Stanford University School of Engineering

Stanford University School of Engineering is one of the schools of Stanford University. The current dean is Jennifer Widom, the former senior associate dean of faculty affairs and computer science chair. She is the school's 10th dean.

Organization and academics

The school of engineering was established in 1925, when Stanford organized the previously independent academic departments into a school. The original departments in the school were:

• Civil engineering, one of the original university departments (1891), later to become civil and environmental engineering
• Electrical engineering, taught as a subject prior to being established as a department in 1894
• Mechanical engineering, one of the original university departments (1891)
• Mining and metallurgy, established in 1918 and eventually disbanded in 1945

Departments added afterwards

• Aeronautics and astronautics, started as aeronautical engineering in 1958
• Chemical engineering in 1961 (split from chemistry)
• Computer science, established in 1965 in the school of humanities and sciences, but moved to the school of engineering in 1985
• Materials science and engineering in 1961 (originally known as materials science)
• Management science and engineering in the 1950s (originally industrial engineering)
• Bioengineering in 2002<ref>"New bioengineering major off to its first year". Stanford Medicine New Center. Archived from the original on 2023-04-28. Retrieved 2023-04-28.</ref>

Current departments at the school

• Aeronautics and astronautics
• Bioengineering (also in the School of Medicine)
• Chemical engineering
• Civil and environmental engineering
• Computer science
• Electrical engineering
• Materials science and engineering
• Management science and engineering
• Mechanical engineering

In addition, the Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering is an interdisciplinary program.<ref>"Stanford Institute for Computational & Mathematical Engineering". icme.stanford.edu. Archived from the original on 2004-01-04. Retrieved 2016-03-11.</ref>

List of deans

1. Theodore J. Hoover (1925–1936)
2. Samuel B. Morris<ref>"Samuel B. Morris". Chi Epsilon. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved 2019-12-26.</ref> (1936–1944)
3. Frederick E. Terman (1944–1958)
4. Joseph M. Pettit (1958–1972)
5. William M. Kays<ref>Abate, Tom (2018-09-28). "William Kays, former dean of School of Engineering, dies at 98". Stanford | Engineering. Archived from the original on 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2019-12-26.</ref> (1972–1984)
6. James F. Gibbons (1984–1996)
7. John L. Hennessy (1996–1999)
8. James D. Plummer (1999–2014)
9. Persis Drell (2014–2016)
10. Thomas Kenny (interim dean) (2016–2017)<ref name="EngKenny2">"Dean". School of Engineering. Stanford University. 1 February 2017. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.</ref>
11. Jennifer Widom (2017–current)<ref name="dean2">"Computer scientist Jennifer Widom named dean of Stanford School of Engineering". Stanford | News. 27 February 2017. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.</ref>

Department of Electrical Engineering

The Stanford Department of Electrical Engineering, also known as EE; Double E, is a department at Stanford University. Established in 1894,<ref name="25_01_2023_ee.stanford.edu/about/history">History, Stanford, 25 January 2023, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref> it is one of nine engineering departments that comprise the school of engineering,<ref name="17_09_1999_stanforddaily.com2">Rowe, Meredith (17 September 1999), "EE prof. to lead Engineering", The Stanford Daily, p. 19A, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref> and in 1971, had the largest graduate enrollment of any department at Stanford University.<ref name="21_05_1971_stanforddaily.com2">Eisler, Kathy (21 May 1971), "Program Trains Minority Engineers", The Stanford Daily, p. 4, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref> The department is currently located in the David Packard Building on Jane Stanford Way in Stanford, California.<ref name="2023_stanford.edu/people2">People, Stanford, 26 January 2023, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>

History

Early developments (1800s–1940s)

Stanford University opened in 1891, and within the year, courses addressing topics such as electrical currents and magnetism were being taught by professors such as A.P. Carman. Professor Frederic A.C. Perrine was the first faculty to teach the subject of electrical engineering at Stanford, in 1893.<ref name="25_01_2023_ee.stanford.edu/about/history" /> In 1983, when F.A.C. Perrine was appointed Stanford's first professor of electrical engineering, the program focused on central generating plants for electricity.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2">"Electrical Engineering Timeline", ee.stanford.edu/, Stanford University, 31 July 2012, archived from the original on July 31, 2012, retrieved 4 February 2023</ref> Frederic A.C. Perrine, in 1893, made an acknowledgement of gifts to Stanford's Electrical Engineering Department in The Stanford Daily, among them 30 horse power double reduction street-railroad motor, field magnets, and various machines from the General Electric Company and wires from American Electrical Works and New England Butt Company.<ref name="05_10_1893_stanforddailyarchive.com">"The Stanford Daily 5 October 1893 — The Stanford Daily". The Stanford Daily Archives. Retrieved June 20, 2022.</ref>

