Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn - Polywog Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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I Donald F. Othmer Chairman CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Seated, left to right. Professors: Bruins, Othmer, Schurig, Standing, left to right. Professors: Benenati, Chu, Naphtall By 1926 the American Institute of Chemical Engineers had approved Polytechnic's curriculum leading to the degree of Bachelor of Chemical En- gineering. In the years following, many changes occurred, until now, in 1958, Poly's Department of Chemical Engineering is recognized as one of the world's finest. When Dr. Rogers assumed the presidency, Dr. Donald Othmer and the late Dr. John Olsen were already at work revising and expanding the indus- trial chemistry curriculum. Prior to that June, there were but a handful of students enrolled in the Chemi- cal Engineering Department, all on the undergraduate level. The curriculum has evolved from a course in in- dustrial chemistry to a program which offers instruc- tion in all the important areas of chemistry as well as options in the important new field of plastics and nuclear chemistry. Dr. Othmer succeeded Dr. Olsen to the chairman- ship of the department in 1937. Shortly before, in 1935, Dr. Bruins joined the faculty as a member of the Shcllac Research Bureau. The Shellac Research Bureau has since become internationally known as the Polymer Research Institute. Poly's unit ops labora- tories-the model for scores of similar installations throughout the United States and Latin America-are the result of Dr. W. Schurig's exceptional abilities. The nuclear option, which includes courses in radiation chemistry and reactor technology, although first introduced in 1956, has attracted the attention of American industry. Although the nuclear option is designed only as an introduction to nuclear engineer- ing, graduates are being snapped up by industries which are working with the products of nuclear energy. Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute was one of the pioneers in the field of plastics education, instituting shortly after World War II an undergraduate plastics option which includes plastic -design and technology and the laboratory production of plastic. The ad- vancement of the development of plastic in the last decade has added to the undergraduates more than five hundred graduate students who have enrolled at Poly for advanced study in plastic technology.

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AERGNAUTICAI. ENGINEERING AND APPLIED MECHANICS Left to right. Professors: Visich, Panunzio, Bloom, Ferri, Ting, Libby. The Department of Aeronautical Engineering and Applied Mechanics traces its history to an aeronauti- cal engineering option offered within the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Dr. R. Paul Harrington who joined the Polytechnic in 1934 was responsible for teaching the courses in this option. With the ex- pansion of the aeronautical engineering field both Professor Harrington and President Harry S. Rogers saw the need for a separate department offering a com- plete curriculum therein. In 1940 the Department of Aeronautical Engineering was formed with Professor Harrington as its head. In that year Dr. N. Hoff joined the department. In its first ten years, the department developed an program under the leadership of Professors Harrington and Hoff In 1941 h . t e first two bachelors degrees were bestowed, in later years this number increased to 30 d academic and research egrees per year. With time, graduate programs leading to masters' and doc- oped and such degrees tors degrees were devel awarded. In 1946 the scope of the department was widened to include a l' d ' pp ie mechanics, thus the pres- .55sum-,,.1sf-M-s...- M-- J , In f , Antonio Ferri Chairman Left torigbt. Professors: Wan, Romano, Erickson, Kemp' ner, Pandalai, Patel. ent title. A modest research program in aerodynamiCS and aircraft structures was initiated in the earll' 194O's. In 1950, Professor Harrington resigned his positiO11 and Professor Hoff was appointed head. The growth of the department during its second decade has con- tinued. In 1952, Dr. Antonio Ferri, a pioneer ID supersonic aerodynamics, joined the Polytechnic. The undergraduate and graduate curricula were reorgan- ized and an extensive program of high speed aero- dynamic research was initiated. The number of stu- dents in the department increased until at the present the department ranks high in number of students. The research program is the second largest in the school, with expenditures of approximately II700,000 per year. Under the direction of Professor Ferri and with the support and encouragement of President Rogers, the Aerodynamics Laboratory was establiShCd in Freeport, New York. Several supersonic and hyper- sonic wind tunnels and a total investment of two mil- lion dollars are presently involved.

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Robert B. B. Moorman Chairman clvut ENGINEERING Front row left to right Professors: Pignataro, Stewart, Herman, Di Cicco, Veit. Back row, left to right.. J ' , , . - Professors: Moorman, Soehngen, Mikochik, Vall8rl0, Wright, C4355- The Civil Engineering Department is one of the oldest departments in the Institute having been installed in 1869 as part of the course leading to a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1887 a separate course of Civil Engineering was set up. In 1901 the first graduate program was set up and the first degree of Master of Science in Civil Engineering was given. Harry Hammond was head of the department from 1931 to 1937 when he left to become Dean of Engineering at Penn State. At the time of the installation of Dr. Harry S. Rogers as President, in 1933, the Civil En- gineering faculty totalled nine and the day and evening C.E. student enrollment approximated 35 seniors and 40 juniors. Under Professor Hammond the Department grew slowly but steadily in student enrollment, laboratory facilities, and additions to the staff. The Highway Laboratory was established the - 3 Sanltary and Hydraulic Laboratories were en- larged and some new graduate courses were in- troduced. IH 1957 Professor Edward Squire of the Class of 1910 was appointed Head of the De- Paffljllellt. During his term student enrollment continued to increase, a Photoelastic laboratory was inaugurated, new graduate courses insti- tuted and research under government sponsor- ship successfully undertaken. Keeping in PHCC with the increased student enrollment, the staif was increased to twenty-three members. ln 1951 the Summer Surveying Camp WHS set up at Cooper Union's Green Engineering Camp largely through the efforts of Dean Schalfner, Class of 1944. C.E. students are ac- tively engaged in the student branch of the A.S.C.E., the publication of 2 dePaft1FSIfta1 paper Strictly Civil andother school activities.. The Honorary Civil Engineering S0C1CfYv Chl Epsilon, was installed in 1949- I Upon the retirement of Professor Squire, DI- Rogers appointed Dr. Robert B. B. Moorma-H to head the department starting in the fall of 1957. I The big project now was the installation of the department and laboratories in the HCW buildings on jay Street. Space for all labofa' tories was enlarged and improved. The d.eParf' ment now has facilities for laboratories 19 Hydraulic, Sanitary, Highway and Soils Engl' neering as well as Photoelasticity an I grammetry. Part of the Soils Laboratorl' 15 de' voted to Geology. d Photo-