The John and Marcia Price College of Engineering at the University of Utah is an academic college of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. The college offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering and computer science.

History

The College of Engineering at the University of Utah originated from the State School of Mines, established in the 1890s. Dedicated to enhancing Utah's mining industry, it was among the first engineering programs west of the Mississippi River.

The first modern four-year engineering degree at the school was introduced in 1895. Joseph F. Merrill was the first principal and the Merrill Engineering Building was named in his honor. Richard Lyman was recruited from Brigham Young Academy to teach the technical engineering curriculum. Lyman organized the first Department of Engineering in 1896.

During the past 118 years, the College has awarded nearly 24,000 engineering degrees. Many alumni have achieved international recognition in industry, manufacturing, research, education, law, medicine and many other professions.

Some of the companies founded by graduates and faculty of the College of Engineering include: TRW, Evans and Sutherland, Silicon Graphics, Netscape, WordPerfect, Sarcos, Opto 22, Novell, Atari, Adobe, and Pixar, to name a few. Many other graduates hold executive leadership positions in companies and educational institutions worldwide; several also actively serve their communities in civic and governmental leadership roles.

Today, approximately 3,400 undergraduate and nearly 1,100 graduate students are enrolled in the College. The College has 156 tenure and tenure-track faculty members and $81.5 million in engineering research expenditures, which places it 30th among 206 engineering colleges for research productivity.

Accreditation The University of Utah is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

The College of Engineering is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education.

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology has accredited the following undergraduate programs in the College of Engineering: bioengineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, and mechanical engineering.

Rankings The U.S. News & World Report ranks the College of Engineering at the University of Utah:

#34 Biomedical Engineering (out of 107 graduate programs) #48 Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering (out of 177 graduate programs) #49 Computer Engineering (among 143 graduate programs) #51 Materials Engineering (among 95 graduate programs) #53 Best Engineering Schools (among 193 graduate programs) #53 Civil Engineering (among 145 graduate programs) #57 Chemical Engineering (among 126 graduate programs) #61 Mechanical Engineering (among 170 graduate programs) #74 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (among 100 graduate programs)

The American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) ranks the College of Engineering at the University of Utah:

#26 Computer science [inside engineering] degrees (among 171 schools) #34 Engineering doctoral degrees awarded (among 196 schools) #35 Tenured/tenure-track faculty (among 357 schools) #35 Highest ratio of research expenditures to doctoral degree recipients (among 126 schools) #39 Mechanical engineering degrees (among 288 schools) #39 Undergraduate enrollment (among 348 schools) #47 Graduate school enrolment (among 271 schools)

Departments The College of Engineering is made up of seven departments: bioengineering, chemical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, electrical and computer engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, and the School of Computing.

The College is also home to four specialty engineering programs including computer engineering, entertainment arts and engineering, nuclear engineering and petroleum engineering, as well as 28 multidisciplinary research institutes and centers.

In 2014, the College began offering data center engineering and big data certificate programs. The data center engineering certificate program prepares undergraduates for work in data center operations and management by combining mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science coursework. The big data certificate program draws on computer science coursework to provide graduate students and professional computer scientists the skills to process, analyze and manage large, complex data.

Biomedical Engineering

The Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Utah offers undergraduate degrees in Biomedical Engineering and graduate degrees in Biomedical Engineering. The Department has major research funding that supports initiatives in: BioDesign Biomedical Imaging Biomechanics Cardiovascular Engineering Molecular, Cell, and Tissue Therapeutics Neural Engineering

Many Biomedical Engineering faculty members are adjunct faculty at University of Utah School of Medicine, leading to several successful interdisciplinary research projects between the School of Medicine and the College of Engineering.

Chemical Engineering

The Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Utah offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in Chemical Engineering. This Department was recently ranked 5th nationally in federal research and development funding. It has major research funding that supports initiatives in:

Biological and biomedical engineering Energy and fuels Environmental engineering Multi-scale simulation Nano materials and technology Reaction engineering Rheology Systems and control

The Department of Chemical Engineering administers the petroleum engineering Master of Science degree. Launched in 2013.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Civil and environmental engineering careers are geared towards students with both vision and analytic skills. As engineers develop in their careers, they will be challenged to imagine new ways to support the needs of business, industry, public agencies and nations.

