History

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Remembering Bruce Arden: U-M faculty member and past chair of Computer and Communication Sciences department

Arden's goal was to make computing and programming more accessible to nonspecialists.

Dr. Jim and Judith Seydel’s gifts to ECE support students while honoring those who empowered his career

Seydel shares his memories of the early days of holography at U-M and how former ECE Chair Hansford W. Farris, as well as professors Thomas Senior and Emmet Leith, helped shape his career.

75 years of the ENIAC

The first general-purpose computer turns 75 today. One of its key contributors was Arthur Burks, who also co-founded the first program in computing at Michigan in 1957.

David Blaauw named Kensall D. Wise Collegiate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Blaauw’s innovations in low-power computing led to development of the Michigan Micro Mote, the world’s smallest computer.

Faculty, students pay tribute to Demos Teneketzis’ remarkable career

Known for his impeccable scholarship and compassionate mentorship, Prof. Teneketzis, an expert in stochastic control, decentralized information systems, networks, and discrete event systems, retired after 35 years of service to the department.

Dave Neuhoff says farewell after 45 years championing students, faculty, and the department

Prof. Neuhoff, an internationally recognized expert in information theory, source coding, and image processing, retired earlier this year.

Kim Winick retires, leaving a legacy that empowers students to seek life and learning outside of the lab

For the past 31 years, Prof. Winick has helped define undergraduate courses and curriculum both at U-M and abroad while inspiring all to engineer their future by understanding the past.

When pioneers disappear from history

Tech leader Lynn Conway explores why women and underrepresented minorities lose credit for their contributions over time.

Claude Shannon: information icon

Early theoretical solutions led to practical applications that continue to power our digital world, while his inventions spanned the spectrum from playful to paramount.

The Lurie Nanofabrication Facility

It Takes the Best to Serve the Best.

Queen of the hurricanes: An engineer and feminist for the ages

Elsie MacGill, the world’s first female aircraft designer, drew strength from the women who came before her.

Leo McAfee: Impacting Diversity - Changing Lives

History was made January 1971 when newly-minted PhD graduate Leo McAfee was hired as an assistant professor in the College of Engineering.

CUOS: Pushing the limits of optical science

This national center, established in 1990, confirmed Michigan’s leadership in the field.

A fantastic voyage: ERC for WIMS

The first-ever Engineering Research Center in Wireless Integrated Microsensing and Systems has forged advances in many fields.

Lawrence L. Rauch

1972 | Interim Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering

John A.M. Lyon

1974–1975 | Acting Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Thomas B.A. Senior

1987 | Acting Chair of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Richard B. Brown

2001–2003 | Interim Chair of Electrical Engineering and Computer Scinece

Brian E. Gilchrist

2006–2008 | Interim Chair of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

George W. Patterson

1905–1915 | Chair of Electrical Engineering

John C. Parker

1915–1922 | Chair of Electrical Engineering

Benjamin F. Bailey

1922–1944 | Chair of Electrical Engineering

Alfred H. Lovell

1945–1953 | Chair of Electrical Engineering

Stephen S. Attwood

1953–1958 | Chair of Electrical Engineering

Hansford W. Farris

1965–1967 | Chair of Electrical Engineering

Joseph E. Rowe

1968–1974 | Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering

George I. Haddad

1975–1986; 1991–1997 | Chair of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Edward S. Davidson

1988–1990 | Chair of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Pramod P. Khargonekar

1997–2001 | Chair of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

David C. Munson Jr.

2003–2006 | Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Khalil Najafi: First Chair of the new ECE

2008–2018 | Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Division of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Human Computers from Pioneer High School

The Stump Speakers

Giving Engineers a Platform.

Henry Carhart and the First EE Course

Origins in 1888.

From Physics to EE

Origins in a Basement.

William Gould Dow

1958–1965 | Chair of Electrical Engineering.

The Radlab: People in Service to Society

U-M's Radlab is known worldwide for their contributions to Applied Electromagnetics.

Willie Hobbs Moore (1934–1994): A First in EE and Physics

The first Black woman at Michigan to earn a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering ('58 and '61), and first in the country to earn a PhD in Physics (1972)

How the Net Was Won: Michigan Built the Budding Internet

The ARPANET came before it. And the World Wide Web and browser technology would later make it accessible for the masses. But in between, a small Ann Arbor-based group labored on the NSFNET in relative obscurity to build—and ultimately to save—the Internet.

Bill Joy

A native Michigander, Joy co-founded Sun Microsystems and designed UNIX and Java.

Power to the Pixel: Photoshop is Born

How Thomas Knoll, a procrastinating Michigan graduate student, and his brother changed our view of the world.

Charles F. Brush

Lighting Up the World.

Emmett Leith (1927 - 2005)

Inventor of Practical Holography

Mourning the loss of an innovator

J. Robert Beyster, a namesake of the Bob and Betty Beyster Building and funder of Michigan Engineering’s largest fellowship program, has died. He was 90 years old.

Hansford Farris (1919 – 2014): In Memoriam

Prof. Farris served as an active and highly respected member of the College of Engineering for more than 20 years.

Lee Boysel: the early history of microprocessing

Microprocessing changed the computing world, and Michigan alumnus Lee Boysel played a pivotal role.

Gérard A. Mourou: In pursuit of new directions in science

“The future of CUOS is bright,” said Mourou. “Nothing will stop the flow of discoveries.”

Janice Jenkins: The First Female Faculty in EECS

In 1980, Janice Jenkins was the first woman hired as a faculty member in the department.

Claude E. Shannon Statue Dedication at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan dedicates statue of Claude E. Shannon, alumnus and father of information theory.