Department History

Department History

Year Event
1909 Department established; First EE degree conferred
1910 John Benton John R. Benton appointed the First Dean of the College
1911 Original Benton Hall First New Engineering Building completed, later named Benton Hall, on the site of the current Grinter Hall
1914 The Transit Club and the Kelvin Engineering Club consolidate to form the Benton Engineering Society
1928 Graduate programs added to the college of engineering
1919 Steady growth spurs the expansion of Benton Hall—South wing completed, including: woodshop, a forge, and a foundry.
1925 John Atanasoff John Vincent Atanasoff received his bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Florida, graduating with straight As. He would later invent the Atanasoff–Berry computer (ABC), the first automatic electronic digital computer.
1927 Walker Hall New Engineering Building completed, now Walker Hall (mathematics)
1932 Blake Van Leer Colonel Blake R. Van Leer becomes Dean
?? – 1937 Joseph Weil, Department Chair
1937 Joseph Weil Joseph Weil becomes Dean (1937-1963)
1942 Dr. Palmer H. Craig, Acting Chair (4 faculty members in the department)
1945 Dr. Palmer H. Craig, Department Chair
1946 Dr. Fred H. Pumphrey, Department Chair
1951 Weil Hall Weil Hall completed
1952 Merwin J. Larsen, Department Chair
1965 Wayne Chen Dr. Wayne Chen, Department Chair (becomes Dean, 1973)
1967 Benton, Larsen, and Black Halls officially dedicated
1973 Dr. Eugene R. Chenette, Acting Chair
1975 Dr. Eugene R. Chenette, Department Chair (becomes Assistant Dean, 1977
1977 Don Childers Dr. Donald G. Childers, Acting Chair
1978 Dr. Robert L. Sullivan, Department Chair
1979 Dr. Blake E. Cherrington, Department Chair
1982-83 1983 Department Directory 1982–83 Department Directory
1988 Dr. Robert L. Sullivan, Department Chair
1990 Martin Uman Dr. Martin Uman, Department Chair
1997 New Engineering Building (NEB) NEB completed
2003 Mark Law Dr. Mark Law, Department Chair (Associate Dean, 2009)
2009 John Harris Dr. John Harris, Interim Chair
2011 Dr. John Harris, Department Chair
2022 Tehranipoor Dr. Mark Tehranipoor, Department Chair

Adapted from “A Trip Through Time” by Angela Ventura Medyk, “History—College of Engineering” from The Florida Engineer, and “College of Engineering Timeline”.