University of Utah School of Computing

Nestled in the foothills of the spectacular Wasatch Mountains, the College of Engineering had its origins in the State School of Mines, established in the 1890s. Dedicated to enhancing Utah’s mining industry, it was among the first engineering programs west of the Mississippi River. A strong tradition of educational and technical support for local industry continues to the present day. The first modern four-year engineering degree at the school was introduced in 1895. Joseph F. Merrill was the first principal and the Merrill Engineering Building was named in his honor. According to University records, Richard Lyman was recruited from Brigham Young Academy to teach the technical engineering curriculum. Lyman organized the first Department of Engineering in 1896. During the past 100+ years, the College has graduated over 12,000 engineers. Many engineering alumni have gone on to achieve international recognition in industry, manufacturing, research, education, law, medicine and many other professions. Some of the companies founded by graduates and faculty of the College of Engineering include: TRW, Evans and Sutherland, Silicon Graphics, Netscape, WordPerfect, Sarcos, Opto 22, Novell, Atari, Adobe Systems, and Pixar, to name only a few. Many other graduates hold executive leadership positions in companies and educational institutions around the world. Currently, the College has more than 4,200 undergraduate students and more than 1,200 graduate students. The College also has 192 tenure-track faculty members and $95M in research expenditures. Download “A History of The College of Engineering 1850 – 2000” by Dietrich K. Gehmlich, Professor Emeritus, in PDF format (8.8 MB). Deans of the College Joseph Merrill Joseph F. Merrill 1897-1928 Richard Ketchum Richard B. Ketchum 1928-1939 Albert Taylor Albert L. Taylor 1939-1952 Samuel Kistler Samuel S. Kistler 1952-1965 Max Williams Max L. Williams 1965-1973 Wayne Brown Wayne S. Brown 1973-1978 Laurence Lattman Laurence H. Lattman 1978-1983 Joseph Andrade Joseph D. Andrade 1983-1987 David Pershing David W. Pershing 1987-1998 Gerald Stringfellow Gerald B. Stringfellow 1998-2003 Richard Brown Richard B. Brown 2004-Presen