schwartz.

    Free Electron Lasers

    Professor Thomas Marshall, a pioneer in developing free electron lasers, publishes the first book on this subject.

    Viele Professor of Electrochemistry

    In recognition of Chemical Engineering's excellence in electrochemistry, Duracell endows the Samuel Ruben-Peter G. Viele Professor of Electrochemistry, with electrochemist Huk Cheh first to hold the chair.

    Computer Science Building Opens

    The new Computer Science Building, adjoining the Seeley W. Mudd Building on Columbia's Morningside campus, opens its doors.

    Center for Advanced Technology in Computers

    Columbia Engineering wins a statewide competition to launch the New York State Center for Advanced Technology in Computers and Information Systems.

    Comverse Technology Founded

    Comverse Technology is cofounded by Professor Yechiam Yemini. It goes public in 1987 and joins the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 indices in the mid-90s.

    Themelis Appointed

    Copper expert Nickolas J. Themelis is appointed professor of extractive metallurgy. In 25 years on faculty, he founds both the Earth Engineering Center (EEC) and the Waste to Energy Research and Technology Council (WTERT).

Poised for the future: 1990s to the Present

After receiving a transformative gift, the School was renamed The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. The infusion of resources initiated a new season of expansion, with major investments in computer science, biomedical engineering, applied mathematics, and electrical engineering. 

Over the following years several new research centers were opened, including the Institute for Data Science and Engineering and the Zuckerman Institute, which engages in cross-disciplinary neuroscience research. Increasingly, the School of Engineering is at the center of University-wide interdisciplinary research initiatives. 

In 2017, the School unveils a new strategic vision, Engineering for Humanity [link to: 5.4 Engineering for Humanity], and sees robust growth in the numbers of faculty and students.

Looking ahead, the continued development of Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus, focused on collaborative research, along with the School’s growing entrepreneurial and outreach activities, promise to keep Columbia Engineering true to its beginnings: an institution leading the way in advancing knowledge in engineering to serve the needs of the surrounding community and the world beyond.

  • 1990s
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    A telephone

    VoIP Research

    Professor Henning Schulzrinne co-authors Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), the key control protocol for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), now used by nearly all 4G cell phones and IP Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems.

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    A dollar

    Financial Engineering

    Steven S.G. Kou (MA'92, PhD'95), an authority on mathematical and computational finance, becomes the first faculty member in Financial Engineering. He goes on to win the Erlang Prize in applied probability from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

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    Applied physics and Applied Mathematics

    Applied Physics Gets a New Name

    The Applied Physics Department changes its name to the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics (APAM) to reflect the faculty’s commitment to disciplines on a scale made possible by The Fu Foundation’s generous endowment to the School.

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    Horst Stormer's Nobel Prize

    Stormer Wins Nobel Prize

    Professor Horst Stormer wins the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations--the fractional quantum Hall effect.

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    The Z.Y. Fu plaque

    School Renamed

    The School celebrates a transforming gift from The Fu Foundation, headed by Z.Y. Fu, by becoming The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. The gift supports interdisciplinary research and scholarship, especially in computer science, biomedical engineering, applied mathematics, and electrical engineering.

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    Robert C. Merton

    Merton Wins Nobel Prize

    Robert C. Merton '66, known for his pioneering contributions to continuous-time finance and for translating finance science into practice, wins the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in options pricing.

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    Lazer Crystallization

    Advanced Laser-Crystallization Patent

    Professor James Im patents a method to produce advanced laser-crystallization of Si films, essential to LCDs and OLEDs, which make possible high-resolution screens in products from Samsung, Apple, and others.

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    A statue

    Curriculum Innovations

    Moving to address the environmental impact of mining, the School of Mines overhauls its curriculum to include an innovative MS program in Earth Resources Engineering and a new undergraduate program in Earth and Environmental Engineering.

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    A cricket player

    Microblogging Cricket

    As a student, Vishal Misra, now an associate professor of computer science, anticipates Twitter by inventing and implementing in one night live microblogging with ball-by-ball cricket scoring on the Cricinfo site, which was bought by ESPN and remains a popular online destination.

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    A person with a large computer strapped to their back, wearing a headset

    Augmented Reality

    Professor Steven Feiner and his lab develop the first outdoor mobile augmented reality system using a see-through, head-worn display, the forerunner of augmented reality apps now ubiquitous on smartphones.

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    RSOFT Logo

    Integrated and Nanophotonic Simulation

    A spinoff from Higgins Professor Richard Osgood’s lab, RSoft, becomes the gold standard in integrated and nanophotonic simulation tools, and is later purchased by the major electronic design software house Synopsis.

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    A Columbia Building Cornerstone

    Center for Applied Probability

    Professors David D.W. Yao and Karl Sigman launch the interdisciplinary Center for Applied Probability along with Columbia business, math, and statistics faculty.

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    A large Tokamak

    High Beta Tokamak-Extended Pulse

    Professors Gerald Navratil and Michael Mauel complete the High Beta Tokamak-Extended Pulse, the largest of several tokamaks at Columbia, and help demonstrate the first fusion energy production using a deuterium-tritium plasma.

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    An early DVD disc

    MPEG-2 Patent Research

    The research of Dimitris Anastassiou and Fermi Wang (PhD '91) becomes part of a key MPEG-2 patent that is instrumental in implementing international video standards broadly used in digital video, DVD, and Blu-Ray.

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    A large Tokamak

    First Tokamak Joint Experiments

    Professors Michael Mauel and Gerald Navratil conduct the first joint experiments with the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and achieve the highest poloidal beta operation of a tokamak.

    Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research

    A Whitaker Foundation Development Award supports Columbia Engineering's partnership with the medical school's Department of Radiology on the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center.

    Jingyue Ju Joins the Faculty

    Jingyue Ju joins the Chemical Engineering faculty, developing a four-color DNA sequencing by synthesis platform using cleavable fluorescent nucleotide reversible terminators. His revolutionary technologies hold the promise of reducing the cost of DNA sequencing, so that decoding an individual's genome can become a routine part of medical research and health care. In 2011, he is appointed Samuel Ruben-Peter G. Viele Professor of Engineering.

    Data Mining Intrusion Detection

    Professor Salvatore Stolfo invents data mining-based intrusion detection systems that form the basis for all modern antivirus technologies.

    Materials Research Center Established

    The National Science Foundation establishes the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on nanostructured materials, directed by nanoscience expert Irving P. Herman, professor of applied physics.

    Tsividis Develops Curriculum

    Batchelor Professor Yannis Tsividis, an authority on analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits and a much-honored teacher, develops a first-year Introduction to Electrical Engineering curriculum that is widely adopted.

    John Kender’s Algorithm

    Professor John Kender co-develops one of the most commonly used algorithms for segmenting videos into shots.

    Friedman Becomes Vice Dean

    Professor Morton B. Friedman, an outstanding mathematician who pioneered the Boundary Element Method, becomes vice dean of Columbia Engineering after having been the Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics department chair for more than a decade.

    Program in Biomedical Engineering

    Van C. Mow, W. Michael Lai, Gerard A. Ateshian, and Edward F. Leonard join forces to develop a new program in biomedical engineering.

    Elrod Receives Hersey Award

    Professor Harold G. Elrod, a respected member of the Department since 1955, receives ASME's Hersey Award for his contributions to hydrodynamic lubrication and the development of compressible fluid bearings.

    Computer Engineering Program Created

    The Electrical Engineering Department partners with the Department of Computer Science to create an undergraduate program in Computer Engineering to instill expertise in both hardware and software. A master's program is added several years later.

    Shinozuka’s Von Karman Medal

    Professor Masanobu Shinozuka receives the Von Karman Medal from ASCE for "distinguished achievements in engineering mechanics," following Mindlin, Boley, Freudenthal, Bleich, and Skalak.

