Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (University of Manchester)
Encyclopedia
The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) is one of the four faculties that comprise The University of Manchester
.
Established in October 2004, the faculty spans a range of "discipline areas" consisting of the Schools of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science
; Chemistry; Computer Science; Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Science; Physics and Astronomy
; Electrical & Electronic Engineering; Materials
; Mathematics
; and Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
.
The faculty includes most former UMIST departments, exceptions being Optometry and Neurosciences (now in the Faculty of Life Sciences), Manchester School of Management (now part of Manchester Business School
MBS), and part of the Department of Computation which was split between the School of Computer Science and MBS. The duplicated departments of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics were merged, and Materials Science was already a joint department. In terms of the total number of staff and student numbers the faculty is larger than the whole of UMIST, which was until 1993 the Faculty of Technology of the Victoria University of Manchester (paradoxically at the same time as being an independent institution). The faculty offices are housed in the Sackville Street Building, the former UMIST Main Building.
The first Dean of the Faculty was Professor John Perkins FREng, who joined the new university in 2004. Before appointment as Dean of EPS Professor Perkins was Principal of the Faculty of Engineering and Courtaulds Professor of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London
. He was succeeded in 2009 by Prof Colin Bailey, who was head of the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering. Bailey took over as acting dean on Perkins departure to become provost of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology
in May 2009, and was confirmed as Dean in December the same year.
.
The University of Manchester was the birthplace of Chemical Engineering.
The world's first steerable radio telescope at Jodrell Bank was built at the University by Bernard Lovell.
Since 1906, when former student Joseph Thompson won the Nobel Prize in Physics
, the University has produced more than 20 Nobel laureates. Most recently, Manchester physicists Andre Geim
and Kostya Novoselov won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering work with graphene
.
The University's history is closely linked to Manchester's emergence as the world's first industrial city. Manchester businessmen and industrialists established the Mechanics' Institute to ensure that their workers could learn the basic principles of science. Similarly, John Owens, a Manchester textile merchant, left a bequest of £96,942 in 1851 for the purpose of founding a college for the education of males on non-sectarian lines. Owens College was established and granted a royal charter
in 1880 to become England's first civic university, The Victoria University of Manchester
.
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
.
Established in October 2004, the faculty spans a range of "discipline areas" consisting of the Schools of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science
School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, University of Manchester
The School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences University of Manchester was formed by the merger in 2004 of the former UMIST departments of Chemical Engineering, and DIAS - the Department of Instrumentation and Analytical Sciences - and the Centre for Process Integration...
; Chemistry; Computer Science; Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Science; Physics and Astronomy
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester
The School of Physics and Astronomy, formed by the merger of the Departments of Physics at the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST in 2004 when the universities merged to form the University of Manchester, is one of the largest and most active physics departments in the United Kingdom and...
; Electrical & Electronic Engineering; Materials
School of Materials, University of Manchester
The School of Materials University of Manchester is unusual in that the Materials Science departments at UMIST and the Victoria University of Manchester were already joint before the merger of those two institutions in 2004...
; Mathematics
School of Mathematics, University of Manchester
The School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester is one of the largest mathematics departments in the United Kingdom, with around 80 academic staff and an undergraduate intake of roughly 400 a year and another 200 postgraduate students...
; and Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
The School of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering at the University of Manchester was formed from three departments in the 2004 merger between the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST...
.
The faculty includes most former UMIST departments, exceptions being Optometry and Neurosciences (now in the Faculty of Life Sciences), Manchester School of Management (now part of Manchester Business School
Manchester Business School
Manchester Business School is the largest department of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. According to Bloomberg Business Week's ranking of the world's best business schools the MBS MBA is ranked third in the world...
MBS), and part of the Department of Computation which was split between the School of Computer Science and MBS. The duplicated departments of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics were merged, and Materials Science was already a joint department. In terms of the total number of staff and student numbers the faculty is larger than the whole of UMIST, which was until 1993 the Faculty of Technology of the Victoria University of Manchester (paradoxically at the same time as being an independent institution). The faculty offices are housed in the Sackville Street Building, the former UMIST Main Building.
