Mechanical Engineering - History

The history of the Department of Engineering at Cambridge begins with the appointment of James Stuart to the Chair of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics in 1875. Recognising the importance of a practical training for engineers, he persuaded the University to give him a wooden hut to serve as a workshop for his twenty-five students.

In 1903 Bertram Hopkinson was elected Professor of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics. In the 1890's, Hopkinson together with his brothers put up some of the first climbing routes on North face of Ben Nevis (e.g. Tower Ridge). As Head of the Department his research interests were in measuring mechanical and electrical properties of materials as well as processes of combustion in internal combustion and gas engines. He developed an elastic wave experiment (Hopkinson bar) to make measurements at high rates of strain; he used this for measuring the distinction between static and dynamic yield stress of metals, and the pressure-time relation in the pressure pulse generated by a detonating explosive (gunpowder).

Today, modern versions of this experiment are in use in our Impact Mechanics Laboratory.

Gearing Research in Cambridge has a long tradition. As early as 1827, G.B. Airy, known to mathematicians for his Airy Functions, published a paper "On the forms of the teeth of wheels".

The development of CADCAM systems also has a long history within the Department, starting in 1965. Details are provided by Donald Welbourn in an article on our 125th anniversary website.

Mechanical engineering also includes a study of materials. Professor Mike Ashby is a pioneer in this field.