    Concentration in Financial Engineering

    IEOR institutes a popular concentration in financial engineering within the Operations Research master's program, later branching into a master's program that quickly becomes one of the top ranked quantitative finance programs in the world.

    National Young Investigator Award

    Not long after joining the Chemical Engineering Department, Alan C. West, an expert in electrochemical engineering, receives the NSF's prestigious National Young Investigator award.

    Lai Forumulates Triphasic Theory

    Professor W. Michael Lai, world renowned researcher in constitutive modeling of articular cartilage, formulates "triphasic theory" for modeling charged hydrated biological tissues, for which he is recognized in 2001 with the ASME Lissner Medal.

  • 2000s
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    Electronics

    EnHANTs Project

    Research advances by Electrical Engineering faculty in energy harvesting and ultra-low power and ultra-wideband communications results in the Energy Harvesting Active Networked Tags (EnHANTs) project, which enables the Internet of Things by providing the infrastructure for novel tracking applications, such as locating misplaced items, continuous monitoring of objects, or determining locations of disaster survivors.

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    The Bigshot Camera with Shree Nayar

    BigShot Camera

    Professor Shree Nayar, a digital imaging expert who invented the first omnidirectional camera with a single effective center of projection, debuts a set of prototypes of the BigShot camera kit to affordably share science with children in the developing world.

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    A scan of tissue

    Interface Tissue Engineering

    In a ceremony at the White House, Associate Professor Helen Lu receives the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for her work on interface tissue engineering applied to orthopedic and dental health problems.

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    Two people in water

    Columbia Water Center Founded

    The Columbia Water Center is founded, an interdisciplinary initiative aimed at managing the global crisis of freshwater scarcity.

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    Columbia traditional beanies

    Beanie Ceremony Revived

    Once a mandatory accessory and tradition at Columbia, the beanie is now a souvenir for incoming first-year engineering students.

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    Stem Cells being researched

    Columbia Stem Cell Initiative

    Professor Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic begins as co-director of the new Columbia Stem Cell Initiative (CSCI), launched with grants from New York state, the Helmsley Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.

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    An elephant balanced on a pencil

    Graphene Is Strongest Material

    Professors James C. Hone and Jeffrey W. Kysar prove that graphene, an atomically thin carbon layer, is the strongest material ever measured. They continue their groundbreaking work on graphene and, in 2013, create the world's smallest FM radio transmitter.

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    A graphic depicting electrons

    Physics of Electron Transport

    Associate Professor Latha Venkataraman measures how electronic conduction and single bond breaking forces in single molecule devices relate to the molecular structure as well as to the metal contacts and linking bonds, providing a deeper understanding of the fundamental physics of electron transport and laying the groundwork for technological advances at the nanometer scale.

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    A book on compiling

    Compilers: Principles, Techniques & Tools

    Computer Science Professor Al Aho co-authors the second edition of Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools, the most cited text on transforming program source codes to a lower level representation in which it can be efficiently run.

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    Game pieces

    Two-Player Nash Equilibria

    Computer Science Assistant Professor Xi Chen and collaborators settle the long-standing open problem of the complexity of two-player Nash equilibria, the central solution concept in game theory.

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    Paul Sajda

    C3Vision Developed

    Cortically coupled computer vision technology (C3Vision), developed by Professor Paul Sajda, synergistically couples computer vision with human vision, allowing on-line real-time decoding of EEG responses while the user views images as a rapid serial visual presentation, enabling recognition within a few hundredths of a millisecond.

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    The Mow Medal

    Mow Medal Established

    In honor of his groundbreaking research in bioengineering, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) establishes the Van C Mow Medal for Excellence in Engineering, awarded annually.

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    Men on the suspension portion of a bridge

    Cable Corrosion Monitoring System

    Research begins to develop a corrosion monitoring system for main cables in several suspension bridges in New York City.

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    A timeline of chemical engineering dates

    Chemical Engineering Celebrates Centenary

    The Department of Chemical Engineering celebrates its Centenary over a 3-day gala program of technical and social events.

