Heritage from the Department of Mechanical Engineering

Along with electrical and chemical engineering, mechanical engineering was one of the three fields of education and research with which TU/e started out in 1957. 'Big names' during the early years were prof. W.L.H. Schmid, A. Horowitz (who helped develop the 'Philishave', the electric shaver from Philips), and P.C. Veenstra. After having been located in the Pavilion and in several places in downtown Eindhoven, the department moved to a specially developed complex of buildings in the mid nineteen seventies. Education and research underwent profound changes through the years. These were of course influenced strongly by the advent of computers (from slide rule to CAD/CAM). Students learned to work together in so-called project-driven education. In earlier decades research was done into nuclear energy, the department being involved in construction of the Athene nuclear reactor. Emphasis was later moved to renewable sources like solar energy, and the development of electrically driven cars and motorcycles. Images in this special give an impression of many aspects of the Department of Mechanical Engineering as it changed through the years.