History, College of Engineering @ The University of Wisconsin-Madison, initiatives in energy, health, nanotechnology, security, and information technology

Engineering Hall groundbreaking, 1948.

History

1838	State territorial legislature passed bill establishing a University of Wisconsin “at or near Madison, the seat of government.”

1848 May 29	Wisconsin became 30th state.

1848 Jul 26	Governor Nelson Dewey signed bill creating University of Wisconsin and its board of regents.

1849 Feb 5	University of Wisconsin founded and first classes held for 17 students.

1857	Department of Theoretical and Practical Engineering created by Board of Regents. (However, no money was available to employ teachers.)

1858	Ordinance reorganizing university grouped civil and mechanical engineering in Department of Science, Literature and the Arts.

1858	Thomas D. Coryell appointed instructor of surveying and civil engineering (first graduate of the university to be given a post on the faculty).

1860	Engineering instruction discontinued by university.

1862	Morrill Act provided for military instruction on campus; university allowed to use military instructors to teach engineering courses.

1866	University again restructured, this time providing for a College of Arts which “shall embrace courses in the mathematical, physical and natural sciences, with their applications to the industrial arts such as agriculture, mechanics and engineering, mining and metallurgy, manufactures, architecture and commerce . . . ”

1868	Colonel W.R. Pease named first professor of engineering (professor of military science and civil engineering).

1869	University awarded first bachelor’s degrees to women.

1870	First mining courses held in basement of Bascom Hall.

1871 Jan	Major W. J. L. Nicodemus instituted full course of study in civil engineering. (He has since been dubbed “the father of technical instruction” at the University of Wisconsin.)

1871 Jun	Department of Mining and Metallurgy established. (Roland Duer Irving named first professor; first degree conferred in 1876.)

1873	First regular class in engineering (three civil engineering students) graduated.

1875	Mechanical engineering study introduced; Major Nicodemus appointed professor of civil and mechanical engineering.

1876	First mining degrees granted. (Twelve conferred before program discontinued in 1889.)

1877	Classrooms, drafting rooms, machine shop, steam and hydraulic power lab, and materials testing lab established in original Science Hall.

1877	Engineering Shops and Chemistry Building constructed.

1884 Dec 1	Fire destroyed Science Hall; engineering students forced to use cramped space in former dormitory North Hall for next four semesters.

1886	Machine Shop completed and used to house engineering equipment such as lathes, saws and forges. (Building demolished in 1968 to make way for Helen C. White Hall.)

1887 Feb	Engineering classes moved into new quarters in rebuilt Science Hall.

1887	Department of Pure and Applied Mechanics (which eventually became the Department of Engineering Mechanics) established with A.D. Conover serving as first chair.

1889	University reorganized again with Mechanics and Engineering being one of four colleges. (Appropriation of one percent of state’s railroad license tax, for continuous use of the College of Mechanics and Engineering, enabled college to greatly expand its work.)

1889	Enlarged program of instruction offered seven “systematic” courses: civil, railway, mechanical, mining, metallurgical and electrical engineering, and railway mechanics. (These areas underwent more refinement over the next several years.)

1889	Civil Engineering Professor C.D. Marx conducted experimental Mechanics Institute in Racine, Wis. (College’s first venture in outreach education.)

1891	Department of Electrical Engineering founded. Dugald C. Jackson served as first department chair (1891–1907).

1892	Charles R. Van Hise received first PhD ever conferred by UW–Madison (Metallurgical and Mineral Engineering) and made department head. (In 1903 he became university president.)

1895	Charles F. Burgess received BS in electrical engineering and appointed to develop an electrochemistry laboratory. Professor D.C. Jackson directed Assistant Professor Samuel B. Fortenbaugh to develop a division of applied electrochemistry within Department of Electrical Engineering, marking beginning of chemical engineering at UW–Madison.

1896	College produced first issue of Wisconsin Engineer, a publication which has remained in print ever since.

1899 Apr	Board of Regents approved BS in Applied Electrochemistry degree.

1899	Department of Materials Construction established. (In 1905, this area of study transferred back to Department of Mechanics.)

1900	First classes taught in Engineering (now Education) Building. Facility included drafting room, steam lab and materials testing lab.

1900	College again reorganized into seven course areas: civil, sanitary, mechanical, electrical and general engineering, and applied electrochemistry and premetallurgical engineering.

1901	Extension Engineering launched summer school for carpenters, machinists, sheet metal workers, and stationary, marine and locomotive engineers.

1903	General Engineering Course established to meet needs of business and industry. Course provided “fundamental principles and practices of some of the ordinary applications of science to modern industry. ”

1903 — 1937	Frederick Eugene Turneaure served as dean.

1904	Name changed to “College of Engineering.”

1904	Electrical engineering wing added to Machine Shops Building.

1904	Engineering and Commerce Course established for students on five-year plan.

1904	Scale model of UW campus, including steam engineering laboratory, displayed at Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis.

1905	Department of Chemical Engineering established. Charles F. Burgess served as first chair (1905–1913).

1905	Classes began in Chemical Engineering Building (previously the Chemistry Building) on Park Street, opposite Memorial Union. (Building demolished in 1968.)

1905	Hydraulics Laboratory erected along Lake Mendota, where it remains today.

1905	Agricultural Engineering Building erected (still home to this discipline).

1908	Summer Session courses offered for first time.

1908	Mining and metallurgical engineering degree revived.

1909	Faculty voted to abolish general engineering course.

1909	Former heating plant (now Radio Hall) became home to Mining and Metallurgy Laboratory.

1912	Engineering students inaugurated annual parade in honor of St. Patrick, patron saint of engineering. With law students also claiming Patrick as their patron saint, spirited rivalry between two groups grew in intensity. Many parades involved egg tossing from both sides.

1914	Engineering Experiment Station founded to assist industries in Wisconsin.

1914	Department of Chemical Engineering held first Summer Course in Chemical Manufacture, an undergraduate requirement that still exists today (now called Operations and Process Laboratory).

1915	Construction began on Camp Randall Stadium. Major additions made in 1924, 1940, 1950, 1957 and 1964.

1918	Under quota of Student Army Training Corps, college required to train 450 men as mechanics, shop workers and electrical and radio specialists.

1918 Sep 26	First Lieutenant A.E. Kelty (BSME ’17) became one of college’s first casualties of WWI while flying a photographic mission over Verdun, France. (Later received Distinguished Flying Cross.)

1920	Randall Shop constructed on present engineering campus. (Now “Sawtooth” portion of Mechanical Engineering Building.)

1925	Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) chartered to handle patents and earnings on their investments.

1926	Emily Hahn became first female graduate of college with mining engineering degree.

1926	Memorial Union erected.

1928	Charles A. Lindbergh, who completed first solo flight across Atlantic Ocean in 1927, received honorary degree from University of Wisconsin. (Lindbergh enrolled in College of Engineering from 1920–22.)

1931 Jun 22	Mechanical Engineering Building dedicated. (Department head, Gustus L. Larson, mechanical engineering’s first chairman.)

1932	Former Forest Products Laboratory building remodeled for Mining Engineering.

1933	Radio Station WHA goes on the air, thanks to the technological assistance of engineering students.

1936	Department of Instruction renamed Department of Engineering Economics.

1937 — 1938	A.V. Millar served as acting dean.

1938 — 1946	Francis Ellis Johnson served as dean.

1939	State Highway Commission of Wisconsin completed central highway testing laboratory on engineering campus. Forty-year agreement allowed university engineers to use facility for instruction, research and thesis work. In 1977, building remodeled to house computer sciences and physics. Building again remodeled in 1983 and 1987, becoming home to Computer-Aided Engineering in 1987.

1939	Department of Civil Engineering founded, consolidating five engineering divisions: structural; hydraulic and sanitary; railroad; highway; and city planning, surveying and mapping. Leslie F. Van Hagan named chair.

1940	College sponsored first Engineering EXPO as a replacement to St. Patrick’s Day parades, which had grown increasingly hostile.

1940 — 1945	Engineering Extension, along with College of Engineering departments, taught evening courses to help meet shortage of engineers and technicians in industry.

1941 May 1	Governor Julius Heil signed bill calling for compulsory military training for all able-bodied male students during their first two years of study at UW–Madison. (Throughout WWII, the College of Engineering and other departments trained 100 Navy officers in diesel engineering; 200 mechanics and 600 meteorologists for the Army Air Forces; 800 Navy aviation cadets, engineers and Marine glider pilots; and 600 civilian pilots.)

