Department History
An excerpt from December 1982 NMPE newsletter
The Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of New Mexico
By Glenn A. Whan, PE
Richard W. Mead, PE
The history of what today is the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering at the University of New Mexico began in the 1911-1912 academic year. A curriculum in engineering chemistry began in the Chemistry Department. This program moved into the Engineering School in the early 1920s and an offering in petroleum engineering was included. The program continued this way until 1936 when it was eliminated and the engineering chemistry program was reinstituted. A few graduates were turned out each year until the program ended early in World War II. Read the full article
A “dirty purple” document written by David M. Woodall, ChNE Chair for Dean Gerald May addressing the importance of both programs for the College of Engineering.
The Nuclear Engineering program at UNM entered the decade of the seventies with a strong graduate program and faculty. There were six faculty member, among whom four had become tenured early in that decade. Read the full article
An interesting Department fact: The first MS-NE was awarded in 1958.
Engineering College Newsletter • Winter 1982-1983
Notes from page 2: …Professors Woodall and Mead continue to serve as Chairman and Associate Chairman of the Department during our on-going search for a senior Chemical Engineering chairperson…We have had two new faculty members join the Department in the past year, both in the Nuclear Engineering program. Read the newsletter
