Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science is a school of Columbia University which awards degrees in mathematics, engineering, physics and applied science. Formerly known as the School of Mines and then the School of Mines, Engineering and Chemistry, it was the United States's first mining school. When Chinese businessman Z. Y. Fu gave $26 million to the Columbia Engineering School, it was renamed in his honor on October 1, 1997. On campus the school is known by many names, including "SEAS" and "the engineering school."
Today the school is known for its ongoing research and numerous patents. It is the only academic institution to hold a share of the patents for MPEG-2.
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History
Initial home of the Manhattan Project and home of Columbia's new High-Beta Tokamak (HBT), the school of engineering has a reputation for innovation in nuclear engineering.
Academics
The selectivity of the SEAS application process is on par with other top-tier schools. Students' average standardized test scores are in a similar range as those of MIT or other top engineering schools, with SAT math scores usually 720-800. Also, 90% of SEAS students ranked in the top ten percent of their high school graduating class. Similar to the Columbia College requirements, there is a rigorous set of required "core classes". The first-year core classes typically consist of a semester or more of classes in each of these disciplines:
- Calculus
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Computer Science
- University Writing
- Advanced Design Fundamentals (Gateway)
- Chemistry or Physics Lab
- Physical Education
In addition to having technical required classes, engineers are required to take 29 credits of "non-technical" classes. This is often much more than other comparable engineering schools require.
Inside the engineering school, all classes (including introductory first-year classes) are taught by professors. While graduate students may teach recitation sections, all credited classes are taught by faculty. On average, the student to professor ratio in SEAS is 16:1.
Many students participate in collegiate design competitions. For example, 30% of the mechanical engineering students are in either Solar Splash (Solar Boating) or the Formula-One SAE competition.
Facilities
Columbia's Plasma Physics Laboratory is part of the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), in which the HBT and Columbia Non-Neutral Torus are housed.
The school also has two wind tunnels, a machine shop , a nanotechnology laboratory, a General Electric nuclear fission reactor, and an axial tester commonly used for testing New York City bridge cables. Each department has numerous laboratories on the Morningside Heights campus; however, other departments have holdings thoughout the world. For example, the Applied Physics department has reactors at Nevis Labs in Irvington, NY and conducts work with CERN in Geneva.
New objectives
- In recent years, the engineering school has reworked its curriculum scheme, with the novel Gateway Lab course.
Alumni
Famous Alumni
- Michael Pupin (1883, Inventor of the 'Pupin Coil')
- Irving Langmuir (1903, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1932)
- Edwin Armstrong (1913, Inventor of the FM transmission method)
- Joseph Engelberger (1946, Father of modern robotics)
- John Stevens (1768, Inventor of screw propeller, built first steam locomotive)
- William Parsons (1882, Chief Engineer of New York City's subway system)
Programs
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Program in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, sharing teaching and research with the faculty from Henry Krumb School of Mines.
- APAM Webpage
- Program Webpage
- Computer Engineering
- Administered by both the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Departments through a joint Computer Engineering Committee.
- Webpage
Departments
Specialized centers
- Center for Advanced Technology
- Center For Applied Probability
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
- Center for Integrated Science Engineering
- Columbia Center for Electron Transport in Molecular Nanostructures
- Columbia University Materials Research Science and Engineering
- Computational Optimization Research Center
- Earth Engineering Center
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Institute
- Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Studies in Novel Surfactants
External links
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