Coming Up: ME Plans Centennial Celebration

« Washington Engineer - May 2006

Mechanical Engineering gears up to mark 100 years

: Engineering students participate in a 1909 engineering drafting class held in the Denny Hall attic.

The UW Department of Mechanical Engineering will celebrate its 100th birthday this fall with historical presentations, lab and classroom explorations and a luncheon keynote address by an alum who is retired chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Co. The celebration is set for Sept. 15.

Acting Engineering Dean Mani Soma urged alumni and friends to use the event as a vehicle to a deeper involvement with the department.

“If you are an alum, rekindle your connection with the ME community. Look up a professor. Observe the innovation and energy that infuse the work of students and faculty; volunteer as a mentor,” Soma said.

: ME students test a Murray Corliss steam engine, circa 1949.

“We welcome your participation in whatever form it takes,” he added.

The celebration will begin with a panel discussion and video presentation documenting how the field has progressed from steam power to the space race and digital revolution. Department Chair Mark Tuttle will lead faculty in speculating on what lies ahead, for both the field and the department.

The keynote speaker for the day, Donald E. Petersen, a 1946 alum, will address participants during the centennial luncheon. As chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Company in the 1980s, Peterson guided the automobile maker through the most radical transformation in its history, creating a new management paradigm that has been widely embraced.

An informal open house at the ME building and labs, including displays and demonstrations, will follow. Dinner is planned at the Bell Harbor Conference Center on Pier 66.

Online registration will begin on June 1.