A History of Mechanical Engineering by Ce Zhang & Jianming Yang

Author:Ce Zhang & Jianming Yang
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789811508332
Publisher: Springer Singapore

8.1.4 U.S.: Rising in Engineering Education

8.1.4.1 Start of Engineering Education in U.S.

At the end of the 18th century, American invented the model of interchangeable production, which required high-precision machine tools and measuring tools. To the time of 1820s and 1830s, the U.S. already got to the forefront of the world in machine tools. The spirit of freedom and competition provided enormous opportunities for those who liked adventure and hard-working, attracting many European inventors to the new land. As a result, the world center of mechanical technology shifted from Britain to the U.S.

With the ever-increase of complexity in invention, engineering education was brought front.

The first school in the United States to offer engineering education was the Military Academy at West Point in 1802, followed by another military academy in Norwich (Vermont), later known as Norwich University, in 1820 (Issapour and Sheppard 2015). Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute also started engineering education in 1824. Education in mechanical engineering has historically been based on a strong foundation in mathematics and science (CUP 2000). Although many outstanding engineering schools appeared in the U.S., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is still well recognized in keeping strong practice in its engineering program.

After 1840, some elite universities, such as Yale and Harvard which used to look down upon engineering education , started offering classes in civil and mechanical engineering.

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