1941 Dec 7	Bombing of Pearl Harbor spurred massive changes throughout college and university: classroom schedules stepped up to permit earlier graduation; vacation periods shortened; curriculum changes made in technical fields to allow more practical and immediate applications of knowledge; fuller summer program inaugurated; Army and Navy take advantage of offer to use campus for any type of training.

1946	Polymer Processing Research Group established. Synthetic polymers played a pivotal role in World War II. Shortly thereafter, Emeritus Professor Ronald L. Daggett developed plastics program in Mechanical Engineering. Daggett attracted national attention in early 1960s for pioneering work on injection-molded heart valves.

1946 — 1953	Morton Owen Withey served as dean.

1947	“Temporary” Buildings constructed throughout campus to handle enrollment surge after WWII. Four remain on engineering campus, including General Engineering Building. Temporary buildings will be removed when construction of Engineering Centers Building begins in 2000.

1947	Engine lab established in temporary building (T-25). By 1969, when research activity moved to Engineering Research Building (ERB), lab had gained international prominence. In summer 1986, Army Research Office announced that UW–Madison was to receive grant establishing it as Army’s “Center of Excellence in Advanced Propulsion Systems.” In response to this major award, Engine Research Center established. (Award was renewed in 1992.)

1947	Three-volume Chemical Process Principles, by O.A. Hougen and K.M. Watson, published. (Remained an influential text for three decades.)

1948	Engineering Extension’s formerly separate departments of civil & structural, mechanical and electrical engineering combined into one department — Department of Engineering. H.E. Pulver named first chair.

1948	John Bardeen (BSEE ’28, MSEE ’29) co-invented transistor with two others at Bell Labs.

1948 Dec 11	Construction of a new Engineering Building began.

1949	Engineers’ Day established to recognize outstanding engineers and alumni.

1949	Professor Leonard Hillis of UW Extension’s Department of Civil and Structural Engineering organized first Surveyor’s Institute. (1949–50 formally marked inauguration of engineering institutes, with eight programs serving about 120 people.)

1950 Fall	West Wing of Engineering Building completed.

1952	“Center arm” of Engineering Building’s east wing completed.

1953	College initiated first teaching and studying abroad programs.

1953	At urging of Wisconsin industry, Department of Chemical Engineering initiated BS degree in biochemical engineering with Prof. E.N. Lightfoot in charge. (However, program proved unpopular and soon was dropped.)

1953 — 1971	Kurt Frank Wendt’s served as dean.

1954	Solar Energy Laboratory established under direction of Professor J.A. Duffie. (Emeritus Professor Farrington Daniels, a pioneer in this field, founded lab.)

1955	Annual Benjamin Smith Reynolds Award established to recognize faculty member contributing most to instruction of engineering students. Olaf A. Hougen named first recipient.

1957	Nuclear Engineering Program leading to MS and PhD in nuclear engineering established. (Curriculum leading to BS degree approved in 1961.)

1957	Electrical Engineering Professor Robert J. Parent teamed up with Meteorology Professor V.E. Suomi and other researchers in series of experiments to measure heat budget of Earth. (As result of such pioneering satellite studies, Space Science and Engineering Center organized within Graduate School.

1958	First PhD granted in Manufacturing Science.

1959	Jack St. Clair Kilby (MSEE ’50) co-invented integrated circuit, spawning microelectronics revolution.

1959	Curriculum for BS in Engineering Mechanics set up. (Previously, only graduate degrees offered in this field.)

1960	Professors R. Byron Bird, Warren E. Stewart and Edwin N. Lightfoot published “Transport Phenomena.” Text has since become icon for chemical engineering students. (58th printing in 1998.)

1961	Limnology Building constructed next to Hydraulics Lab.

1961	College-wide Engineering Computing Laboratory for instruction opened.

1961	Experimental nuclear reactor built.

1961	University Extension Division moved to new building on Lake Street. Engineering occupied seventh floor (and it still does).

