Stevens Institute of Technology - Link Yearbook (Hoboken, NJ)

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E15 Qui' Alumni TEVENS-What does this name mean to us? Is it simply a word used to distinguish one particular family from millions of others, or has that family and those later associated with the name distinguished it? Is it merely another of the commonplace words encountered in the course of daily events, or is it a symbol of the best that can be had in the way of engineering ability? Does it mean to us a place whence one, after having studied diligently and obtained the coveted degree, may go forth and lose himself in the tumult of daily life, or does it bring to our minds a clear picture of the contributions made by Stevens graduates to the welfare and progress of the country? All Stevens men, both alumni and undergraduates, are justly proud of their Alma Mater, but only those who have had the time to study the records of our alumni can fully and sensibly appreciate the achievements of Stevens graduates. This article is therefore written with the purpose of portraying what Stevens men have accomplished, in order that their splendid work may be understood and appreciated, and that we undergraduates may better comprehend the goal we must strive to reach if we, in our turn, are to uphold the name of our Alma Mater. Let us first review briefly the history of the founding of Stevens, the first college of mechanical engineering established in this country. When Dr. Henry Morton, a young but prominent scientist, was called upon to become president of the new institution of learning which was to be founded in accordance with the will of Edwin A. Stevens, he clearly foresaw the .need of a school for the training of young men to introduce scientific and efficient principles into the all too crude and wasteful methods of industry then in usage. It was therefore decided by the Board of Trustees and President Morton that the new institution should be a school of Mechanical Engineering. For the original faculty, President Morton called together seven promising men of the time, all of them young and enthusiastic in their work. These men had no text books to guide them-they were compelled to rely on their own re- sources to meet the constantly changing problems of science. But by constant experimenting they gradually envolved a broad basic course of study such as would fit a graduate to enter and successfully develop in any branch of engineering. The number of men to be graduated with the early classes was rather small, due not so much to limited attendance as to the fact that the secondary schools of the time were not sufficiently prepared to send forth men who could successfully take up the training that President Morton and his associates felt was necessary to equip young men for the places they were desired to fill in practical engineering and manufacturing work.' In view of the excellent training received by the select few that were graduated, it would be expected that they would accomplish great things. This expectation is fully justified, for Stevens graduates have occupied the highest places in gas works engineering and management, electrical engineering, heating and ventilating engineering, telephony and telegraphy, radio engineering, railroad engineering, hydraulic engineering, efficiency engineering and scores of 8 2 E

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'H IEQ 2 2 ,gs other lines. In proof of this statement, a numberof 1 specific examples will be given. As is inevitable in an article of this nature, the names of many men of accom- plishment must be omitted, not because of a lack of appreciation but on account of' the extent of the field to be covered in the limited available space. One of the most striking figures in the history of the development of the illuminating gas industry in this country is Dr. Alexander C. Humphreys, President of Stevens, consulting engineer, administrator and educator. While pursuing the course of studies here, he was super- intendent of the Bayonne 81. Greenville Gas Light Com- pany and was married and maintaining his home. Although he was able to attend lectures at the DR.A.,.-,,m,l,,mEYS Institute only two mornings a week, he completed the course in the prescribed four years, being graduated with high honors in 1881. During the next twenty years he rose to the highest place in the gas making indus- try of this country, becoming in turn Chief Engineer of the Pintsch Lighting Com- pany, New York, General Superintendent and Chief Engineer of the United Gas Improvement Company, Philadelphia, Senior Member of the firm Humphreys 8: Glasgow, London and New York, President of Humphreys th Miller, Inc., New York and President of the Buffalo Gas Company, Buffalo, New York. In 1902 Dr. Humphreys was unanimously chosen to succeed Dr. Henry Morton as President of Stevens and he has since ably filled the position, his administra- tion being marked by the same energy, high character and ability which carried him to his earlier achievements. I-Ie has received, altogether, honorary degrees from eight colleges, and has risen in the estimation of his fellow countrymen to the extent of being called upon to serve as President of the American Society of Mc- chanical Engineers, The Engineers' Club, The American Gas Institute, and the International Gas Congress. Early in 1891, John F. Kelly CPh. D. '78j, recognized as one of the foremost electrical engineers of the world, pointed out the detrimental effects of lagging currents .on alternating-current power and lighting circuits, and in the following year he showed how to overcome these effects. He was probably the first to suc- ceed in shaping scientifically the poles of alternators to obtain a predetermined e. m. f'. wave. He has always advocated the employment of high voltages in trans- mission work and has designed power plants on this principle. Mr. Kelly has re- ceived over ninety U. S. patents covering apparatus for generating, transmitting, distributing and measuring electricity. He is President, Telelectric Company, Pittsfield, Mass., and a Fellow of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Prof. Albert Frederick Ganz, '95 Cdeceased, 19172, was a national authority on the subject of methods for lessening corrosion of underground structures by electrolysis. He contributed many valuable scientific papers to technical societies and journals, among these being the theory of Electrolytic Corrosion, Notes on the Protection of Underground Pipes from Electrolysisg Electrolytic Corrosion of 9 Fl ll I