Prior to 1894, electrical engineering had been taught as part of the Physics and Mechanical Engineering curriculum. That year, the EE Department was established in the Engineering Labs.<ref name="25_01_2023_ee.stanford.edu/about/history" /> In 1894, the first undergraduate degree in electrical engineering was awarded to Lucien Howard Gilmore of Capron, Illinois.<ref>"Timeline of Stanford EE History". Stanford EE. Archived from the original on 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-06-14.</ref><ref>"The Stanford Daily, Volume IV, Issue 86, 30 May 1894". stanforddailyarchive.com.</ref>

In January 1894, the electrical engineering department proposed building an electrical railroad from the university to Palo Alto. Perrine gave the project to students, with the land having been purchased by private owners prior for a railroad that had fallen through. The design proposed no overhead wires, with the plant to be owned by Stanford University, and the engineering and management to be entirely constructed by the different engineering departments at Stanford.<ref name="19_01_1894_stanforddaily.com">"Electrical Road to Palo Alto", The Daily Palo Alto, p. Vol. IV No. 10, 19 January 1894, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref> A telegraph office was set up in the Electrical Engineering building in 1897 to act as an operator for the Western Union Company.<ref name="06_01_1897_archives.stanforddaily.com">"Quads", The Daily Palo Alto, 6 January 1897, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>

In 1898, it was reported that Perrine was taking a two-year leave of absence from teaching, but would continue to reside in Palo Alto and would still have charge of the electrical engineering department.<ref name="05_04_1898_stanforddaily.com">"Professor Perrine Will Not Resign", The Daily Palo Alto, 5 April 1898, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref> With the advancement of electricity, industry and employment opportunities proved plentiful for those with knowledge in the subject.<ref>"The Stanford Daily 2 May 1922 — The Stanford Daily". stanforddailyarchive.com.</ref> In 1899, Standard Electrical Company completed one of the world's longest transmission lines. Professor FAC Perrine was the engineer, and the following year, he left academia for industry.<ref>"The Stanford Daily 15 March 1899 — The Stanford Daily". stanforddailyarchive.com.</ref><ref>"The Stanford Daily 17 January 1900 — The Stanford Daily". stanforddailyarchive.com.</ref> When Perrine left in 1898, the department was administered instead by civil or mechanical engineering professors instead until 1905.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2"/> That year, Harris J. Ryan was named both professor and chair of electrical engineering.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2"/> Under Ryan, the department began teaching high voltage transmission of electric power.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2"/>

A branch association formed at Stanford University of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) in 1904, with membership limited to upper classmen in the Stanford Electrical Engineering Department.<ref name="28_01_1904_archives.stanforddaily.com">"Branch Association of A.I.E.E.", The Daily Palo Alto, 28 January 1904, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref> In 1919, Leonard F. Fuller earned a PhD degree at Stanford's electrical engineering department.<ref name="02_02_2008_ieeecincinnati.org">Morrison, Bob (2 February 2008), Scanning the Past: A History of Electrical Engineering, IEEE Cincinnati Section, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref> Primary faculty of the EE department as of 1923 included Ryan as professor, J.C. Clark as associate professor, H.H. Henline as assistant professor, and two instructors. Henline started the communications laboratory in 1924.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2"/>

In 1925, Stanford established the school of engineering, with all undergraduate degrees in engineering given out by the school instead of the departments with the new change. F.E. Terman joined EE as an instructor, introducing radio courses, and also in 1925, the department opened The Ryan High Voltage Laboratory, financed in large part by Los Angeles and the private power industry.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2"/>

Leonard Fuller returned to Stanford to serve as an acting professor of electrical engineering from 1946 until he retired in 1954.<ref name="28_04_1987_nytimes.com">"Leonard Fuller Sr., 96, Dies; Radio Pioneer and Inventor", The New York Times, p. 28, 28 April 1987, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>

Government contracts (1940s–1960s)