1962	East wing of Engineering Building completed.

1963	University-Industry Research Program established.

1963 July	Department of Nuclear Engineering established with Professor Max Carbon as first chair.

1964	Graduate interdisciplinary program leading to MS, Space Engineering and Science established.

1964	Extension Engineering opened branch in Milwaukee.

1965	Wing added to Metallurgical and Mineral Engineering Building.

1966	Industrial Engineering MS and PhD programs established. (BS curriculum approved in 1968.)

1967	Extension Engineering merges into unit named Departments of Engineering, Mathematics and Applied Science, University of Wisconsin-Extension.

1967 — 1968	Ednor Rowe, known in scientific circles as “the father of synchrotron radiation,” created first electron storage ring, Tantalus.

1968	First computer controlled robot designed and implemented by John Bollinger (now dean) to weld car frames at A.O. Smith Corporation.

1968	Curriculum leading to BS in Agricultural Engineering established; PhD program approved in 1974.

1968	Several interdisciplinary graduate programs approved: Biomedical Engineering; Oceanography and Limnology; Engineering and Area Studies; and Water Resources Management.

1968	One of world’s first Rheology Research Centers established at UW–Madison with Arthur S. Lodge as founding director.

1969 July	Industrial Engineering (previously been part of Mechanical Engineering) became separate department.

1969	Engineering Research Building opened.

1969 Nov	Coordinating Council for Higher Education approved Professional Development Degree Program. Mechanical Engineering Professor George Sell named first coordinator.

1970	Interdisciplinary graduate programs leading to MS and PhD degrees in Water Chemistry and Materials Science established.

1970	Program leading to the Professional Development Degree (under guidance of UW Extension Engineering) approved.

1970	Department of Civil Engineering became Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

1970	Department of Electrical Engineering became Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

1971	Department of Engineering Graphics changed name to Department of General Engineering to reflect a broader curriculum.

1971	Union South opened.

1971 — 1981	William Robert Marshall, Jr. served as dean. (Had been associate dean from 1953–71.)

1972	John Bardeen (BSEE ’28, MSEE ’29) received his second Nobel Prize for Physics (with two other scientists) for developing theory of superconductivity at low temperatures. (He received his first Nobel Prize in 1956 (again with two others) for discovering “transistor effect,” which led to invention of transistor.

1972	Environmental Studies minor approved.

1974	College initiates MS in Biomedical Engineering.

1975	Two-story brick addition completed on Metallurgical and Mineral Engineering Building.

1976	Kurt F. Wendt Library opened.

1976	First U.S. program in technical Japanese translation established at UW–Madison with Edward E. Daub as director.

1976	Energy Technology Center introduced by Extension’s Department of Engineering and Applied Science.

1978	Ragnar E. Onstad Service to Society Award established to honor engineering teachers who have been leaders in contributing to the solutions of societal problems.

1979 Apr 25–27	First World Conference on Continuing Engineering Education held in Mexico City. Program developed by Professor John Klus and Judy Jones of Extension’s Department of Engineering and Applied Science.

1980	Byron Bird Award for Excellence in a Research Publication established; Arthur S. Lodge named first recipient.

1981 Jan	Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC) founded.

1981	Engineering Computing Laboratory (ECL) and Data Acquisition and Simulation Laboratory (DASL) merged to form Computer-aided Engineering Center (CAE).

1981	John Gustave Bollinger began term as College of Engineering’s seventh dean.

1982	Disaster Management Center founded by Extension’s Department of Engineering and Applied Science.

1983	Interdisciplinary graduate program in Manufacturing Systems Engineering established.

1983	Brewster Shaw (BSEMA ’68, MS ’69) flew on first of two Space Shuttle missions. (Other in 1985.)

1983	Transportation Information Center established by Extension’s Department of Engineering and Applied Science.

1984	University Research Park founded to encourage technology transfer and create endowment for research programs.

1984	Structures and Materials Testing Laboratory founded.

1984	University of Wisconsin Polymerization Reaction Engineering Laboratory (UWPREL) founded under direction of Professor Harmon Ray.

1985 Jul 1	Extension’s Department of Engineering and Applied Science became official department within college; renamed Department of Engineering Professional Development.

1986 Jul	College notified of $5 million grant from NASA to operate center for commercial development of space-related technology (then named WCSAR).

