FAQ about the first 50 years of chemical engineering at UW

— by Bob Bird

Former Chemical Engineering Building (39K JPG)

When did instruction in engineering start at UW?
In 1870 a course in Civil Engineering was created in the College of Arts, and Mechanical Engineering in 1879. In 1889 a College of Mechanics and Engineering was formed, but no dean was appointed until 1899! Electrical Engineering was established in 1891, and in 1899 a separate entity, called Applied Electrochemistry was founded with Charles F. Burgess in charge.

When was the Chemical Engineering Department formed?
In 1905 the Applied Electrochemistry Program in the Electrical Engineering Department changed its name to "Chemical Engineering Department," with Professor Burgess as its chairman until 1913. The first PhD was awarded in 1905 to Oliver P. Watts; three more PhDs were granted in 1911 and 1912.

What did C.F. Burgess do after leaving UW?
He had a very productive industrial career, starting with the founding of the Burgess Battery Company; later he started up a half-dozen other companies. He received honorary doctorates from UW and from Illinois Institute of Technology, the Acheson Medal from the Electrochemical Society, and the Perkin Medal. He was also elected to the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 1929.

Where was the ChE Department housed?
From 1905 to 1951 it was in the Chemical Engineering Building on North Park Street, where the Helen C. White Library now stands. The building was really unsuited for use by the ChE Department, with its wooden interior — totally unsuitable for laboratory instruction.

Who succeeded Burgess as departmental chairman?
Until 1964, there were only three other chairmen: Otto Kowalke (1913-1940), Olaf Hougen (1940-41, 1946-49, 1951-55), and Roland Ragatz (1941-46, 1947-51, 1955-64). Kowalke was the uncle of W.R. Schowalter (Professor at Princeton, Dean of Engineering at University of Illinois).

What books were authored by the faculty in the first half-century?

• O.P. Watts, Laboratory Course in Electrochemistry, McGraw-Hill (1914)
• O.A. Hougen & K.M. Watson, Industrial Chemical Calculations, Wiley, (1931)
• O.A. Hougen & K.M. Watson, Chemical Process Principles, Wiley (1943-47)
• O.L. Kowalke, Chemical Process Calculations, Macmillan (1947)
• W.R. Marshall & R.L. Pigford*, Applications of Differential Equations to Chemical Engineering Problems, University of Delaware Press (1947)
• F. Daniels** and J.A. Duffie, Solar Energy Research, UW Press (1955)

*U. of Delaware **UW Chemistry Department

Has there always been a "summer lab"?
From 1907 to 1914 there was a lab course in "chemical manufacture" in the second semester of the senior year, and later it was changed into a five-week summer course. Professor Kowalke was in charge of the course from 1908 until his retirement in 1948. The course has been given every summer except for a short time during World War II, when UW went on a quarter system.