ECE Milestones
Here are some of the major milestones in ECE history:
- 1986. The Department of Engineering is formed with Dr. Troy Pemberton as its first department chair. Two 5-year degrees are offered: Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. Lynn Nored serves as the first electrical engineering program director. Students could choose from five emphases: communications, computers, controls, electronics, or general.
- 1988. OC graduates its 1st EE student (James Dang)
- 1990. First graduating class of engineering students include 10 EE students.
- 1991. Prince Engineering Center opens.
- 1991. The EE Program receives accreditation from ABET.
- 1997. The School of Engineering is formed and includes three new departments. One of these is the Department of Electrical Engineering, and Dr. Jeff Bigelow becomes its first chair.
- 1999. The EE program is reduced to 140 hours (4 1/2 years)
- 2000. OC graduates its 100th EE student
- 2001. The department adds Computer Engineering, and changes its name to Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Sam Visalli becomes 1st computer engineering student.
- 2003. OC graduates its first computer engineering students (Chuck Robinson and Jonathan Taliafero)
- 2004. The CE program receives accreditation from ABET.
- 2007. Both CE and EE degrees become 4 year programs (128 hours).
- 2008. The ECE Department exceeds 100 students for the first time.
- 2010. OC graduates its 200th ECE student
For more information, contact:
Dr. Jeff Bigelow
