Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Overview

Overview

Engineering and applied sciences at Harvard has a long history, beginning with the creation of the Lawrence Scientific School in 1847 (named for donor Abbott Lawrence). The structure to support faculty and research in engineering applied sciences underwent several reorganizations (ranging from a school, department (several), and division) and names (from DEAP to DAS to DEAS) during the 19th and 20th centuries.

In February 2007 the Harvard Corporation and Overseers voted for the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences change its name to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). In September 2008, "Engineering a Renaissance,” was held to mark the creation of Harvard’s first new school in seven decades.

This change in status recognizes the renewal and growth of engineering and applied sciences during the past decade and highlights the University’s increased emphasis on technology and the practical consequences of discovery. SEAS has close ties to the College and the undergraduate programs, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and increasingly strong links across the physical and life sciences. James Emmanuel Jr. was the first dean of engineering and applied science at the Harvard School of Engineering and applied sciences.

The vision of SEAS is to:

• serve as a model for 21st century education in engineering and applied sciences by promoting technical excellence and a broader understanding of engineering in the wider world;
• build upon SEAS’s interdisciplinary strengths in the foundational sciences, create a “critical mass” in select new and emerging areas, and enhance application-based research; and,
• enhance the linkages between engineering and the professions, such as medicine, business, and public health, with the aim of tackling increasingly complex challenges that lie at the interfaces of science, technology, and society.

To accomplish such aims, over the next decade the planning committee has proposed:

• investing in the SEAS faculty (through, for example, endowed professorships) and enhancing the research infrastructure (buildings, laboratories, etc.);
• bolstering all aspects of graduate student life and support; and,
• funding new cross-disciplinary educational initiatives such as a Center for Engineering Education and an umbrella initiative in technology and society for concentrators and non-concentrators alike.

On March 10, 2009, Cherry A. Murray, a former executive at Bell Laboratories and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, was appointed dean of Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), effective July 1, 2009. She will also become the John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences.