University of Oklahoma College of Engineering

The Stephenson Research Center located on Norman's south campus.

The University of Oklahoma College of Engineering in the engineering unit of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. It has an enrollment of 2,086 undergraduates and 2,193 graduate students,. In 2009, 257 bachelor’s degrees, 92 master’s degrees and 29 doctoral degrees were conferred.

History

Engineering College Deans

James Felgar, 1909-1937

William Carson, 1937-1962

Gene Nordby, 1962-1970

William Upthegrove, 1970-1981

Martin Jischke, 1981-1985

John Francis (acting), 1985-1986

Tom Love (interm), 1986-1987

Billy Crynes, 1987-1998

W. Arthur "Skip" Porter, 1998-2005

Thomas Landers, 2005-present

The college was founded in 1909, but engineering work started five years before that under the School of Applied Science. By 1908 formal programs had been established in electrical, civil and mechanical engineering under the direction of the school's first dean, James Felgar, who would lead the soon to be created college for 28 years. The college's first spike in enrollment came in the 1930's, when demand for natural gas and oil led to the creation of programs in geological engineering and petroleum engineering. Until the 1970's, engineering students could be identified by the slide rules which were carried in a leather case on their belts.

The college's main office are currently located in Carson Engineering Center, with many civil and industrial engineering classes being held in that building. Historic Felgar Hall houses mechanical and aerospace engineering, while the first three floors of the Sarkeys Energy Center are home to the school of chemical engineering. In recent years, the college has rapidly expanded beyond these buildings as to the recently constructed Devon Energy Hall, for electrical and computer engineering, and the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility, which provides students and engineering organizations large scale work space. Four of these buildings (Carson, Felgar, Devon and the Practice Facility) create an "engineering quadrangle" on the northeast section of OU's main campus. Many graduate level classes and research labs have moved to the recently opened Stephenson Research Center located on Norman's south campus.

Between 1998 and 2002, the college had negotiated dozens of licenses and patent applications, marketed more than 55 inventions and helped with the formation of 12 start-up companies.

In 2010 the college celebrated its centennial with a variety of events, including a symposium with presentations from several prominent alumni, as well as a keynote address by renowned humanitarian and Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson.

Traditions

St. Patrick, who among other things is the patron saint of engineers, has long been the unofficial mascot of the College of Engineering. Paintings of shamrocks can be found in many of the engineering buildings, and the week of St. Patrick's Day is known as E-Week, during which numerous engineering related activities occur. Since at least the 1920's, the college has crowned an Engineering King and Queen during E-Week.

The College of Engineering has a longstanding rivalry with the OU College of Law. Statues of owls in the facade of Monnet Hall, the former home of the law students, have been repeatedly painted green by engineering students, a practice that has been continued in recent years. For example, the owl statues on the law college's new building were painted green during E-Week of 2003, and a large banner was glued to the front of the building, causing several thousand dollars in damage.

Academic programs

The college grants degrees at the Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD levels. Engineering fields covered at the college include:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Architectural Engineering
• Bioengineering
• Chemical Engineering (standard, premedical/biomedical, and biotechnology)
• Civil Engineering
• Environmental Engineering
• Environmental Science
• Computer Engineering
• Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Engineering Physics
• Geological Engineering
• Industrial Engineering (standard and information technology)
• Materials Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Petroleum Engineering

External links

• OU College of Engineering
• 100 Years of OU Engineering