In Pursuit of Breakthroughs

In Pursuit of Breakthroughs. . Founders Jane and Leland Stanford incorporated engineering in the original Stanford curriculum because they foresaw a need for engineers in the West. Engineering feats and innovations in physics, chemistry and materials science have since followed, and School of Engineering faculty and alumni have founded more than 12,700 companies. , An 8.2-acre complex forms the Science and Engineering Quad (SEQ), home to about 80 state-of-the-art research labs and centers. Completed in 2014, the SEQ pays homage to the Main Quad's architecture and its buildings are interconnected to foster collaboration. They are also a testament to sustainable technologies, using only half the power and one-tenth the water of traditional structures of the same size. , "The school has participated in technology developments that have, over the last 50 years, changed the world, and the school aspires to continue doing that for the next 50 years." , Persis Drell, Professor and Frederick Emmons Terman Dean of the School of Engineering, addressing the faculty senate, November 2015, Sizable Achievements , Stanford engineering contributions helped computers shift from refrigerator-sized machines to smartphones, as the microprocessors inside simultaneously shrank and got more powerful. The 1986 invention of an atomic force microscope sparked the field of nanotechnology, or the molecular-level manipulation of materials, paving new ways to see cancer cells or improve batteries. Nearby, bioengineering researchers are growing protein molecules to help develop biofuels and new life-saving medications. , Accelerating Discovery , SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, in the hills west of central campus, was dedicated in 1967 as a place to explore particle physics. Scientists shooting electrons at nearly the speed of light down SLAC's 2-mile-long linear accelerator made major discoveries, reshaping our understanding of matter. Today, the accelerator is the backbone of SLAC's revolutionary x-ray laser, which illuminates objects and processes fundamental to the workings of nature. Stanford operates SLAC for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. , In Celebration of Stanford's 125th Anniversary | Learn more 125.stanford.edu