According to historian Piero Scaruffi, in 1946, Frederick E. Terman became dean of Stanford's engineering school, using his connections with the military and the Office of Naval Research to both start and fund the Electronics Research Lab (ERL). The Korean War in 1950 brought in a new infusion of funds from the Office of Naval Research, and Terman used the money to open the Applied Electronics Library, then opening the adjacent Stanford Industrial Park nearby for private business.<ref name="2009_scaruffi.com">Scaruffi, Piero (2009), A History of Silicon Valley - appendix, Piero Scaruffi / Omnipublishing, ISBN 978-1-5087-5873-0, archived from the original on 5 February 2023, retrieved 4 February 2023</ref> Terman served as head of the electrical engineering department and dean of the school of engineering until he retired in 1965.<ref name="24_11_1999_stanforddaily.com">Tucker-Mohl, Jessica (24 November 1999), "Terman Transformed Stanford", The Stanford Daily, p. Volume 216, Number 48, page 1 and 2, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>

In 1947, E. Ginzton in the EE department helped design and build the first Linear Accelerator. Also that year, a Joint Services Electronics Contract was signed, with the department stating on its website that the contract started "large scale Federal support of Department Research."<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2"/>

The department's Microwave Laboratory in 1949 was moved into a new building with Edward Ginzton as director, and was later turned into the Ginzton Laboratory.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2" /> The department opened its Electronics Research Library (ERL) in 1951, with HP and Gilfillan "significantly" supporting construction until 1956, according to the department.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2" /> An IBM 650 computer was maintained in ERL, which was the only air-conditioned room in the building. In 1955, the department held its first courses in digital and analog computing.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2" /> In 1955, Stanford merged the Electronics Research Laboratory and the Applied Electronics Laboratory into the Systems Engineering Laboratory, to focus on electronic warfare under Terman.<ref name="2009_scaruffi.com" /> According to Stanford, the Applied Electronics Laboratory (AEL) was constructed in 1958 to "support military classified research in electronic countermeasures."<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2" />

Gibbons Plan and AEL occupations (1960s–1970s)

John G. Linvill was appointed EE chair in 1964<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2" /> and subsequently built the semiconductor program at Stanford.<ref name="2009_scaruffi.com" />

In May 1966, after comments by Stanford administration about contracts, there was picketing by students at Stanford University protesting the Electrical Engineering Department's contract with the Central Intelligence Agency. Heffner kept the nature what he called "purely an engineering research project" secret, stating "we accept grants from donors with whom we do not particularly care to be allied, but we will not refuse a gift if its objectives are worthwhile."<ref name="03_05_1966_stanforddaily.com">Shapiro, Sandy (3 May 1966), "Pickets Invade Quad, Protest CIA Cotnract", The Stanford Daily, p. Volume 149, Number 51, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>

In January 1969, chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department John Linvill stated that the department would allow the enrollment of "minority group" students to study for advanced degrees in electrical engineering. In the Gibbons Plan, the students were only allowed partial credits, with their studies financed by their external employers.<ref name="07_01_1969_stanforddaily.com">"Minority Program Beings", The Stanford Daily, p. 4, 7 January 1969, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>

On April 3, 1969, 700 students voted to occupy the AEL.<ref name="06_06_2014_tjsl.edu">Professor Cohn Attends Stanford Anti-Viet Nam War Movement Reunion, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, 6 June 2014, archived from the original on 5 February 2023, retrieved 4 February 2023</ref> This formed the April Third Movement, a coalition of Stanford campus organizations, occupied the Applied Electronics Laboratory for nine days, in protest for Stanford doing classified work for the government. 1400 Stanford community members signed a statement of participation. At the time, the lab was linked with classified military electronics research and electronic warfare being used against the Vietnamese people.<ref name="18_02_2021_amazon.com">Siegel, Lenny (18 February 2021), Disturbing the War: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975, Pacific Studies Center, ISBN 978-0578803968</ref><ref name="14_04_2021_stanforddaily.com">Sigel, Lenny (14 April 2021), "Stanford activists 'Disturbed the War' in the 1960s and 1970s", The Stanford Daily, archived from the original on 5 February 2023, retrieved 4 February 2023</ref> The students of the April Third Movement occupied the hallways of the Applied Electronics Lab building, shutting down research for the occupation.<ref name="1969_exhibits.stanford.edu">Student demonstrations -- April Third Movement -- Applied Electronics lab, Stanford Libraries, 1969, archived from the original on 5 February 2023, retrieved 4 February 2023</ref> Students slept on the roof of the lab, with large nightly meetings.<ref name="07_05_1999_sfgate.com">Workman, Bill (7 May 1999), "'60s Stanford Activists Reuniting / April Third Movement, which protested campus lab's work, to hold event", SFGate, archived from the original on 5 February 2023, retrieved 4 February 2023</ref> The group also used the publishing materials in the basement to product documents linking Stanford trustees to defense contractors.<ref name="06_06_2014_tjsl.edu" /> The sit-in ultimately led to the school severing ties with the former Stanford Research Institute<ref name="07_05_1999_sfgate.com" /> and moving its military research off campus.<ref name="06_06_2014_tjsl.edu" />