At the University of Utah, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CvEEN) engineers are trained in professional communication, project management and their technical discipline with opportunities to seek advanced degrees in engineering, law, business or medicine. The department and local industry offer paid internships, scholarships and employment opportunities to help defray the cost of tuition and living expenses. CvEEN offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and has major research funding that supports initiatives in:

Environmental Engineering Geotechnical and Construction Materials Structural Engineering Transportation Water Resources

The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department is also home to the growing Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP). Master's and doctoral degrees are offered to those holding a B.S. degree in engineering or a science-related field. Undergraduates can take selected courses as technical electives and in preparation for nuclear engineering graduate degree programs.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Utah offers undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering as well as graduate degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The Department has major research funding that supports initiatives in:

Communications and signal processing Control systems Implantable medical devices Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Micro- and nano- devices and fabrication Microwaves and electromagnetics Optics and optoelectronics Power engineering Semiconductors VLSI system design

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the School of Computing jointly administer the computer engineering specialty program.

Materials Science and Engineering

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Utah offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in materials science and engineering. The department has major research funding that supports initiatives in:

Biomaterials Ceramics Composites Nanomaterials Semiconductors and electronic materials

Mechanical Engineering

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in mechanical engineering. The department has major research funding that supports initiatives in:

Bio-mechanical engineering Composites Control systems Design Energy systems Ergonomics and safety Fluid Mechanics Heat Transfer Manufacturing Micro- and nano- systems Thermodynamics Robotics Solid mechanics

School of Computing

The School of Computing at the University of Utah offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science. The department has major research funding that supports initiatives in:

Applied computation Artificial intelligence Computer graphics Computer systems Program analysis Data management, analysis, and visualization

The School of Computing is also home to the Entertainment Arts and Entertainment (EAE) Program, which is the result of interdisciplinary collaboration between the College of Engineering and the University of Utah College of Fine Arts. In 2014, the EAE Program was ranked second for its undergraduate program and fourth for its graduate program by the Princeton Review.

The University of Utah was one of the original four nodes of ARPANET, the world's first packet-switched network and embryo of the current worldwide Internet. In late 1969, the U's computer graphics department was linked into the node at Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California to complete the initial four-node network.

The School of Computing has made important contributions to computer graphics and computer animation. These contributions include: Gouraud shading, the Phong reflection model, the Phong shading method, and the rendering equation.

The School of Computing is also affiliated with the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, which focuses on research in visualization, scientific computing, and medical image analysis. The institute currently has over 200 faculty and staff, most of which are from the School of Computing or Bioengineering departments.

Buildings

Warnock Engineering Building The John and Marva Warnock Engineering building (referred to as the WEB) houses the offices of the College of Engineering. It also is the home of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute and numerous classrooms and study rooms. The building was named after noted computer scientist Dr. John E. Warnock and his wife Marva Warnock, both of whom graduated from the University of Utah. Dr. Warnock pioneered the development of world-renowned graphics, publishing, Web and electronic document technologies and co-founded Adobe Systems Inc. in 1982. The Warnocks' major donation in 2003 enabled completion of the 100,000-square-foot Warnock Engineering Building in 2007. Some additional funding for the project came from the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation. Construction on the building was completed in 2007.

The Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute is located in the WEB.

The primary goal for building the WEB was to provide study space for students. The building is composed mainly of study rooms, classrooms, computer labs, and open spaces. The WEB is also home to the College of Engineering Dean's Office.

Civil and Materials Engineering The Civil and Materials Engineering Building (referred to as the CME) is home to the Materials Science and Engineering Department and the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.

Kennecott Building The Kennecott Building (referred to as Kenn) was built with generous support from Kennecott, operator of the Bingham Canyon Mine.