MIT EECS Department Facts

Department Overview


Electrical engineering was originally taught at MIT in the Physics Department. A new degree program in Electrical Engineering was started in 1882. The Department of Electrical Engineering was formed in the fall of 1902, and occupied its new home, the Lowell Building, when MIT was still located near Copley Square in Boston. The Department dedicated its present facilities in the Sherman Fairchild Electrical Engineering and Electronics complex including Buildings 36, and 38 in the Fall of 1973 and Building 34, the EG&G Building in 1987. In 1975 the Department recognized its growing activity in computer science by changing its name to Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The Stata Center, dedicated in 2004, houses the Department's activities in computer science, communications, and control.

 

The primary mission of the department is the education of its students. Its three undergraduate programs traditionally have attracted over 30% of all MIT undergraduates, and its doctoral programs are highly ranked and selective. A leader in cooperative education, the department has operated the highly successful VI-A Internship Program since 1917. In 1993 it established a five-year Master of Engineering program, under which undergraduate students stay for a fifth year and receive simultaneously a Bachelor's degree and a Master of Engineering degree. The five-year curriculum is structured and seamless across the traditional boundary between undergraduate and graduate student, and seamless across the traditional disciplines of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

 

During its history faculty and students of the Department have made major, lasting research contributions, some of which have opened up entire new fields of study.

Department Strengths

  • Undergraduate program has the largest enrollment at MIT; typically over 20% of all MIT undergraduates major in this department
  • 44 faculty (active, adjunct, and emeritus) and two senior research staff are members of the National Academy of Engineering -- about 2% of all NAE members, from all fields of engineering
  • 12 former faculty, now deceased, were members of the National Academy of Engineering
  • 9 faculty are members of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 10 former faculty, now deceased, were members of the National Academy of Sciences
  • About 60 faculty are Fellows of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
  • 9 faculty are Fellows of ACM (Association for Computing Machinery)
  • 10 faculty are Fellows of AAAI (American Association for Artificial Intelligence)
  • 8 faculty are Fellows of APS (American Physical Society)

Historical Moments

  • Electrical Engineering, Course VIII-B, started in Physics Department (1882)
  • Electrical Engineering designated as Course VI (1884)
  • First two Electrical Engineering bachelor's degrees awarded (1885)
  • Department of Electrical Engineering established (1902)
  • First doctorate in Electrical Engineering awarded (1910)
  • VI-A cooperative (internship) program started (1917)
  • Engineering-science emphasis placed in the curriculum (1950 - 1970)
  • Department decided not to split into two departments (1974)
  • Department renamed, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (1975)
  • First bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and Engineering awarded (1975)
  • First Master of Engineering degree awarded (1994)
  • New Undergraduate Curriculum effective for all undergraduates (as of FT 2007), Class of 2011 going forward

Department Heads

  • Louis Duncan (1902 - 1904)
  • Harry E. Clifford (acting, 1904 - 1907)
  • Dugald C. Jackson (1907 - 1935)
  • Frank A. Laws (acting, 1918 - 1919)
  • Vannevar Bush (acting, 1929 - 1930)
  • Edward L. Moreland (1935 - 1938)
  • Harold L. Hazen (1938 - 1952)
  • Gordon S. Brown (1952 - 1959)
  • Jerome B. Wiesner (acting, 1959 - 1960)
  • Peter Elias (1960 - 1966)
  • Louis D. Smullin (1966 - 1974)
  • Wilbur B. Davenport, Jr. (1974 - 1978)
  • Gerald L. Wilson (1978 - 1981)
  • Joel Moses (1981 - 1989)
  • Paul L. Penfield, Jr. (1989 - 1999)
  • John V. Guttag (1999 - 2004)
  • L. Rafael Reif (2004 - 2005)
  • W. Eric L. Grimson (2005 - )

Associate Department Heads

  • Gordon S. Brown (1950 - 1952)

From Electrical Engineering:

From Computer Science:

Directors, VI-A M.Eng. Thesis Program

  • William E. Wickenden (1917 - 1918)
  • [program suspended] (1918 - 1919)
  • William H. Timbie (1919 - 1947)
  • Eugene W. Boehne (1947 - 1959)
  • Richard H. Bolt (acting, fall 1959)
  • Eugene W. Boehne (1959 - 1960)
  • J. Francis Reintjes (1960 - 1969)
  • John A. Tucker (1969 - 1987)
  • Kevin J. O'Toole (1987 - 1993)
  • J. Francis Reintjes (acting, 1993 - 1994)
  • Markus Zahn (1994 - )

Department Faculty who served as MIT Dean of Engineering

  • Vannevar Bush (1932 - 1938)
  • Edward L. Moreland (1939 - 1942)
  • Gordon S. Brown (1959 - 1968)
  • Paul E. Gray (acting, 1970 - 1971)
  • James D. Bruce (acting, 1977 - 1978)
  • Gerald L. Wilson (1981 - 1991)
  • Joel Moses (1991 - 1995)
  • Thomas L. Magnanti (1999 - 2007)