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    Human Patella in a petri dish

    Human Patella Tissue Construct

    Professor Gerard Ateshian (BS'86, MS'87, PhD'91), head of the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory, collaborates with Clark Hung to engineer the first human patella tissue construct.

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    A market graph

    Center for Financial Engineering

    Emanuel Derman--co-inventor of the Black-Derman-Toy interest rate model and a principal at Goldman Sachs--joins Columbia. He goes on to help lead the Financial Engineering Program and the Center for Financial Engineering.

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    A hand holding a brain

    Barclay Morrison Appointed

    Brain injury expert Barclay Morrison joins the Biomedical Engineering faculty and becomes principal investigator at the Neurotrauma and Repair Laboratory.

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    A man standing in a large metal construct

    Active Feedback Stabilization

    Professor Gerald Navratil brings active feedback stabilization to the General Atomics DIII-D tokamak outside San Diego, a historic leap in fusion energy production that wins the Dawson Prize.

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    A large metal arch construct

    Hoberman Arch at the Olympics

    Inventor, designer and visionary toymaker Chuck Hoberman (MS'85) builds the Hoberman Arch, the striking centerpiece of Salt Lake City's Olympic Medals Plaza in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

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    The IEOR Graduate Programs

    IEOR Programs Expanded

    Guillermo G. Gallego, an expert in revenue management and dynamic pricing, becomes chair of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research and oversees an extensive expansion of professional master's programs.

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    The cover of an algorithms book

    Introduction to Algorithms

    Cliff S. Stein becomes the first joint appointment at Columbia between IEOR and Computer Science. The classic textbook he co-authors, Introduction to Algorithms, is translated into at least 15 languages and goes on to sell over one million copies.

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    A screenshot of a Newsblaster archive

    Newsblaster Developed

    Computational linguistics expert Kathy McKeown's Natural Language Processing Group develops Newsblaster, a system that automatically identifies, sorts and summarizes the day's top news stories.

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    A chart for computing

    Bergman Joins Electrical Engineering

    Keren Bergman, an expert on various optical interconnection networks for advanced computing, joins the Electrical Engineering faculty, becoming director of the Lightwave Research Lab in 2002, and, in 2011, Batchelor Professor and Department chair.

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    A pamphlet on polymer surfaces

    Koberstein Joins Chemical Engineering

    Jeffrey Koberstein, an internationally recognized expert on interfacial and surface properties of polymers and biological materials, joins the Chemical Engineering faculty. He later wins the Charles M.A. Stine Award for his work in polymeric materials.

    New Approaches to Biosensing, Drug Delivery

    Associate Professor Henry Hess joins the Biomedical Engineering Department to head up the Sackler Laboratory at the Interfaces of Biophysical and Medical Sciences, innovating nanoscale motors that enable new approaches to biosensing and drug delivery.

    Zoli Receives “Genius” Grant

    Professor Theodore Zoli receives the prestigious MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship for his innovative designs and advances to protect transportation infrastructure from natural and man-made disasters.

    AIMBE Elects Clark Hung

    Clark Hung assumes editorship of the Journal of Orthopaedic Research & Reviews and is elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and a year later, of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

    Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Journal

    Van C. Mow and X. Edward Guo launch the journal Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering for the Biomedical Engineering Society.

    Optical Techniques for Biological Systems

    Professor Ken Shepard heads the Center for Optical Techniques for Actuation, Sensing and Imaging of Biological Systems, a new NSF-funded multidisciplinary IGERT program that includes 19 faculty members from nine departments in six Columbia University schools, researching optics, photonics, and sensor electronics; biomolecular detection and cellular-level analysis; and applications to medicine and public health.

    Christopher Jacobs Joins the Faculty

    Christopher Jacobs, an authority in molecular mechanics of cellular mechanosensitivity in bone, joins the faculty and becomes director of the Cell and Molecular Biomechanics Lab. In 2014, he is awarded the Van C. Mow Medal of the ASME.

