about / history

The College of Engineering was established in 1910 under the leadership of its first dean, John R. Benton, who served for the next 20 years. In 1917, chemical engineering joined the curriculum and the College was engaged in military training. Graduate programs were established in 1928, offering master's degrees in chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. In 1955, the first woman received a UF engineering graduate degree. Two years later, Dean Joseph Weil helped usher in construction of one of the first university-based research and training nuclear reactors. In 1973, Wayne H. Chen took the helm of the College. Dean Chen tripled enrollment and dramatically increased researching funding during his 15-year leadership. Beginning in 1988, Dean Winfred Phillips led the College into a new era of expanded research programs and first quality engineering education. Dean Pramod Khargonekar now leads the College into the top tier of nationally ranked engineering programs.

The College of Engineering is the largest professional school, the second largest college and one of the three largest research units at the University of Florida. Interdisciplinary research programs such as the Particle Engineering Research Center and the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering have faculty from various disciplines in research endeavors. Members of the engineering faculty collaborate with colleagues in disciplines, including chemistry, dentistry, forest resources, geography, geology, mathematics, medicine, physics, psychology, speech and zoology.

The curricula of the College of Engineering is planned to produce highly skilled engineers and provide each student with a broad range of degree and career choices. The College ranked 17th in the nation in undergraduate engineering programs and 14th in graduate engineering programs among public institutions. The College also granted a record 187 Ph.D. candidates last year. Part of the College's strength lies with the amount of research expenditures this past year, which exceeded $108 million — a record for the College.