Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1886 [PAGE 91]

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THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERS

Contains now four schools—the Schools of Mechanical Engineering, of Civil Engineering, of Mining Engineering, and of Architecture. The School of Mechanical Engineering is under the direct charge of the Eegent, as professor of that chair, aided by Assistant Professor Woods, engineer in the navy; by Mr. Kimball, foreman in the machine shop, and, in common with other schools,by Assistant Professor Talbot. The technical work of this school begins with the freshman class as it enters in the fall term. It finds work for two hours per day in the drawing-room, where instruction is given first in the use of mathematical drawing instruments, and in drawing of right and curved line problems., and in the elements of projection and the conventional perspectives. The pupil is at once put in the way to make and to read simple elementary drawings for shop purposes. The student has also two hours per day of practice in the machine shop. He is first taken to the wood-working room, to learn the elementary steps of sawing, planing, morticing and turning. He next goes to the blacksmith shop, and is practiced in drawing out, upsetting, bending in squares and rings, welding, etc. In the second term his work in the shop is at the vise, chipping and filing, and at the speed lathe, hand turning, etc. His drawing continues, in descriptive geometry and in lettering. In the spring term he has free-hand sketching; in the shop elementary wTork with machine tools, as planing, stabbing, drilling, turning iron in various forms, and screw cutting. In the sophomore year the students work three hours per day for three days per week, alternating on the other two days with drawing and designing of the elements of machinery. Durin,g the freshman year his work has been entirely instructional. The product of his work is not expected to have value beyond that acquired in the facility of using tools, and the training of the hand and eye. In the second year his work, now having acquired some degree of excellence, is expended upon some form of machine construction. To this end it has for a long time been deemed advantageous to have some piece of machinery under construction in the shops, usually a tool which is needed and which supplies a place which otherwise would have to be filled by purchase. In this way we have obtained the machinery now in use—the steam engine, the large power drill press, the milling machine, the large wood lathe, four small wood lathes, and various other pieces of smaller moment. Each student has a course of tool forging, tempering and grinding, so that he is competent to keep his power machinery supplied with cutting tools. In the junior year the student's attention is given to the study of the principles of mechanism and the study of applied mechanics. For drawing he has advanced descriptive Geometry. Two terms are given to Physics, with laboratory practice, and a term is devoted to the discussion of the materials used in engineering structures. Hereafter the term's work in the resistance of materials will be taken in this year. In the senior year the technical work is upon the principles of mechanism as applied to prime movers, including steam, wind and water engines, boilers and their setting, the link motion, etc. Two terms are given to construction drawing. Each graduate must design, draw and execute in metal some model of a mechanical movement, to be left at the University as an addition to the museum of such motions, useful in illustration and instruction. In this connection I desire to express the entire satisfaction I have felt in the service rendered to the University by Assistant Engineer Arthur T. Woods, U. S. N., as assistant professor in this department. Mr. Woods came here nearly three years ago, by order of the Secretary of the Navy, being detailed under authority of law to teach here the principles of steam engineering. His work has been done with energy, skill, and good judgment. Unless his services here can be permanently secured, which would be very desirable, he will be ordered to sea at the expiration of his detail, that is at the end of the current year, and his place must be filled by another instructor, obtained like himself from the navy, or from some other source. The course you will take in this matter must be decided at this meeting. An account of the work done in the School of Civil Engineering is given by Professor Ira O. Baker in paper C. The work in the School of Mining Engineering is given by Professor Theo. B. Comstock, who also gives instruction in physics. (Paper D.) The School of Architecture is described by Professor N. Clifford Bicker in paper E. Assistant Professor A. N. Talbot has aided in the work of the College of Engineers wherever his services have been most needed. He taught classes in projection drawing, descriptive geometry and lettering, trigonometry to engineers, analytical geometry, and will take the important subjects of topographical surveying and sanitary engineering during the spring term. He has shown himself well qualified to carry forward the work so thoroughly done by Assistant Professor Jerome Sondericker up to the end of the last collegiate year.

THE COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE

has as yet only the two schools of Chemistry and Natural History. This college has received an important impetus lately by the transfer to this University of the State Laboratory of "Natural History, and the office of State Entomologist, both under the direction of Professor Stephen A. Forbes, aided by a corps of competent assistants in each depart-