ECE Departmental History
The University of Texas at Austin had included electrical engineering instruction in the Physics school from the beginning, but it wasn't until the Department of Engineering was established on Jan. 17, 1895 that actual course work for electrical engineering was available. In 1903, the School of Electrical Engineering opened under the supervision of Prof. Arthur C. Scott. The curriculum focused on electrical power systems: power plant operation, transmission, and management of utility systems. This emphasis was fortunate for the state of Texas. The University and what became the Department of Electrical Engineering in 1910 trained many of the people responsible for creating the infrastructure that made a diverse economy possible. One hundred years later, when the National Academy compiled a list of the Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century, electrification was number one.
The department had a challenging curriculum. The first dean of engineering, Thomas U. Taylor boasted "there are practically no options, no electives, no lines of resistance, and no substitutions—nothing but the straight and narrow path of the grindstone of the beehive." Technological developments were incorporated into the instruction and soon the department offered advanced studies on hydraulics and turbine-driven generating stations, metal fatigue, electrochemistry, psychometrics, and refrigeration. By 1936, more than 18,000 miles of high-tension lines crisscrossed Texas.
In the 1940's, the department began to include classes on electronics, communication by radio and television, and microwave propagation. Research money started flowing into the department, primarily from the Government, and the Electrical Engineering Research Laboratory (EERL) was established. Researchers at the EERL focused on microwave transmission of radio signals, applications of radar, and microelectronics. Their research produced radio telescopes, something the Associated Press views as one of the three most significant American accomplishments of that century.
By the 1960's, ECE's curriculum included courses on analytical methods, biomedical electronics, fields and waves, management and production, physical electronics, information science, power systems and energy conversion, and computer systems. The department broadened its constituency to include working professionals and worked aggressively to attract minority and female students to the major. Two older labs merged and created the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL). Research at the ARL contributed to the development of geodetic positioning systems, the underwater acoustics used in modern oceanography, and improved methods of data management, data analysis, and signal processing. The ARL was also the genesis of Tracor and National Instruments which were both founded by ARL researchers.
In the 1970's, an influx of money from the Cockrell family, Government, and industry allowed the department to hire some of the most prestigious names in academia. The faculty now includes 10 National Academy of Engineering members and internationally recognized researchers and educators. For instance, the first silicon transistor was created at Texas Instruments by Gordon Teal and ECE's Professor Emeritus Willis Adcock. Jack Kilby, who invented the integrated circuit, reported to Adcock.
The department's partnerships with high tech companies provide innovation for practical use now-while its first-rate talent and facilities make it possible for researchers to anticipate technologies decades from commercial production. There are 5 research groups, 9 research laboratories, and 13 research centers studying artificial intelligence, electromechanics, image and video engineering, computer architecture, and much, much more.
The ECE department was instrumental in attracting Sematech and MCC to Austin. During the 1990's, Texas and Austin in particular became one of the nation's foremost high-tech centers due in no small part to the impact of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at UT-Austin.
ECE does not neglect its educational mission. Both the undergraduate and graduate programs consistently rank among the top 10 in the country. The department is currently developing new programs in Software Engineering and a Master's-level program in CMOS Circuit Design with an emphasis on mixed-signal integrated circuit design.
From the beginning, The University of Texas at Austin's Electrical and Computer Engineering department was a catalyst for the Texas economy. Its faculty, students, and alumni have made significant contributions to human knowledge and its practical applications. ECE has adapted to change while maintaining a rigorous curriculum and preparing for the future.
For more information, contact the Department Chair, Dr. Tony Ambler; ambler@ece.utexas.edu.