In Print: ‘150 Years of Purdue Engineering: Celebrating Our Consequential Impact on the World’

Publication title

150 Years of Purdue Engineering: Celebrating Our Consequential Impact on the World

Purdue author

Arvind Raman

Authors

Arvind Raman
Jim Small

Publisher

Purdue University Press

Publication date

Dec. 15, 2025

About the book (from the publisher)

Since its founding 150 years ago, Purdue University’s College of Engineering has profoundly shaped and improved the world, amassing breakthroughs spanning nearly all facets of society. Highlighting the indomitable spirit, ingenuity and achievements of more than 100 Boilermaker alumni and faculty members, “150 Years of Purdue Engineering” describes the program’s journey to become one of the most consequential engineering colleges in the United States. Richly illustrated with archival and contemporary images, this book includes stories that focus on Purdue innovators who have created everything from the barcode and the electronic TV receiver to the soft-serve ice cream machine and artificial kidney. It also shares the story of “John” Mohamed M. Atalla, the co-inventor of the MOSFET, the most produced and used digital circuits in circulation today. Indeed, a Purdue alumnus played a key role in the development of the most replicated engineered device in human history. Other Boilermakers featured include Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon; Charles Alton Ellis, a lead designer of the Golden Gate Bridge; and Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. While celebrating the past, “150 Years of Purdue Engineering” also provides a glimpse into the next century and a half as the university continues to cultivate talent, promote research, and share its engineering acumen with the state of Indiana and the world.

About the Purdue author

Arvind Raman is the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering and the Robert V. Adams Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, as well as a professor of materials engineering (by courtesy). He was instrumental in founding the Shah Family Global Innovation Lab — now the Shah Lab Artificial Intelligence in the College of Engineering — which fosters the use of technology including AI for social good. Raman is also an American Society of Mechanical Engineers fellow and recipient of the ASME Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award, a Keeley Fellowship at the University of Oxford, a College of Engineering outstanding young investigator prize, and a National Science Foundation CAREER award.

About the In Print series

To celebrate our faculty’s excellence in scholarship, Purdue Today’s weekly book series highlights faculty expertise across diverse subjects and disciplines. Find out more about the Purdue University Books Initiative and how to suggest a book for the In Print series on the Office of the Provost website.