1987	Department of Nuclear Engineering became Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics (NEEP).

1988 May 31	UW–Madison named Sematech Center of Excellence; research focused on X-ray lithography.

1988 Aug 19	NSF announced UW–Madison would receive up to $12 million to establish Engineering Research Center for Plasma-aided Manufacturing.

1988 Winter	Department of Metallurgical and Mineral Engineering changed name to Materials Science and Engineering.

1989 Fall	Department of Engineering Professional Development transmitted first live satellite course.

1990 Spring	College granted first two “video” master’s degrees to students who completed graduate work by watching course videos at home, mailing in assignments and taking exams at special testing centers.

1991 Apr 19	Ground broken for new wing of Engineering Hall.

1991	Team of college engineers created first-ever working magnetic micromotors — smaller in width than three human hairs.

1992 Fall	Department of Engineering Mechanics changed name to Department of Engineering Mechanics and Astronautics.

1993 Jan	Most recent addition to Engineering Building dedicated; facility renamed "Engineering Hall."

1993 Oct 14	First check presented to fund Reed Center for Photonic Devices.

1994 Oct 21	Sculpture/fountain Máquina and Engineering Mall dedicated.

1995 Feb 23	Brainstorm: Schoofs Prize for Creativity launched. First winner: Tom Swetish, inventor of collapsible land yacht/iceboat.

1995 Mar 28	Gov. Tommy Thompson announced he would propose construction of $44 million Engineering Centers Building.

1995 Jul 1	Department of Engineering Mechanics and Astronautics merged into Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics.

1995 Jul 1	Johnson Drive, main thoroughfare of engineering campus, renamed Engineering Drive.

1995 Summer	UW–Madison chosen as home of $10 million NSF National Institute for Science Education; COE Professor Denice Denton and educational psychology Professor Andrew C. Porter named co-directors.

1995 Summer	College purchased Cray Supercomputer for Engine Research Center.

1995 Oct 20– Nov 3	Researchers from Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR) grew first food in space — potatoes.

1995 Fall/Winter	Plasma Source Ion Implantation (PSII) research group received share of $15.5 million government/private sector grant.

1996 Summer	Renovation began on Materials Science and Engineering Building.

1996 Sep 1	NSF funds kicked in for $10.6 million Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on Nanostructural Materials and Interfaces (MRSEC).

1997	Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics changed name to Engineering Physics.

1997 Fall	Environmental Engineering Option offered as part of civil engineering degree.

1998 Spring	BS and PhD programs in Biomedical Engineering approved by Board of Regents.

1998 Spring	New track in Radiation Sciences approved for Department of Engineering Physics.

1998 Spring	Board of Regents approved development of Master of Engineering in Professional Development (MEPP), a distance-delivered degree to be delivered by Department of Engineering Professional Development.

1998 Summer	Public received first look at architects’ renderings of proposed Engineering Centers Building, an education and research center for which construction will begin in the year 2000.

1998 Jun	Team of UW–Madison student engineers shared first place in national FutureCar Challenge, doubling over-the-road fuel efficiency of mid-size American car without sacrificing safety, comfort or performance.

1998 Aug	National Science Foundation announced Engineering Research Center for Power Electronics, a collaborative effort between UW–Madison, Virginia Tech, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, North Carolina A&T State University, and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.

1998 Aug	Trace Research and Development Center, under direction of Industrial Engineering Professor Gregg Vanderheiden, received five-year, $6.75 million grant to make information technology more accessible to people with disabilities.

1998 Fall	College began BS and PhD programs in biomedical engineering.

1998 Fall	New Master of Engineering degree (Polymer Engineering and Science) offered.

1998	Master of Engineering in Technical Japanese degree (METJ) approved; classes to start in fall of 1999.

1999 July 1	Paul S. Peercy begins term as eighth College of Engineering dean.

2000 Spring	Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering begins degree program in computer engineering.

2000 June 20	College breaks ground for new Engineering Centers Building.

2000 Fall	Alumnus Jack St. Clair Kilby (MSEE ’50) wins Nobel Prize for co-inventing the integrated circuit in 1958.

2000 Fall	Student Leadership Center established to foster interaction among COE student groups.

2000 Fall	College launches LINKS program, which joins freshmen in course clusters, which create student cohorts and "link" subject material across courses.

