A Brief History

The Departments of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto

by Andreas Mandelis, Professor

The Departments

The department of Mechanical Engineering came to being as the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering (itself an evolution of the "School of Practical Science, SPS, established in 1871) developed specializations in 1890. The first five departments thus established were Civil, Mechanical, Architecture, Applied Chemistry and Mining Geology. In 1906 the Department became independent of other disciplines and specialized in hydraulic engineering, heat engineering, machine design and electrical engineering. Electrical engineering became an independent department in 1913. A long- standing commitment to hydraulic and open-channel flows was spearheaded by Professor Robert Angus (1873-1960), the first Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Head of the department for many years (1907-1944). In terms of building facilities, Mechanical Engineering witnessed two expansions: one in 1908 (The "Old Wing") and a second major expansion in its present building in 1947 (The "New Wing").

Industrial Engineering has its roots in Mechanical Engineering. The new Head, Professor E. A. Allcut encouraged the growth of the discipline as he himself had substantial industrial experience and interest in scientific management. In 1945 he instituted a new program, Engineering and Business, which sought to combine the industrial engineering and management principles. The program became very popular and evolved into Industrial Engineering, which was established in 1959 as a separate teaching department.

Teaching and Research

Until 1955 only two universities in Ontario, Queen's and Toronto, offered engineering degrees as teaching institutions. Research was considered a "recreational activity" pursued by the occasional professor. Departmental interest in graduate work was also quite low. As recently as 1950 no particular relief from undergraduate teaching and other duties was allowed in compensation for research time. Understandably, the number of publications was low. Staff were judged primarily on their teaching abilities. In the post- war era, however, research developed rapidly and on a broad base. Research was first accepted, then encouraged and by 1965 effectively demanded of the newly appointed staff members. The quality of their work since then has been measured largely by international peer-reviewed publications.

Contract research was virtually excluded until about 1970: earlier than that it was seen as too restrictive upon the freedom of investigation appropriate to a university scholar. The main sources of funding until then had been NRC and later NSERC.

Origins of Departmental Research Culture

Professor Angus dominated the Department during its first half century. He was born in Canada into a family already known in engineering. One if its earliest graduates, he began to teach in the Department in 1897, and the Department knew no other head until his retirement in his 71st year in 1944. He lectured and wrote on machine design, thermodynamics and hydraulics, but it was in pumps, turbines and waterhammer that he won international recognition. He was regarded by many as the most distinguished Canadian mechanical engineer of his day. But he was an austere man, not easy to like, and frugal to the extent that he severely limited departmental expenditures. In so doing, he limited the growth of staff with consequences still felt years later. Nevertheless, he set high standards for himself and others, and he established an expectation of excellence which survives. The large emphasis on hydraulic engineering in the 60s and 70s was largely due to his influence.

Professor E. A. Allcut who succeeded Angus concentrated on research on thermal insulation and fuel substitution and made effective efforts to have the New Wing built in 1947. As Head he unified and expanded the staff, authored four books, pioneered air pollution studies, was an early advocate of scientific management and became the father of the Department of Industrial Engineering.

Following Allcut's retirement n 1956, Professor G. Ross Lord became the last Head of the department. All subsequent leadership ever since has been provided by Chairpersons appointed for limited terms of office. Lord's main research was on studies on cavitation, dams and flood control.

History of Degree Granting

1890: A three-year undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Diploma. First recipient: R. A. Ross in 1890.

1893: The first B.A.Sc. degree was awarded to W. A. Lea.

1913: The M.A.Sc program was introduced and awarded to W.P. Dobson in 1916.

1927-28: The Ph.D. program was established.

1939: The first Ph.D. degree was conferred to G. Ross Lord (3rd Head of the Department) for his thesis entitled: "Investigation of Cavitation in Water with regard to Machines".

1967: The M. Eng. Degree program was introduced.

A Snap-shot in Time of the Graduate Programs: 1971-72

Mechanical Engineering at that time had 23 graduate faculty members:

• A.H. Abdelmessih, A.B. Allan, D.I. Allen, J.S. Ansari, W.D. Baines (Chair), I.G. Currie, R.G. Fenton, R.C. Flanagan, G.E. Godfrey, F.C. Hooper, D.F. James, J.F. Keffer, V. Klemens, H.J. Leutheusser, D. McCammond, F.P.J. Rimrott, D.S. Scott, P.S. Shen, I.W. Smith, B. Tabarrok, J. Vande Vegte, and C.A. Ward

The graduate program was open to qualified candidates for specialized study in Fluid Mechanics, Hydraulics, Hydrology, Water Resources, Combustion, Heat Transmission, Air Pollution, Plasma Engineering, Cryogenics, Thermodynamics, Stress Analysis, Vibrations, Control Systems and other special topics.

The degree of Master of Engineering required six courses including one in advanced mathematics. A study project might be assigned in lieu of two of the six courses.

The degree of Master of Applied Science normally included three courses at the graduate level and a research project leading to the submission of a suitable thesis. Except in special circumstances one lecture course must be in advanced mathematics.

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy required entering students to provide evidence of marked research ability. There were no foreign language requirements, however, each candidate was required to successfully complete the equivalent of four courses (effectively a core):

• Dynamics
• Solid Mechanics
• Thermodynanics
• Fluid Mechanics

The list of graduate courses of that time indicates that the graduate program was strong in water resources, hydraulics and controls.

Industrial Engineering at that time had 13 graduate faculty members:

• J. Abrham, J.W. Abrams, R.W.P. Anderson, B. Bernholtz (Chairman), J.I. Buzacott, S.H. Cohn, A.A. Cunningham, P.J. Foley, T.A. Lambe, A. Porter, M.J.M. Posner, J.G.C. Templeton, and I.B. Turksen

The graduate research program offered opportunities in Human Factors Engineering, Operational Research and Management Science, Computers and Information Systems, Queuing Theory, Applied Statistics, Mathematical Programming, Production and Inventory Control, Engineering Economic Systems, Operational Research in Health Care Delivery, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, and in Educational Sciences.

The degree of Master of Applied Science Was offered to candidates who would concentrate from the beginning in one of the areas: Operational Research/Management Science or Information Systems. Those candidates who did not possess an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering could make up for missing foundations by spending more time on a larger number of required courses.

The degree of Master of Engineering was offered in the area of Operational Research/Management Science or Information Systems.

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy was offered to candidates who showed evidence of their ability to work independently at an advanced level. The candidate must have a satisfactory knowledge of at least one language other than English in which a considerable technical literature in Industrial Engineering existed.