Department Faculty who served as MIT Chancellor

  • Paul E. Gray (1971 - 1980)

Department Faculty who served as MIT Provost

  • Jerome B. Wiesner (1966 - 1971)
  • Walter A. Rosenblith (1971 - 1980)
  • Joel Moses (1995 - 1998)
  • L. Rafael Reif (2005 - )

Department Faculty who served as MIT President

  • Elihu Thomson (acting, 1920 - 1923)
  • Jerome B. Wiesner (1971 - 1980)
  • Paul E. Gray (1980 - 1990)

Faculty Honors and Awards


National Medals

Received by Past or Present Department Faculty

National Medal of Science

National Medal of Technology

  • Harold E. Edgerton, 1988

Vannevar Bush Medal

MIT Internal Awards

Institute Professor

The title of Institute Professor is an honor bestowed by the Faculty and Administration of MIT on a faculty colleague who has demonstrated exceptional distinction by a combination of leadership, accomplishment, and service in the scholarly, educational, and general intellectual life of the Institute or wider academic community. Institute Professors enjoy a unique position of freedom and prestige among the faculty. There are normally no more than 12 at any one time, from all fields of study. Institute Professors from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science:

Killian Award

The James R. Killian, Jr., Faculty Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the MIT faculty on one of its own members. It was established in 1971 "to recognize extraordinary professional accomplishments by full-time members of the MIT faculty." Winners from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science:

Edgerton Award

The Harold E. Edgerton Award is the highest honor bestowed by the MIT faculty on one of its own junior faculty members. It is awarded annually for outstanding achievement in research, teaching, and service to the MIT community. Since its inception in 1983 the award has been given to nine EECS faculty and one who subsequently joined the department:

MacVicar Faculty Fellow

MacVicar Fellows awards are made to MIT faculty members, of any rank, to recognize outstanding classroom teaching, major innovations in education, and dedication to being an apostle of teaching in helping others achieve teaching excellence. The program is named in honor of the late Professor Margaret MacVicar. Winners from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science:

Baker Award

The Everett Moore Baker Memorial Award is given by the Institute to faculty members in recognition of exceptional interest and ability in the instruction of undergraduates. It was first awarded in 1963. Winners from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science:

Bose Teaching Award

The Amar Bose Award for Excellence in Teaching was established in 1989 by the MIT School of Engineering to recognize outstanding contributions to undergraduate education by members of its faculty. It is awarded annually. Winners from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science:

Junior Bose Teaching Award

The Junior Amar Bose Award for Excellence in Teaching was established in 1995 to complement the original Bose Award by recognizing excellent contributions from the junior faculty of the School of Engineering. It is awarded annually. Winners from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science:

Spira Teaching Award

The Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Distinguished Teaching in EECS was established in 1991 to acknowledge the tradition of high quality engineering education at MIT. It honors junior faculty members of the department who have balanced their research agenda with excellent, enthusiastic and creative teaching.

Goodwin Medal

The Goodwin Medal is MIT's highest graduate student teaching award, given annually in recognition of conspicuously effective teaching. It was first awarded in 1952. Winners from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science:

  • Thomas G. Stockham, Jr. (1957)
  • Harry B. Lee (1959)
  • Richard Y. Kain (1961)
  • Walter H. Berninger (1967)
  • Charles L. Seitz, III (1968)
  • Alan J. Grodzinsky (1973)
  • Janice H. Hammond (1984)
  • Franklyn A. Turbak (1990)
  • Gregory W. Wornell (1991)
  • John R. Buck (1994)
  • Babak Ayazifar (1999)
  • Ben Vandiver (2005)
  • Stephen Hou (2006)

Adler Scholars

The best teacher is one who is continuously learning.

 

The Adler Scholars Program for EECS faculty members is named in honor of Richard Brooks Adler (May 9, 1922 - February 6, 1990), EECS faculty member from 1950 to 1990, Associate Department Head, 1978 - 1989, and 1986 recipient of the IEEE Education Medal. The program started in 1990.

Adler Scholars attend regular MIT courses, like students, to broaden their range of knowledge and teaching abilities. They perform all the work expected of students, and receive letter grades at the end of the semester.

