Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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Harold B. Smith, M.E., Professor of Electrical Engineering Professor Smith was born in Barre, Mass., in 1869, and is a graduate of Cornell University. After taking a post-gradnate course there he became Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering, in charge of the department, at Arkansas State University. He stayed at this school a year before accepting a position as head designer and electrical engineer for the Elektron Manufacturing Company of Springfield, Mass. After this he assumed the Professorship of Electrical Engineering and the direc¬ tion of the School of Electrical Engineering at Purdue University. In 1896 he came to Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and has since developed the then infant electrical department into its present well-equipped and highly efficient state. Arthur W. French, C.E., Professor of Civil Engineering Professor French was graduated from the Thayer School of Civil Engineering, Dartmouth College, in 1892. His first position was with the Tower Bros., Holyoke, Mass. From there he went to Denver, Colo., where he engineered the construction of the Platte River Paper Com¬ pany’s plant. He was later made assistant engineer in bridge design for the Denver Gulf Railroad. He left this position to become Asso¬ ciate Professor of Civil Engineering at his Alma Mater, which position he held until he came to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1899. Professor French is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education. A. Wilmer Duff, D.Sc. (Edin.), Professor of Physics Professor Duff is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick and, after four years’ study, obtained the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Edinburgh. He then spent a year at the University of Berlin, and in 1899 became Substitute Professor of Physics at the Univer¬ sity of Madras. After a year in this position, he accepted a similar posi¬ tion in the University of New Brunswick, and remained there till 1893, when he was called to occupy the chair of Professor of Physics at Pur¬ due. In 1899 he came to Tech as head of the Department of Physics, and has filled that position up to the present time. In 1901 the University of Edinburgh conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Science. 19

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William W. Bird, S.B., Professor of Mechanical Engineering Professor Bird was graduated from the Institute in 1887, and re¬ mained for three years as an instructor and graduate student. Upon the completion of his graduate work he took charge of his father’s foundry, and also became a teacher in the Prospect Union at Cambridge. He returned to the Institute as Assistant Professor of Mechanical En¬ gineering for two years, during the erection and equipment of the Me¬ chanical Engineering Laboratory, and at about the same time became President and Treasurer of the Broadway Foundry Company. He again returned to Tech in 1903 as head of the Mechanical Engineering Depart¬ ment, and Director of the Washburn Shops, the position which he now holds. Alton L. Smith, M.S., Professor of Drawing and Machine Design Professor Smith entered the Institute with the Class of 1890, after having received considerable practical experience in the machine shop of J. Duckworth Company of Springfield. After graduation he be¬ came an instructor in the Drawing Department, and in 1899 received the degree of Master of Science. In 1900 he became Assistant Professor of Machine Design, and in 1906 received 1 the title of Professor of Drawing and Machine Design, and became the head of the Department of Draw¬ ing. Charles M. Allen, M.S., Professor of Ply draulic Engineering Professor Allen is a graduate of the Institute in the Class of 1894, and after the completion of his course returned as an instructor in the Mechanical Department. He received the degree of Master of Science in 1900, and two years later he was appointed Assistant Professor of Experimental Engineering. At present he has complete charge of the Mechanical Laboratories and all experimental work in the department. Aside from his work at the Institute, Professor Allen is an hydraulic engineer of note and is a recognized authority on water-wheels and turbines. 18

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Joseph O. Phelon, M.M.E., Professor of Electrical Engineering Professor Phelon was born in Cherry Valley, New York. He was graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1887, with the degree of S.B. in Mechanical Engineering, and was then appointed assistant in physics. In 1890 he received the degree of S.B. in Electrical Engineer¬ ing. Having received the appointment as Fellow in Electrical Engineer¬ ing, he spent the year 1900-01 at Sibley College, Cornell University, and received the degree of M.M.E. in June, 1901. When the Electrical De¬ partment was formed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1896, Pro¬ fessor Phelon became Instructor in Electricity, receiving his appointment as Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering in 1901, and Professor of Electrical Engineering in 1907. Albert S. Richey, B.M.E., Professor of Electric Railway Engineering Professor Richey was born in Muncie, Ind., April 10, 1874. After graduating from the high school there in 1890, he took up the electrical engineering course at Purdue University, from which he graduated in 1894. In 1896 Professor Richey entered the employ of the Citizens’ Street Railway Company at Muncie, and in 1808 he was made chief electrician of that company. In April, 1899, he went to Marion, Ind., as chief electrician of the Marion City Railway Company. In October, 1905, he accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Electrical Rail¬ way Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and he became Professor of that subject in 1907. Arthur W. Ewell, Ph.D., Assistajit Professor of Physics Doctor Ewell is a graduate of Yale University, and has also taken extensive graduate work at the Johns Hopkins University. He came to the Institute in 1901 as Instructor of Physics, and later became Assistant Professor of Physics. Besides his training here, he has also spent some time abroad, studying under eminent G-erman physicists. He has spent considerable time in research work, and has perfected an electrical method for producing ozone which has been adopted in a number of industries. Doctor Ewell’s latest work is a book on “Physical Chem¬ istry,” used in the chemistry course. 20