Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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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.

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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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Q[tp (Haulbron, 191T QHjcmical jjzngittemng iepartment ( r HE Chemical Engineer is essentially a modern 11 L product. Keen competition is compelling manu- H facturers to replace the old rule-of -thumb meth- ods by scientific control and to utilize as far as possible every product of their plants. Consequently, a rapidly growing demand has arisen for men who possess, in ad- dition to skilled chemical knowledge, the training and ability for the efficient control of plants and processes, economical utilization of power, the conversion of factory by-products into marketable commodities, and the adap- tation and design of mechanical appliances to carry out chemical reactions on a large scale. The training of such men, since they must be able to consider propositions, processes, and plans from the combined viewpoints of the chemist and the engineer, should of necessity be very broad, combining that of both of the above named pro- fessions. It was with these considerations that the course in Chemical Engineering was put into the curriculum be- cause it was needed to complete the ideal sought, which was to offer such courses as were fundamental to all lines of engineering. The accomplishment of this object was attained by the School undertaking to offer courses in Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical Engineering, all other engineering work such as Structural, Sanitary, Mining, etc., being really only modifications based on those four branches. The year the School started, only one student took the Chemical Engineering course, and in the succeeding early years of the School it was the course that apparently did not appeal to many students. In consequence of this fact the first graduating class of the School contained one Chemical Engineer, the second and third classes to be graduated did not contain any, and last year ' s class only three. This year there is only one in the senior class, one of our seniors having dropped out to accept a position as chief chemist of a large paper company. Owing to the prominence of chemistry and the chemical industries to which the war has given great publicity, that course is rapidly coming into its own and now the lower classes have a large percentage of chemical men in their make-up. This year we are co-operating with seven firms in connection with the Chemical Engineering course and could have more, had we sufficient students to supply the demand. It is interesting to note that statistics at the begin- ning of the present year, showed the various years of the School to have the following number of chemical engineers : First year 22 Second year 13 Third year 5 Fourth year 2 From the foregoing, it may be seen how the trend is more and more to make the Chemical Engineering course the big course of the School.