2001 Jan. 1	John D. Wiley, professor of electrical and computer engineering, named UW–Madison chancellor.

2001 Feb. 16	Dean Paul S. Peercy and Materials Science and Engineering Professor Max Lagally named to National Academy of Engineering.

2001 May	First undergraduates graduate from biomedical engineering department.

2001 May	Master of Engineering in Professional Practice program graduates first class. MEPP is the university’s first internet-delivered degree.

2002 Fall	NSF funds Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute with five-year, $3.5 million grant. WISELI is a catalyst for initiatives intended to enhance the advancement of women in science and engineering and to measure the success of such efforts.

2002 Oct. 18	Engineering Centers Building dedicated. The first new building erected on the engineering campus in 30 years, the facility officially opened for use in spring 2003.

2003 Feb	Materials Science and Engineering Professor David Larbalestier named to National Academy of Engineering.

2003 May	To reflect an increase in the scope of the discipline, and bring its name in line with research and instructional efforts, the Department of Chemical Engineering changes name to Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

2003 Jun	FutureTruck team wins national championship second year in a row.

2003 Jun	Concrete Canoe team wins first-ever national championship.

2003 June 25	The National Cancer Institute funds a $10 million Center of Excellence in Cancer Communications Research. The center is headed by Industrial Engineering Professor Emeritus David Gustafson.

2003 Fall	College debuts the Master of Engineering in Engine Systems, an online degree for professionals seeking to widen their training in engine technology.

2003 Nov	Industrial Engineering Professor Raj Veeramani launches the UW E-Business Institute to help Wisconsin industries develop a better understanding of how Internet-enabled technologies and practices can increase their competitive edge in fierce global markets.

2004 Jan	Several engineering faculty, including Industrial Engineering Professor Vicki Bier and Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Lawrence Bank, begin research as part of the newly established $12 million Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events at the University of Southern California.

2004 Feb	Materials Science and Engineering Professor John Perepezko elected to National Academy of Engineering.

2004 Mar	In only its third year of existence, the Clean Snowmobile team wins national championship, the Clean Snowmobile Challenge.

2004 Jun	FutureTruck team wins third consecutive national championship and Concrete Canoe team wins second consecutive national championship.

2004 Jul	Future Energy Challenge team wins American Tour de Sol Hydrogen Award.

2004 Sept	A $2.5 million National Science Foundation grant establishes the Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation to boost the number of underrepresented students who receive bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.

2004 Sept	National Science Foundation funding establishes the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center to examine templated synthesis at the nanoscale and explore societal implications of nanotechnology.

2005 Jan	To better represent the breadth and innovation of its work, particularly in health systems engineering, the Department of Industrial Engineering changes its name to Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

2005 May	Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Jeffrey S. Russell receives the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.

2005 Jun	UW–Madison Engineers Without Borders chapter receives the Mondialogo Engineering Award, an international initiative that recognizes engineering achievements aimed at meeting United Nationals millennium development goals and fostering intercultural dialog.

2005 Jun	Concrete canoe team wins third consecutive national championship.

2005 Aug	U.S. Department of Transportation funds $16 million National University Transportation Center on UW–Madison campus.

2005 Nov	U.S. President George W. Bush named Hilldale Professor Emeritus of Chemical and Biological Engineering Edwin Lightfoot as one of eight recipients of the National Medial of Science, the nation’s highest honor for science and technology.

2006 Feb	Professor Mary Anderson, who holds appointments in geology and geophysics, the Geological Engineering Program, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, named to the National Academy of Engineering.

2006 Mar	Mechanical Engineering Professor Patrick Farrell named UW–Madison provost.

2006 Jun	Concrete Canoe team wins fourth consecutive national championship.

2006 Jul	Several UW–Madison faculty and staff launch the UW Energy Institute, which encourages collaboration on energy-related education, research and service activities.

2006 Sep	Phase 1 of new Mechanical Engineering Building opens.

2007 Oct	New Mechanical Engineering Building dedicated.

2007 Oct	Engineering mechanics marks 120th year; the Department of Pure and Applied Mechanics formed in 1887, with A.D. Conover as its first chair. In 1997, engineering mechanics, nuclear engineering and engineering physics merged to form the Department of Engineering Physics.