    Database Operations

    Computer Science Professor Ken Ross, an authority in data analysis, proposes novel methods minimizing contention between threads executing database operations on multicore machines.

    McNeill Joins the Faculty

    V. Faye McNeill, an expert in atmospheric chemistry, joins the Department of Chemical Engineering to found a leading group in the study of atmospheric aerosols on climate.

    Graphene Research Program Launched

    Columbia Engineering launches a major program in graphene research including Electrical Engineering's Rickey Professor of Optical Communications Tony Heinz, Professor John Kymissis, Higgins Professor Richard Osgood, and Professor Ken Shepard. Since 1984, Electrical Engineering faculty have been an integral part of the growing interdisciplinary research efforts in fundamental electronic materials.

    Gaden Lectureship Created

    The Elmer L. Gaden Lectureship is created for the "annual examination of the changing interface between chemical engineering, cognate sciences, and society."

    Thermo-Fluid Transport Phenomena

    Professor Arvind Narayanaswamy and his research group demonstrate nano- and microscale effects in thermo-fluid transport phenomena, with profound implications for energy conversion and electronics cooling.

    Stolfo Invents Symbiote

    Professor Salvatore Stolfo and student Ang Cui (PhD'15) invent Symbiote, the world's first host antivirus security invented to protect embedded systems from exploitation, including routers, printers, IP Phones, medical devices, SCADA and POS terminals.

    Yannakakis’ Fixed Point Computation

    Professor Mihalis Yannakakis, recipient of the Knuth Prize for outstanding contributions to the foundations of computer science, introduces a complexity class for fixed point computation problems and multiplayer Nash equilibria. He is later elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his work in algorithms and complexity.

    Lenfest Center Established

    The Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy is created with Maurice Ewing and J. Lamar Worzel Professor Klaus Lackner as founding director.

    Longman Receives Humboldt Award

    Professor Richard W. Longman receives Germany's Humboldt Award for Lifetime Research Achievements in recognition of his extensive contributions to time-optimal and high-precision robot control.

    BS in Financial Engineering

    Responding to a groundswell of global interest and demand, IEOR launches the nation's first BS program in Financial Engineering.

    Sanat Kumar Joins Faculty

    Sanat Kumar, an expert in nanomaterials and advanced capacitators, comes to Columbia and goes on to serve as chair of Chemical Engineering.

    Earth and Environmental Engineering

    Recognizing changes in the industry and the global challenge of sustainable resource management in the 21st century, the Henry Krumb School of Mines becomes the Earth and Environmental Engineering Department.

    Nanomedicine Center

    Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor Lance C. Kam helps lead Columbia's efforts to establish the Nanomedicine Center for Mechanobiology, a National Institutes of Health-funded collaboration among schools to advance regenerative medicine and cutting-edge immunotherapy.

    Yao Receives ASME Award

    Professor Y. Lawrence Yao, an authority in laser materials processing who directs the Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory, receives ASME's Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award.

    Centrifuge Facility Established

    The 200-g geotechnical centrifuge facility is established by a donation from Kajima Corporation, Japan, and is currently used in a wide array of geotechnical and earth science research projects.

    Improving Rural Infrastructure

    Professor Vijay Modi leads the U.N. Millennium Project's Energy Services Task Force to improve rural infrastructure and promote global development.

    Tony Jebara and Machine Learning

    Professor Tony Jebara helps develop a framework combining generative probabilistic models with discriminative Support Vector Machines, reconciling a key tension in machine learning.

    Vapnik Joins Computer Science

    Vladimir N. Vapnik, who helped develop Support Vector Machines, a key machine learning classification technique, joins Computer Science and becomes senior research scientist at the Center for Computational Learning Systems.

    Robust Portfolio Selection

    Professors Garud N. Iyengar and Donald R. Goldfarb collaborate to develop robust portfolio selection that systematically adjusts the sensitivity of the optimal portfolio to statistical and modeling errors in estimates of relevant market parameters.

