Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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OftB (faul nm, 19 U Electrical Engineering iepartment ¥ HE uses of electricity have now become so diver- il L sified that the term Electrical Engineer means n less and less. A man to state his profession must state the particular branch of Electrical Engineering in which his work lies. In other words, we are in the age of the specialist, the age where an engineer although broadly an Electrical Engineer, is devoting his energy to some particular type or branch of Electrical Engineering. It is fortunate for the engineering schools that the fundamental principles of Electrical Engineering are generally applicable to its many branches without special- ization. If this were not true it would be difficult for the curriculum to keep pace with the demands upon it. The employer of today is not particularly interested in the special courses that the graduate has taken, but he is vitally interested in knowing if the graduate has a thorough grounding in the fundamental principles of his profession. Together with this knowledge must go alert- ness, resourcefulness and reliability. Therefore the func- tion and the purpose of the Electrical Engineering De- partment is not merely to give a thorough training in fundamental theory, but also to give the men these other requisites which are absolutely necessary for their ulti- mate success. The Electrical Engineer must have a comprehensive knowledge of certain subjects closely associated with Electrical Engineering, namely, Physics, Applied Me- chanics, and Thermodynamics. Consequently a very con- siderable portion of the student ' s time is devoted to the study of these important subjects. Aside from the train- ing received in these courses, they are a necessary intro- duction to the laws and principles governing electricity. The professional subjects in the Electrical Engineer- ing Course are broadly in two groups, one dealing with electrical machinery, and the other with the commercial application of electrical machinery. In the first group a study is made of the fundamental principles and the op- erating characteristics of the various types of electrical machinery, apparatus and measuring instruments. In the second group the student considers their commercial applications and the inherent characteristics effecting their uses. He also applies his knowledge of alternating current circuits to the study of Electrical Transmission of Power, a subject of increasing commercial importance. An essential part of the Electrical Engineering Course is the laboratory work which is carried on for three years. We are fortunate in possessing an adequate Machinery and Electrical Measurements Laboratory in which to give the important training. In the Laboratory work the stu- dent is not merely required to learn how to operate the different types of machines but to obtain their character- istics. This in itself is an important correlation to the classroom work, and the experimental determination of

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QJ lie OJaulbrnn, 191 r Mechanical ijEttnutcering Separtmcnt ? f HE Mechanical Engineering course at the Co- ll L Operative School of Engineering was started in H 1909 with four students, which was at that time just one half of the School. During the first years of the course there was no regular Mechanical Engineering In- structor, as no professional work was given until the third year. Mr. Penard taught thermodynamics in the evening school and the day school men had to attend the evening session for that subject. Mr. Penard also taught mathematics in the da) ' school which he continued doing until this year. In 1911 Mr. Albert L. Gardner, an assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology came to the School as a part time instructor, and the next year as a full time instructor and head of the Mechanical Engineering- Course, a position which he held until 1915, when he left to accept a position with the Fore River Shipbuilding Company. Mr. H. C. Mabbott took Mr. Gardner ' s place in 1915 and is now in charge of the course. At the present time there are twenty-seven men in the course, of whom seven are in the fourth year. This is the largest number of Senior Mechanicals since the School began. Next year there will probably be about the same number. The Mechanical Course has not increased in the earlier years as it should have. The training with some of our co-operating firms is excellent and in some of the machines shops the work and pay are equivalent to that of the outside man. The best thing about it is that when the Co-op gets his diploma he is ready to take a position of some responsibility instead of going through a pro- bationary period that the average college man has to go through. At the present time the opportunities of the Mechani- cal graduate are greater than in most other engineering lines. High labor costs has forced engineers to design labor saving machinery to keep down the prices, and there is still room for all the good men that the schools of the country can produce. But it is the man who com- bines practice with theory who gives the most to his em- ployer. Neither all practice nor all theory can get along by itself, so it would seem that the opportunities for our Co-operative man with a balanced judgment and educa- tion should be ever greater than the average technical school graduate.

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afte OJaulton, 19ir the fundamental laws and principles of electricity and electrical machinery is of great value. The laboratory work, however, goes farther, and the student is thrown more and more on his own resources as the work pro- gresses. Each experiment to be performed becomes an assignment of certain definite results to be obtained in the best possible manner. A complete and concise report is required on the proposed method of performing each experiment as well as a final report on the results ob- tained. Special emphasis is placed on these reports be- cause of the training that the student receives in the proper use of English. The men in the Electrical Engineering Course are par- ticularly fortunate in their work with the co-operating firms. The experience gained will be a distinct asset in the future. For the present they are brought into in- timate contact with Electrical Engineering as applied to manufacture, installation, operation, and maintenance of electrical machinery, apparatus and instruments. To them the commercial side of Electrical Engineering is not a thing of the future to be investigated after graduation ; instead it is a part of their college training.