Senior Professorships held by Department Faculty

Class of 1922 Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Chairholder, Harold Abelson

Ray and Maria Stata Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Dimitri A. Antoniadis

Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Chairholder, Arvind

Ford Professor of Engineering and Mechanical Engineering
Chairholder, Arthur B. Baggeroer

3Com Founders Professor of Engineering
Chairholder, Timothy J. Berners-Lee

McAfee Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Dimitri P. Bertsekas

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Chairholder, Sangeeta Bhatia

Henry Ellis Warren Professor in Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Louis B. D. Braida

Panasonic Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Chairholder, Rodney A. Brooks

Joan and Irwin M. Jacobs Professor of Electrical Engineering and Aeronautics and Astronautics
Chairholder, Vincent W. S. Chan

Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Anantha P. Chandrakasan

Donner Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Jesús del Alamo

Vitesse Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Chairholder, Clifton G. Fonstad, Jr.

RSA Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Chairholder, Shafrira Goldwasser

Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering
Chairholder, Martha L. Gray

Bernard M. Gordon Professor of Medical Engineering
Chairholder, W. Eric Grimson

Dugald C. Jackson Professorhip
Co-Chairholder, John V. Guttag

Elihu Thomson Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Erich P. Ippen

Ellen Swallow Richards Professor
Chairholder, Leslie P. Kaelbling

Ford Professor of Engineering
Chairholder, Barbara H. Liskov

TIBCO Founder Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
School of Engineering Professor in Teaching Excellence
Chairholder, Tomás Lozano-Pérez

NEC Professor of Software Science and Engineering
Chairholder, Nancy A. Lynch

Hitachi America Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Chairholder, Albert R. Meyer

Dugald C. Jackson Professorhip
Co-Chairholder, Silvio Micali

Ford Professor of Engineering
Chairholder, Alan V. Oppenheim

Finmeccanica Career Development Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Chairholder, Pablo Parrilo

Fariborz Maseeh Professor of Emerging Technology
Chairholder, L. Rafael Reif

Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Chairholder, Ronald L. Rivest

Bernard M. Gordon Professor of the Practice
Chairholder, Joel E. Schindall

J. A. Stratton Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Jeffrey H. Shapiro

Clarence J. LeBel Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Charles Sodini

Fujitsu Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Chairholder, Madhu Sudan

Panasonic Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Gerald J. Sussman

Clarence J. Lebel Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, John Tsitsiklis

Cecil H. Green Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Jacob K. White

Edwin Sibley Webster Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Alan S. Willsky

Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
Chairholder, Gerald L. Wilson

Ford Professor of Engineering
Chairholder, Patrick H. Winston

Thomas and Gerd Perkins Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Markus Zahn

Delta Electronics Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Chairholder, Victor W. Zue

Career Development Professorships held by Department Faculty

TIBCO Career Development Assistant Professor
Chairholder, Scott Aaronson

Emanuel Landsman (1958) Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Karl Berggren

Emanuel E. Landsman Career Development Associate Professor
Chairholder, Luca Daniel

Mark Hyman, Jr. Career Development Associate Professor
Chairholder, Joel Dawson

Class of 64 Distinguished Alumni Career Development Associate Professor
Chairholder, Polina Golland

Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Vivek Goyal

Class of 1947 Career Development Associate Professor
Chairholder, Dina Katabi

Karl Van Tassel Career Development Associate Professor
Chairholder, Manolis Kellis

ITT Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Jing Kong

NBX Career Development Associate Professor of Computer Science
Chairholder, Robert C. Miller

Finmeccanica Career Development Associate Professor
of Engineering
Chairholder, Pablo Parrilo

Jamieson Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Chairholder, Devavrat Shah

W.M. Keck Career Development Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Chairholder, Collin M. Stultz

X-Consortium Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Chairholder, Russell L. Tedrake

Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Career Development Associate Professsor
Chairholder, Antonio Torralba

Robert J. Shillman Career Development Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Mehmet Fatih Yanik

Douglas T. Ross Career Development Assistant Professor of Software
Chairholder, Nickolai B. Zeldovich

Steven and Renee Finn Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Lizhong Zheng

Degree Programs

Undergraduate

  • S.B. in Electrical Science and Engineering
  • S.B. in Computer Science and Engineering
  • S.B. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Graduate

  • M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
  • S.M. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
  • Electrical Engineer
  • Engineer in Computer Science
  • Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
  • Sc.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Statistics

Undergraduate Enrollment (Fall 2009)

  • 694 students
  • 38% women

Graduate Enrollment (Fall 2008)

  • 890 students
  • 20% women
  • 4% underrepresented minorities (as of Fall 2005)

Degrees Awarded (2008-2009)

  • 226 Bachelor's Degrees (S.B.)
  • 105 Master's Degrees (S.M.)
  • 126 Master's Degrees (M.Eng.)
  • 3 Engineer's Degrees (E.E. and E.C.S.)
  • 70 Doctoral Degrees (Ph.D. and Sc.D.)

Faculty (Fall 2009)

  • 4 Institute Professors
  • 94 Professors
  • 33 Associate Professors
  • 7 Assistant Professors
  • 1 Visiting Professor
  • 33 Professors, Emeriti/ae
  • 3 Adjunct Professors
  • 1 Senior Lecturer
  • 11 Senior Research Staff
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