Physics as the foundation of engineering
Instruction in engineering at the University of Illinois began in 1870,
three years after the university was founded. The engineering faculty consisted of one man,
Stillman Robinson, professor of mechanical science and engineering.
As a cornerstone of engineering education, Robinson introduced and taught a course in physics, which included lecture-room demonstrations and
laboratory practice, a concept considered very novel at that time.
Physics is still part of the College of Engineering at Illinois.
First Engineering Physics degree
The first Illinois engineering physics bachelor's degree was awarded in 1923 to
Wallace Waterfall, who would return in 1931 to earn a a graduate degree of Professional Engineer.
Waterfall served as the secretary of the American Institute of Physics from 1945 until his death in 1974.
Along with his former professor, Floyd R. Watson (Physics, U. Illinois), and Vern O. Knudsen, Waterfall founded the Acoustical Society of America in 1928.
This Illinois physicist pioneered developments that led to the commercialization of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for medical applications. He collaborated in constructing one of the first whole-body scanners and was the primary inventor of the "spin warp" imaging method that is still used in all commercial MRI systems. If you've ever benefited from a diagnostic MRI, thank this Illinois physicist.
