Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge

The Department of Engineering is an academic department within the School of Technology at the University of Cambridge. The main site is situated at Trumpington Street, to the south of the city centre of Cambridge. The department is currently headed by Professor Colm Durkan. History Reverend Richard Jackson of Torrington, a former fellow of Trinity College, died in 1782, leaving a substantial portion of his estate to endow a Professorship of Natural Experimental Philosophy, which eventually became the Professorship of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics. This position was first held in 1875 by James Stuart. The first engineering workshop at Cambridge was constructed in 1878 in a wooden hut measuring fifty by twenty feet built in 1878, which was extended three times along Free School Lane by 1900, serving over 800 students by 1920. The department now has several sites around Cambridge: The main buildings are located at Trumpington Street and Fen Causeway on the Scroope House site, where most of the undergraduate teaching in the Engineering Tripos is carried out. The first building on the site, the Inglis Building (since extended and greatly modified twice) was started in 1920, following a large donation from Sir Dorabji Tata, and by 1932, the department had completely vacated the Free School Lane site. The Baker Building was built in front of the Inglis Building and opened by the Duke of Edinburgh, on 13 November 1952. Further wings were added later, the last one in 1965 including a 334 seat lecture theatre. In 1979, student numbers passed 1,000, before a major increase in 1988 when the undergraduate course was extended from three to four years. In 2016, the construction of the James Dyson Building was completed in front of the Baker Building, providing additional office space and seminar and meeting rooms for use by the department. Various sections that could not easily be accommodated on the main site have moved to the university's West Cambridge site, including the Whittle Laboratory (a turbomachinery laboratory founded by Sir John Horlock in 1973), the Geotechnical Centrifuge Laboratory, the Microelectronics Research Centre (1992), the Electrical Engineering Division Building, and the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM). A few of the smaller buildings on the Old Addenbrooke's Site, in Trumpington Street opposite the Scroope House Site, have been used by the department from time to time. Currently, the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership is in the end building of that site, 1 Trumpington Street, having expanded and moved there under its previous name of Cambridge Programme for Industry in 1991. Over the course of the next ten years, the department plans to consolidate the Department of Engineering entirely on the West Cambridge site. Notable companies and projects founded by students and alumni Full Blue Racing, a student run team which designs, builds and races formula student cars. Cambridge University Eco Racing, a student run team which designs builds and races solar electric vehicles. Innocent Drinks, best known for the Innocent Smoothie brand. Cambridge Consultants, an international technology development and consulting company. Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company, first manufacturer of the scanning electron microscope. Undergraduate education There are approximately 1,200 undergraduate students enrolled in the department, with roughly 320 undergraduate students admitted each year. All students are enrolled in general coursework during their first two years, which consists of mechanical and structural engineering, as well as materials, electrical, and information engineering. In their final two years of undergraduate work, students can choose to specialize in one of two concentrations (Engineering Tripos or Manufacturing Engineering Tripos), or receive a degree in General Engineering. In the Engineering Tripos, students may further specialise in one or more of nine engineering disciplines: Aerospace and aerothermal engineering Bioengineering Civil, structural, and environmental engineering Electrical and electronic engineering Electrical and information sciences Energy, sustainability, and the environment Information and computer engineering Instrumentation and control Mechanical engineering The Manufacturing Engineering Tripos provides an integrated course in industrial engineering, including both operations and management. Graduate education The Department of Engineering currently has about 190 faculty and PI-status researchers, 300 postdoctoral researchers, and 850 graduate students. Post-graduate education consists of both taught courses and research degrees (PhD, MPhil, and MRes). The majority of research students are enrolled in PhD programs, while around 10 percent follow the one-year MPhil (research) program. The department has a number of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs), which follow a 1-plus-3 year model where a one-year MRes course is followed by a three-year PhD. Full funding for four years is provided through these centres. In addition to the CDTs, the department has a limited number of EPSRC PhD studentships available for both British and EU students. Research evaluation The department was ranked 2nd in 2021 among UK engineering departments by the Research Excellence Framework (REF). The Department of Engineering was also ranked 2nd in 2014 by REF. Notable alumni and researchers Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Order of Merit Frank Whittle Christopher Hinton Ann Dowling Timoshenko Medal Recipients Richard V. Southwell Kenneth L. Johnson James N. Goodier Norman Fleck Notable people for their contributions See also Glossary of engineering Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford References