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 (Buildings 34, 36, and 38) in the Fall of 1973. A year later, it 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 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 30% 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)

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

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.

  • John L. Wyatt, Jr., 6.866 Machine Vision (Fall 1990)
  • Berthold K. P. Horn, 6.775 Design of Analog MOS VLSI (Spring 1991)
  • Charles E. Leiserson, 6.035 Computer Language Engineering (Fall 1991)
  • Jeffrey H. Lang, 6.774 Physics of Microelectronic Fabrication (Spring 1992)
  • Harold Abelson, 4.886 Computers and Graphics Workshop II (Spring 1993)
  • Stephen D. Senturia, 6.336 Introduction to Numerical Algorithms (Fall 1994)
  • Henry I. Smith, 7.012 Introductory Biology (Fall 1994)
  • Markus Zahn, 6.720 Integrated Microelectronic Devices (Fall 1995)
  • Henry I. Smith, 6.003 Signals and Systems (Fall 1997)
  • Nancy A. Lynch, 6.170 Laboratory in Software Engineering (Spring 1999)
  • Rajeev Ram, 5.12 biochemistry (Fall 2005)

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
McAfee Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Dimitri P. Bertsekas
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
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
Ford Professorship of Engineering
Chairholder, Barbara H. Liskov
TIBCO Founder Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
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
Fariborz Maseeh Professor of Emerging Technology
Chairholder, L. Rafael Reif
Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Chairholder, Ronald Lionn 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
 
 

Career Development Professorships held by Department Faculty

Douglas T. Ross Career Development Associate Professor of Software Development
Chairholder, Regina A. Barzilay
Emanuel Landsman (1958) Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Karl Berggren
Emanuel E. Landsman Career Development Associate Professor
Chairholder, Luca Daniel
Carl Richard Soderberg Career Development Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Joel Dawson
Class of 64 Distinguished Alumni Career Development Associate Professor
Chairfolder, Polina Golland
Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Career Development Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Vivek Goyal
Class of 1947 Career Development Assistant Professor
Chairholder, Dina Katabi
Karl Van Tassel Career Development Assistant Professor
Chairholder, Manolis Kellis
ITT Career Development Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering
Chairholder, Jing Kong
NBX Career Development Chair
Chairholder, Robert C. Miller
Class of 1943 Development Associate Professor
Chairholder, Asuman E. Ozdaglar
Finmeccanica Career Development Associate Professor of Engineering
Chairholder, Pablo Parrilo
Jamieson Career Development Assistant 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 Assistant 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
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 2006)

  • 764 students
  • 38% women

Graduate Enrollment (Fall 2005)

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

Degrees Awarded (2005-2006)

  • 258 Bachelor's Degrees (S.B.)
  • 105 Master's Degrees (S.M.)
  • 135 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 2008)

  • 4 Institute Professors
  • 91 Professors
  • 29 Associate Professors
  • 10 Assistant Professors
  • 1 Visiting Professor
  • 34 Professors, Emeriti/ae
  • 3 Adjunct Professors
  • 1 Senior Lecturer
  • 11 Senior Research Staff
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