1915-1964 – WPI 150 Years

Digital Computing

egallagher — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:56:10 +0000

WPI’s acquires its first digital computer, an IBM 610 Auto-Point, with 80 storage registers, a video display, and paper tape readers and punches. It can multiply two 31-digit numbers in three-quarters of a second. WPI already has two analog computers and limited access to a large digital computer at MIT.

Research Reactor

egallagher — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:54:03 +0000

A 10-kilowatt, open-pool nuclear reactor is installed in Washburn Shops. It is the first research reactor in New England and played a vital role in a new academic program in nuclear engineering at WPI. Five decades later, in 2011, WPI shuts down the reactor, spending $3 million to get rid of it.

TOT

egallagher — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:52:08 +0000

Tech Old Timers is formed; membership is open to alumni, trustees, and faculty and staff members who are at least 65 years old or retired. Tech Old Timers was founded as a way to put practice into the theory of stewardship and alumni engagement. In 2014, the organization reports that there are more than 200 members.

Football Victory

egallagher — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:49:56 +0000

WPI’s football team defeats Harvard by a score of 12 to 0. The Armed Services News Network broadcasts the stunning upset around the world. Harvard dismisses the loss, noting that with the war underway, its football program is “informal.” Boston sports writer Bill Cunningham writes, “At Worcester tech, football has always been informal.”

Humanities and Arts

egallagher — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:14:26 +0000

The first Class of 1879 Award is presented. Originally a prize for rhetoric, it is awarded each year (since the implementation of the WPI Plan) for the best humanities and arts project. Visit the Humanities and Arts website for a list of winners going back to the 80’s (http://www.wpi.edu/academics/hua/1879prize.html.)

Gilded Hands

egallagher — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:11:28 +0000

The gilded hands of the clock atop the Boynton Hall tower are stolen. They had last been taken from the clock face in 1893. While the hands are replaced, the whereabouts of the stolen hands remains a mystery until spring 2013, when an alumnus makes a deathbed confession to the theft and asks that they be returned to his alma mater.

Alumni Gym

kjhudgins — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 19:20:09 +0000

A new gymnasium, realized largely through the enthusiasm and support of alumni, is dedicated in 1916. WWI subsumes much of the school’s infrastructure, and faculty and students die serving overseas. It took years for the school to return to a sense of normalcy. The gymnasium is at the heart of rebuilding the school’s sports program, and helping rebuild student morale.

Modern Rocketry

kjhudgins — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 18:24:21 +0000

In 1926, Robert Goddard, Class of 1908, launches the first liquid-fueled rocket. In 1904, Goddard enrolls in the school’s relatively new general science program. He conducts some of his early experiments with rockets in the tiny Magnetic Laboratory building. Like many WPI students, Goddard has visionary ideas with wide-ranging practical applications.

Campus Expansion

kjhudgins — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 16:58:00 +0000

WPI attracts more students from outside Worcester County and other countries than ever before. Generations of leaders are part of the fabric of the school. Construction begins on Daniels Hall, donated by the 4^th generation of the Morgan family. George C. Gordon, Class of 1895, donates the funds to build the Gordon Library, finally centralizing siloed departmental libraries.

A Human Touch

kjhudgins — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 16:55:50 +0000

WPI is recovering from the Second World War, including the loss of students killed in action. The campus has expanded over the past two decades. The Earle Bridge is completed for the school’s 75^th anniversary. WPI formalizes a Humanities curriculum, recognizing the importance of humanistic and aesthetic thought in creating well-rounded, globally aware graduates.