Machine Shop

An Engineering Tradition

Machining has historically been an important method in engineering, a tradition that continues to this day. At Stevens, a visit to the Machine Shop in Burchard is often an intregral part of Senior Design projects, as teams turn their design ideas into reality. Students work with staff like Director George Wohlrab to design the parts that comprise their senior design projects.

The Machine Shop at Stevens has a long and storied history dating back to the founding of the school. Alfred S. Kinsey (father of the famous Alfred C. Kinsey), joined the Stevens Machine Shop staff as an apprentice in 1886, and subsequently wrote a major treatise on shop practice that was used by the likes of Alexander Calder '19, Alfred Fielding '39 and Nobel Laureate Frederick Reines '39.

Over the years the shop fractured into smaller, specialized shops, before it was recentralized in 1993 under the direction of Wohlrab.

Today all Engineering students have some experience in the Stevens Machine Shop through various designe classes and the Senior Design project. Technology has evolved over the years, allowing for the creation of better designs using more advanced materiales. The tradition of machining, however, remains constant as Stevens continues to produce innovative engineers whose designs change the future.