The first Dean of the Faculty was Professor John Perkins FREng, who joined the new university in 2004. Before appointment as Dean of EPS Professor Perkins was Principal of the Faculty of Engineering and Courtaulds Professor of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
. He was succeeded in 2009 by Prof Colin Bailey, who was head of the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering. Bailey took over as acting dean on Perkins departure to become provost of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology
Masdar Institute of Science and Technology
The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is a graduate level, research-oriented university which is focused on alternative energy, sustainability, and the environment...
in May 2009, and was confirmed as Dean in December the same year.
History
The University of Manchester has a long and distinguished record of achievement in science and engineering disciplines, and a history of breaking new ground. Rutherford began his work on splitting the atom at the University (and later received the Nobel Prize in 1908 for his work on radioactivity). The world's first stored-program computer, the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine (nicknamed 'The Baby') came into being at the University, as did its successor, Manchester Mark 1Manchester Mark 1
The Manchester Mark 1 was one of the earliest stored-program computers, developed at the Victoria University of Manchester from the Small-Scale Experimental Machine or "Baby" . It was also called the Manchester Automatic Digital Machine, or MADM...
.
The University of Manchester was the birthplace of Chemical Engineering.
The world's first steerable radio telescope at Jodrell Bank was built at the University by Bernard Lovell.
Since 1906, when former student Joseph Thompson won the Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
, the University has produced more than 20 Nobel laureates. Most recently, Manchester physicists Andre Geim
Andre Geim
Andre Konstantin Geim, FRS is a Dutch-Russian-British physicist working at the University of Manchester. Geim was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Konstantin Novoselov for his work on graphene...
and Kostya Novoselov won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering work with graphene
Graphene
Graphene is an allotrope of carbon, whose structure is one-atom-thick planar sheets of sp2-bonded carbon atoms that are densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice. The term graphene was coined as a combination of graphite and the suffix -ene by Hanns-Peter Boehm, who described single-layer...
.
The University's history is closely linked to Manchester's emergence as the world's first industrial city. Manchester businessmen and industrialists established the Mechanics' Institute to ensure that their workers could learn the basic principles of science. Similarly, John Owens, a Manchester textile merchant, left a bequest of £96,942 in 1851 for the purpose of founding a college for the education of males on non-sectarian lines. Owens College was established and granted a royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in 1880 to become England's first civic university, The Victoria University of Manchester
Victoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
.
Industrial Links
By 1905, the two institutions were a large and active force in the area, with the Mechanics' Institute, the forerunner of the modern UMIST, forming a Faculty of Technology and working alongside The Victoria University of Manchester. Although UMIST achieved independent university status in 1955, the two universities continued to work together, true to the visions of their pioneering industrialist founders, until they formally formally combined on 22 October 2004 to form a single university.Schools
The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences comprises nine schools:- School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical SciencesSchool of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, University of ManchesterThe School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences University of Manchester was formed by the merger in 2004 of the former UMIST departments of Chemical Engineering, and DIAS - the Department of Instrumentation and Analytical Sciences - and the Centre for Process Integration...
- School of Chemistry
- School of Computer Science
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences
- School of Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSchool of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of ManchesterThe School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Manchester was formed at the merger of the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST in 2005, formed from the former UMIST department of the same name...
- School of MaterialsSchool of Materials, University of ManchesterThe School of Materials University of Manchester is unusual in that the Materials Science departments at UMIST and the Victoria University of Manchester were already joint before the merger of those two institutions in 2004...
- School of MathematicsSchool of Mathematics, University of ManchesterThe School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester is one of the largest mathematics departments in the United Kingdom, with around 80 academic staff and an undergraduate intake of roughly 400 a year and another 200 postgraduate students...
- School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
- School of Physics and AstronomySchool of Physics and Astronomy, University of ManchesterThe School of Physics and Astronomy, formed by the merger of the Departments of Physics at the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST in 2004 when the universities merged to form the University of Manchester, is one of the largest and most active physics departments in the United Kingdom and...