    Ward Whitt Joins IEOR

    Ward Whitt, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and an authority in stochastic modeling, leaves Bell Labs to join the IEOR faculty. The same year, he is elected a Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, and later becomes the Wai. T. Chang Professor of IEOR.

    Pisano Elected to NAE

    Albert Pisano (BS'76, MS'77, PhD'81) is elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his pioneering work in micro-electro-mechanical systems. He receives Egleston Medal in 2009 and goes on to become dean of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering in 2013.

    9/11 Forum

    Shortly after 9/11, the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics hosts a forum with World Trade Center engineers, members of the Ground Zero structural as­sessment team, and leaders of the emergency response and recovery teams.

    Computational Optimization Research Center

    IEOR launches the Computational Optimization Research Center (CORC), a joint venture between Columbia University, Cornell University and IBM for advanced studies in large-scale optimization problems.

    Mathematical Earth Science

    APAM expands its role in mathematical earth science by creating two jointly budgeted faculty members with the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

    Biomedical Engineering Founded

    The Department of Biomedical Engineering is founded, with Van C. Mow serving as its chair for the first 12 years.

    Columbia Engineering Receives IGERT

    Columbia Engineering receives its first Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) from the NSF, for work spearheaded by the engineering school with City College.

    Cache-Conscious Tree Indexing

    Professor Ken Ross and Jun Rao (PhD'00) propose innovative cache-conscious tree-indexing methods for efficient data location in in-memory databases.

    Next-Gen 911 Calling System

    Professor Henning Schulzrinne co-authors key components of the next-generation 911 emergency calling system updating aging legacy infrastructure to handle the rise of mobile telephony.

    Temperature Gradient Approximation

    Professor Adam Sobel develops the weak temperature gradient approximation method for modeling tropical precipitation, revolutionizing scientists' understanding of tropical weather patterns and opening a new avenue for computer modeling and simulation.

    Materials Science and Engineering

    Dean Zvi Galil places the Materials Science and Engineering Program of the Henry Krumb School of Mines within the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, thereby creating a collaborative, multidisciplinary department with research interests in applied physics, applied mathematics, and materials science and engineering.

  • 2010s
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    Columbia Campus Building with 150th Anniversary Lights

    Columbia Engineering Kicks Off 150th Celebration

    Dean Mary C. Boyce officially kicks off the School's sesquicentennial on Feb. 16 with a light display illuminating Low Library.

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    A man walking on a treadmill assisted by a robot

    Cutting-Edge Robotics

    Professor Sunil K. Agrawal designs cutting-edge intelligent machines, such as robotic exoskeletons, to help people with neural impairment.

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    A chart of lungs

    Laine Leads IEEE’s Biomedical Engineers

    Professor Andrew F. Laine, a pioneer in sophisticated wavelet analysis of medical images and Chair of Biomedical Engineering, is elected President of the IEEE's Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, the world's largest organization of biomedical engineers.

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    Two women working on a project

    Record Number of Women Admitted

    Columbia Engineering admits a record number of women in its first-year class, 44%, one of the highest ratios in the United States.

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    Mary C. Boyce

    Mary C. Boyce Becomes Dean

    A year after her election to the National Academy of Engineering, and after more than 25 years at MIT, molecular and nanomechanics expert Mary C. Boyce becomes Dean of Columbia Engineering.

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    Two men working on a bridge

    Structural Safety and Reliability

    The Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics hosts the largest-ever International Conference for Structural Safety and Reliability.

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    A blueprint

    Harlem Biospace

    Sam Sia develops the Harlem Biospace project to support entrepreneurial ventures in bioengineering, sponsored by the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

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    A US chart showing Electricity Use

    US Electric Grid Research Grant

    Professors Dan Bienstock and Gil Zussman receive a million-dollar grant from the Pentagon to prevent cascading failures of the U.S. electric grid in the event of a nuclear incident.

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    A large campus building

    Chief Technologists

    Internet security expert and Professor of Computer Science Steve Bellovin is appointed Chief Technologist of the Federal Trade Commission while Henning Schulzrinne is appointed Chief Technology Officer of the Federal Communications Commission.

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    A broken piggy bank

    Zheng “30 under 30”

    Assistant Professor Changxi Zheng is named one of Forbes magazine's "30 under 30" in science and healthcare for his algorithms that automatically generate virtual sounds synchronized with animated dynamics.

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    The coljmns of a building paired with abstract colors

    New Data Sciences Institute Established

    To help manage the ever-snowballing avalanche of data around the world, Columbia Engineering partners with other schools at the university to establish the Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering. Centered around six key sectors--smart cities, new media, health analytics, financial analytics, cybersecurity, and foundations of data science--the Institute focuses on conducting data science research across disciplines and developing programs to train tomorrow's data scientists.

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    CRIS Logo

    Management of Systemic Risk

    Professor Venkat Venkatasubramanian, head of the Complex Resilient Intelligent Systems Lab, co-founds Columbia's multidisciplinary Center for the Management of Systemic Risk, which includes over 30 researchers.

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    A brain scan

    Penetrating the Blood-Brain Barrier

    Associate Professor Elisa Konofagou, head of the Ultrasound Elasticity Imaging Laboratory, uses focused ultrasound (FUS) to non-invasively penetrate the blood-brain barrier, once a vexing challenge for drug delivery.

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    A robotic arm attached to tools

    Insertable Robotic Effector Platform

    Professor Peter K. Allen and colleagues license their Insertable Robotic Effector Platform surgery system, which includes miniature stereo cameras that enter the body to automatically track procedures.

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    A tropical

    Extreme Weather Modeling

    Professor Adam Sobel, one of the School's leading researchers on the physical mechanisms of climate, is interviewed extensively on Hurricane Sandy and potential future "extreme" weather. An expert in modeling monsoons and predicting storms, he studies changes in the seasonal cycle as a result of climate change, with a focus on atmospheric science, geophysical fluid dynamics, tropical meteorology, and climate dynamics.

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    An image showing mathematical proofs

    Chudnovsky Wins “Genius” Award

    Maria Chudnovsky, professor of industrial engineering and operations research, wins a 2012 MacArthur "Genius" Award for her fundamental work in graph theory.

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    Alvin E. Roth

    Roth Wins Nobel Prize

    Professor Alvin E. Roth (BS'71), known for his pioneering work in the practical design of market institutions, receives the Prize in Economics for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design.

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    Top Young Innovator

    Assistant Professor Christine P. Hendon is named one of MIT Technology Review's 35 top young innovators and also one of Forbes' "30 Under 30" for developing optical imaging and spectroscopy instruments for applications in cardiac electrophysiology and interventional cardiology.

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    A map of NYC

    NYC Energy Map

    Professor Vijay Modi develops a building energy mapping project for New York City that will serve as a global sustainable energy model for places where current infrastructure will not be able to support future demand, power costs are high, and energy is inefficient.

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    The Leafsnap Logo

    Leafsnap Software

    Professor Peter Belhumeur leads the team that creates the award-winning Leafsnap software, the first e-field guide with visual recognition, downloaded over a million times to explore flora of NYC and Washington, D.C.

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    A view from a microscope

    Hillman Wins Lomb Medal

    Elizabeth Hillman receives the Adolph Lomb Medal for Young Investigators from the Optical Society of America for her research into in-vivo optical imaging and microscopy techniques.

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    A diagram of a foot

    Translational Research Partnership Grant

    The Department of Biomedical Engineering receives a prestigious Translational Research Partnership grant from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, which supports novel approaches that significantly impact health care, like Andreas Hielscher's vascular optical tomographic imaging system for diabetic patients.

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    A mosquito

    Fighting Malarial Parasites

    While a professor at Columbia, Paul Diament (BS'60, MS'61, PhD'63), a renowned researcher in all phases of electromagnetic and wave propagation, patents his novel use of a simple magnetic-resonance method to non-invasively destroy malarial parasites.

