Our History: Roots of Greatness

NYU Tandon's long history of world-changing engineering

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering, which traces its origins back to 1854, is the product of a union between two strong traditions. We are the result of merging a world-class research university in and of the city with an engineering school dedicated to the premise that you can be born anywhere but made right here in Brooklyn.

At NYU Tandon students of every stripe can set forth on their journeys to gratifying careers, entrepreneurial success, and technological innovation — and, just as important, to self-discovery. Our alumni have gone on to found companies, traveled beyond Earth’s limits, attained boardroom success, and reached the pinnacle of their academic fields.

They share our core belief as an institution: that harnessing the power of science and technology will lead to a more equitable society and a greener, safer, better-connected world.

Watch the Story of our History:

 

 

The 19th Century

1854

The Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute is founded, as well as the NYU School of Civil Engineering and Architecture.

1879

Robert G. Brown (1868) revolutionized communication by combining the receiver and mouthpiece of the phone.

Robert Brown

1883

James J. Wood (1879) was responsible for the machinery that produced the distinctive cables of the Brooklyn Bridge. Arthur V. Abbott (1875) invented the coupling system for the bridge’s cables and a testing machine for the materials used in the construction.

Brooklyn Bridge

1889

Renamed the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

Polytechnic Brooklyn 1889

1890's

The U.S. Navy began using searchlights developed by Edward R. Knowles (1870).

The 20th Century

1907

The first woman, Anna Erdmann, received a Bachelor's degree from Polytechnic.

Charles Ranlett Flint

1911

Charles R. Flint (1868) formed the Computing-Tabulating- Recording Company, which was later renamed IBM.

Locks at Panama Canal

1914

Henry C. Goldmark (1874) coengineered the Panama Canal locks. He was later awarded a medal of honor by President Howard Taft for his crucial contribution to the project.

1942

Herman F. Mark, generally known as the Father of Polymer Science, joined the faculty and established the Polymer Research Institute.

black and white photo of Herman Mark sitting at his desk

1943

Pfizer began using a process developed by Jasper H. Kane (’28) that allowed for the mass production of penicillin.

1945

Professor and President Ernst Weber (‘58-’69) founded the Microwave Research Institute which developed electromagnetic and microwave defense and communication systems.

1950

William B. Kouwenhoven (’06, ’07) developed the first closed-chest cardiac defibrillator. He is also credited with discovering the efficacy of cardiac massage, the technique that would become a key to CPR.

1957

Eugene Kleiner (’48) helped found Fairchild Semiconductor, a pioneer in transistor and integrated-circuit manufacturing. Kleiner later co-founded a venture capital firm that provided funding for such now-iconic companies as Amazon, Google and AOL.

group of men in white shirts and ties sitting by woman at computer terminal

1958

The school officially becomes coed (although many women had attended and graduated during World War II).

Apollo Mission

1961

Thomas Joseph Kelly (’58) led the team that designed and tested NASA’s first Lunar Module used for the Apollo 11 mission.

1962

Francis Crick (Postdoctoral fellow with the Protein Structure Project during the ’53-’54 academic year) won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his co-discovery of DNA structure.

1967

Joseph L. Owades (’44, ’50) hit upon the formula for making the world’s first light beer.

Joseph Owades

1969

After Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, to the Moon, Jay Greene (‘64) manned the Flight Dynamics Console during the descent phase.

Jay Greene

1970

Handheld laser barcode scanner invented by Jerome Swartz ‘63, ‘68 and Shelley Harrison ‘66, ‘71.

1973

Renamed Polytechnic Institute of New York after encompassing the faculty, programs, and students of New York University College of Engineering.

Intel chip

1978

Intel’s 8086 chip was introduced; its chief architect was Stephen Morse (’63).

1984

Eleanor Baum (’64) became the first female dean of an engineering school in the United States, at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and 1995 first woman president for  American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).

Eleanor Baum

1985

Renamed Polytechnic University

wunsch builiding with polythinking banner

1992

Former professor Rudolph Marcus won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems.

1995

Martin L. Perl (’48) won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering experimental contributions to lepton physics.

Charles Camarda

1996

Charles Camarda (‘74) was chosen as an astronaut candidate by NASA and ultimately logged over 333 hours in space.

The 21st Century

2003

The American Chemical Society designated the Polymer Research Institute as a National Historic Chemical Landmark

historical landmark plaque

2006

Professor David Goodman is elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his contributions to wireless communications and digital signal processing.

2007

Paolo Angelo Nespoli (’88, ‘89) traveled aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a mission specialist.

Paolo Angelo Nespoli

2008

An affiliation is forged between Polytechnic and New York University, creating the Polytechnic Institute of NYU and paving the way for an official merger. 

2009

Ursula Burns (’80) was appointed CEO of Xerox, becoming the first African-American woman ever to head a Fortune 500 company.

Ursula Burns

2011

Judea Pearl ('65) garnered the A. M. Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery for his fundamental contributions to artificial intelligence.
 

Judea Pearl

2013

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Ted Rappaport publishes his seminal paper “Millimeter Wave Mobile Communications for 5G Cellular: It Will Work,” paving the way for next-generation mobile communication.

Ted Rappaport

2013

Noted physicist Katepalli Sreenivasan becomes the dean of the school.

2014

Merger with New York University becomes official — name changes to the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering.

Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon

2015

Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon generously donate $100 million and the school is renamed NYU Tandon School of Engineering in recognition of the Tandons’ generosity and their belief in the school’s mission and promise.

NYU Tandon campus aerial view

2016

CSAW, the world’s biggest student-run cybersecurity event, becomes international with competitions in India, the Middle East and North Africa.
 

CSAW participants at laptops

2018

NYU Tandon's Future Labs (a network of startup business hubs) reports an estimated economic impact on New York City’s economy of $4.06 billion since launching in 2009.
 

2018

Jelena Kovačević became the Dean of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. She is the first woman to head the school since its founding.

Dean Jelena Kovačević

2020

Professor Thomas Marzetta is elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his contributions to multiple antenna arrays in wireless communications.

2021

Professor Ted Rappaport, wireless telecommunications pioneer and founder of NYU WIRELESS, is elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

2021

Professor Zhong-Ping Jiang is elected as a foreign member of Academia Europaea's Section on Electrical and Computer Engineering.

2022

NYU Tandon rose to #33 in U.S. News & World Report rankings of best U.S. engineering schools, representing a 49-position leap from 2006, when it was ranked at 82.

Senior University and School leadership, elected officials, and friends of Tandon with sign saying "NYU invests $1B in engineering"

2022

NYU invests $1 billion in Tandon, including the purchase of 3 MetroTech Center.

2022

Professor Shivendra Panwar named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

Dibner Building facing the MetroTech commons

2023

Professor Elisa Riedo is elected as a foreign member of Academia Europaea's Section on Physics and Engineering Sciences.