In later 1969, the Applied Electronics Laboratory (AEL), was a part of the Stanford Electronic Laboratory, which was the "research affiliate of the electrical engineering department, especially in doctoral research." That year, AEL director William Rambo admitted after criticism and a sit-in protest that the laboratory was working with the Department of Defense in matters related to the Vietnam War.<ref name="11_04_1969_stanforddaily.com">Dawson, Thomas C. (4 November 1969), "Director Denies AEL Important in Vietnam", The Stanford Daily, p. 1, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>

In 1969, Stanford EE classes were broadcast to Silicon Valley by the Stanford Instructional Television Network for the first time.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2" />

In 1971, the electrical engineering department had the largest graduate enrollment of any department at Stanford University.<ref name="21_05_1971_stanforddaily.com2"/>

Recent chairs and research (1980s–2020s)

In 1981, R.L.White was appointed EE chair, with a number of successions over the next two decades.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2" />

In 1997, James Plummer became the department chair, as the John M. Fluke Professor of Electrical Engineering. He became dean of the overall engineering department in 1999.<ref name="17_09_1999_stanforddaily.com2"/> Mark Horowitz was appointed chair of EE in 2009.<ref name="31_07_2012_ee.stanford.edu2" />

Jelena Vučković was the "Fortinet Founders" chair of the department as of 2023, leading the department's Nanoscale and Quantum Photonics (NQP) lab.<ref name="26_01_2023_/web.stanford.edu/~jela">Jelena Vuckovic, Stanford University, 25 January 2023, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref> The department is currently based out of the David Packard Building on Jane Stanford Way in Stanford, California.<ref name="2023_stanford.edu/people2"/> Research is also done out of other locations at Stanford University.<ref name="26_01_2023_/web.stanford.edu/~jela" />

Degrees

The Stanford University Department of Electrical Engineering offers Bachelor of Science degrees with a major in electrical engineering, full-time Master of Science degrees, and doctoral of philosophy (EE PhD) degrees.<ref name="2023_stanford.edu">Programs, Stanford University Department of Electrical Engineering, 25 January 2023, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>

Degree programs offer some flexible options, such as coterminal BS and MS degrees completed in 5 years. The department has two joint degree programs. The joint EE MS/MBA degree is managed in conjunction with the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The JD/EE MS degree is managed in conjunction with the Stanford Law School. The department also offers online graduate certificates, and non-degree options (NDO) with four online certificate programs for graduate-level courses.<ref name="2023_stanford.edu" />

Research areas

Electrical Engineering is a broad subject. Stanford's EE Department presents their research in 3 core areas, and 2 interdisciplinary areas.<ref>"EE Research at Stanford: The Big Picture". Stanford EE. March 20, 2014. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.</ref><ref name="25_01_2023_stanford.edu/research/the-big-picture">EE Research at Stanford: The Big Picture, Stanford, 25 January 2023, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>

• Information Systems & Science
• Hardware/Software Systems
• Physical Technology & Science
• (Interdisciplinary) Energy
• (Interdisciplinary) Biomedical

Published work

In late 2021 a team in the department was working on ultra-thin solar cell technology, publishing in Nature Communications in December 2021, with co-authors including Nassiri Nazif and Alwin Daus.<ref name="28_12_2021_forbes.com">Kite-Powell, Jennifer (28 December 2021), "Stanford University Researchers Say Ultra Thin Solar Cells Could Create Longer Battery Life", Forbes, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 26 January 2023</ref> In December 2022, Yecun Wu of the department was a co-author of Observation of an intermediate state during lithium intercalation of twisted bilayer MoS2 published in Nature.<ref name="30_05_2022_nature.com">Wu, Yecun (30 May 2022), "Observation of an intermediate state during lithium intercalation of twisted bilayer MoS2", Nature Communications, vol. 13, no. 1, p. Article number: 3008, Bibcode:2022NatCo..13.3008W, doi:10.1038/s41467-022-30516-z, PMC 9151788, PMID 35637182, archived from the original on 26 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>

Notable faculty and alumni

Name	BS; MS; PhD	Notability
Stephen P. Boyd	professor	IEEE James H. Mulligan Jr. Education Medal, 2017
John Cioffi	professor	Marconi Award, 2006; IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal, 2010
Thomas Cover	professor	IEEE Shannon Award, 1990; IEEE Hamming Award, 1997
Abbas El Gamal	professor	IEEE Shannon Award, 2012; IEEE Hamming Award, 2016
James F. Gibbons	professor	IEEE Founders Medal, 2011; IEEE James H. Mulligan Jr. Education Medal, 1985
Andrea Goldsmith	professor	Marconi Award, 2020
Robert M. Gray	professor	IEEE Shannon Award, 2008; IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal, 2008
Pat Hanrahan	professor	Turing Award, 2019; Academy Award, Scientific and Technical, 2013, 2003, 1992
Martin Hellman	professor	Turing Award, 2015; Marconi Award, 2000; IEEE Hamming Award, 2010; National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2011
John L. Hennessy	professor; president emeritus	Turing Award, 2018; IEEE Medal of Honor, 2012; IEEE John von Neumann Medal, 2000.
Mark Horowitz	professor	ACM - IEEE Eckert–Mauchly Award, 2022; IEEE Donald O. Pederson Award in Solid-State Circuits 2006; founder of Rambus
Thomas H. Lee	professor	The Ho-Am Prize in Engineering, 2011
John Linvill	professor	IEEE James H. Mulligan Jr. Education Medal, 1976;
Teresa Meng	professor	IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal, 2019
Arogyaswami Paulraj	professor	MIMO wireless technology; National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2008; Marconi Award, 2014; IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal, 2011
Gerald Pearson	professor	National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2008
Jim Plummer	professor	IEEE Founders Medal, 2015
William Shockley	professor	Nobel Prize in Physics, 1956; IEEE Medal of Honor, 1980; National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2016
Frederick E. Terman	professor	IEEE Founders Medal, 1963; IEEE Medal of Honor, 1950; IEEE James H. Mulligan Jr. Education Medal, 1956
David Tse	professor	IEEE Hamming Award, 2019; IEEE Shannon Award, 2017
Jelena Vučković	professor	Humboldt Prize, 2010; IET AF Harvey Prize, 2019
Ellen Ochoa	MS '81; PhD '85	American engineer, former astronaut and former Director of the Johnson Space Center
Acha Leke	MS; PhD	founder African Leadership Academy
Rahul Panicker	MS '04; PhD '08	social enterprise entrepreneur
Marcian Hoff	MS '53; PhD '62	Intel 4004 - invention of microprocessors; National Inventors Hall of Fame, 1996
Stan Honey	MS	Emmys for technical and engineering innovations in sports TV broadcasts. (1) 1998 with ESPN football; (2) 2013 America's Cup LiveLine System won 2 Emmy's (first-down line and hockey puck).<ref>"Sally and Stan Honey: America's Cup couple". sfgate.com. 18 August 2013. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.</ref> (3) Emmy with America's Cup (2013).<ref>"Winners of the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy® Awards". emmyonline.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.</ref>
Ray Dolby	BS; MS	National Medal of Technology, 1997; Academy Award, Scientific and Technical, 1979, and 1989; National Inventors Hall of Fame, 1984
Kristina M. Johnson	BS; PhD	National Inventors Hall of Fame,<ref>"National Inventors Hall of Fame, Inductees". invent.org. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.</ref> 2015
Ralph Merkle	PhD	National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2011
Mark Dean	PhD	National Inventors Hall of Fame, 1997<ref name="1997_invent.org">Mark Dean, National Inventors Hall of Fame, 1997, archived from the original on 31 January 2023, retrieved 25 January 2023</ref>
William R. Hewlett	BS	National Inventors Hall of Fame, 1992
Joseph Jacobson	post-doc researcher	National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2006
Vinton Cerf	BS	National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2004
Bernard M. Oliver	BS	National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2004
Stanley Mazor		National Inventors Hall of Fame, 1996
Stan Honey	MS	National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2018
C. Kumar N. Patel	MS; PhD	National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2012