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    A chart of Africa

    mChip HIV Diagnostic

    Associate Professor Sam Sia and a team of researchers travel to Rwanda to test the mChip, a tiny "lab on a chip" that can quickly and inexpensively diagnose HIV and other diseases based on microfluidics.

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    A cross section of bone growth

    Growing New Bones

    Professor Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic develops a bioreactor system that uses stem cells to grow new bones in the anatomical shape of the original. Her major advance helps broaden tissue engineers' outlook to include more variables, thus paving the way for new collaborations in systems biology.

    Earth and Environmental Engineering’s Growing Department

    More and more undergraduate and graduate students are drawn to the study of environmental sustainability for air, water, materials, and energy, leading to department plans to grow the faculty by 25 percent.

    Breast Cancer Prognosis Challenge

    Batchelor Professor Dimitris Anastassiou leads a Columbia team that wins the Sage Bionetworks/DREAM Breast Cancer Prognosis Challenge, creating a powerful model that uses a variety of novel molecular signatures to anticipate breast cancer survival rates.

    SIGMETRICS Rising Star Researcher

    Professor Augustin Chaintreau wins the SIGMETRICS Rising Star Researcher Award for his significant contributions to analyzing emerging distributed networking systems.

    Synchrotron Catalysis Consortium

    Professor Jingguang Chen co-founds the Synchrotron Catalysis Consortium at Brookhaven National Laboratories and serves as team leader.

    Arrow-Debreu Equilibria

    Professors Xi Chen and Mihalis Yannakakis, along with student Dimitris Paparas (PhD'16), settle a long-standing open problem regarding computation of Arrow-Debreu equilibria in markets with constant elasticity of substitution utilities.

    Yao Professorship

    David D. W. Yao becomes the inaugural Piyasombatkul Family Professor of IEOR.

    Vunjak-Novakovic Elected to NAE

    For her work on bioreactors, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic becomes the first woman at Columbia to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

    Paul Sajda Elected Editor

    Paul Sajda is elected Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE journal Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.

    Glucose Monitoring Innovations

    Professor Qiao Lin receives the Gold Prize at the 11th Annual Diabetes Technology Meeting for his pioneering work applying micro-electromechanical systems to glucose monitoring.

    Ozone Depletion & Climate Change

    Lorenzo Polvani shows the first link between ozone depletion and climate change in the Southern Hemisphere, which follows his 2008 study suggesting that winds in the Southern Hemisphere will be greatly impacted by the projected recovery of the ozone hole in the latter 21st century.

    Interdisciplinary MS Program

    The department collaborates with Columbia Business School to offer an interdisciplinary MS program in Management Systems and Engineering.

    Chang Wins Technical Achievement Award

    Shih-Fu Chang, Richard Dicker Professor of Telecommunications, is honored by IEEE with its Technical Achievement Award for his pioneering contributions to the field of multimedia analysis and for developing foundational systems of image search.

    Chemical Engineering Expands MS

    An expanded MS program is initiated, particularly targeting undergraduate science majors.

    Computational Linguistics Fellows

    Professors Michael Collins, Julia Hirschberg, and Kathy McKeown are elected to the founding group of Fellows of the Association for Computational Linguistics.

    Infinio Startup Launched

    Professors Vishal Misra and Dan Rubenstein launch Infinio, a start-up dedicated to substantially increasing storage performance in virtual environments. It quickly becomes the fastest-growing and most-funded enterprise start-up in the Northeast.

    Cytokinesis Research

    Professor Ben O'Shaughnessy, an expert in polymerization processes and cellular function, receives support from the National Institutes of Health to continue his promising research in cytokinesis.

    Burns Appointed Xerox Chair

    Xerox CEO Ursula M. Burns (MS'81) is appointed Chairman, becoming the first African-American woman to lead a Fortune 500 company and, according to Forbes, one of the most powerful women in business.

    Plasma Physics of Magnetospheres

    By magnetically levitating a million ampere superconducting current ring for several hours, Professor Michael Mauel and colleagues demonstrate that plasma physics of planetary magnetospheres can be reproduced in laboratories.