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History, UNH Department of Electrical Engineering - Part II by Professor Leon W. Hitchcock (deceased) When the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and The Mechanic Arts moved from Hanover, N.H. to its new campus in Durham, N.H. in 1893, five buildings were either in the final stages of construction or ready for occupancy. One of these, Conant Hall, was assigned to house the departments of Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, and Physics. George L. Teeple, who was appointed Instructor in Electrical Engineering and Physics in 1891 while the College was still in Hanover, accompanied the College to Durham and served in this position through the year 1894-95. He was succeeded in 1895 by Arthur F. Nesbit as Instructor in Physics and Electrical Engineering. A description of the facilities and equipment in Electrical Engineering, as given in the catalog of 1908-09, follows: "The electrical engineering laboratories consist of two dynamo rooms, a transformer room, a photometer room and a storage battery room. In the main dynamo room there is a large distributing switchboard on which are mounted instruments, switches and plugging devices so arranged that it is possible to connect the laboratory rooms, also each lecture room, and convey thereto direct current and single phase, two phase and three phase alternating current. The general equipment of this department includes a magnetometer for studying the intensity of the earth’s magnetism; a universal tangent galvanometer; a high grade four stool Thomson reflecting galvanometer; a D’Arsonal galvanometer; a Ryan electrometer for tracing pressure and current waves; a standard ballistic galvanometer; an Ayrton and Perry’s variable standard of self-induction; as well as other types of instruments of various sizes for elementary work; also a complete Queen’s photometer equipment for comparing incandescent and arc lamps, and the distribution of light from the latter for open, enclosed and flaming arcs and when used with different forms of reflectors. The equipment of the dynamo electric laboratory consists of 2 Edison bipolar 3 K.W. generators; an Edison 15 K.S. generator; a General Electric 4 pole 12 K.W. generator; a Crocker-Wheeler 3.5 K.W. generator; a Century 5 H.P. motor; a Westinghouse 5 H.P. motor with wound secondary; a Westinghouse 23 H.P. Junior type of engine; a Thompson-Housteon 3 K.W. generator; two 1/4 H.P. direct current motors; a low potential testing unit, consisting of a universal alternator belted to a direct current motor and capable of adjustment to be driven from either the direct or alternating current side; a ½ K.W. special alternator arranged for single, two and three phase currents connected either star or mesh; a storage battery of 60 cells, of the Cloride type, with special switchboard; various sizes and types of transformers; standard makes of voltmeters and ammeters having wide ranges; wattmeters; power-factor meters; phase indicators; hysteresis testing apparatus of the Holden-Esterlin type; high tension transformers for testing commercial value of various insulating materials and insulators; and various other testing instruments. In connection with this department, there is a work shop equipped with a 14’8" foot bed, Flather engine lathe with a complete set of attachments; a good set of wood and metal working tools; also a small speed lathe for drilling and wood working purposes, a union combination saw with scroll, molding and boring attachments, a small hand-driven metal planer and sensitive drill. This shop and its equipment are of great value in thesis work and in making new apparatus." The "large distributing switchboard" mentioned earlier was made of wood and painted black. The plugging devices consisted of two pieces of flat copper, one connected to each end of a flexible insulated cable that passed through a round wood handle at each terminal. A portion of the wood handle extended over a section of the flat copper blade. The receptacles for these blade terminals of this cable were like the familiar copper jaws of most switches. In the rear of the switchboard were two round copper cables connected at intervals to provide positive and negative polarity alternately to the jaw receptacles mounted in slots in the switchboard and accessible for contact with the flexible cable connections from the front. According to Francis Clough ’08, this switchboard was probably constructed about 1906 by Harry E. Ingham ’07 who served as an instructor in the woodshop. HEWITT NAMED EE HEAD The decision in 1908 to separate the Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering into two departments and to appoint an alumnus of the Class of 1893, Charles E. Hewitt, as Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering brought to the staff a man of thirteen years of industrial experience. He was deeply interested in the operation and growth of the College and was undoubtedly responsible for arranging to bring to the campus a far greater supply of electric power than was available from the generating unit then in use. The success of the operation of the new power system became the responsibility of Professor Hewitt and so involved the Department of Electrical Engineering. A brief description of conditions with respect to electric power available for the town and at the College will explain the need for bringing to the campus electric power in far greater amounts in order to provide for growth of the College. From its beginning in Durham in 1893 the College generated its own power for the campus buildings by means of a 500-light alternator driven by a 40 horsepower engine located in the basement of the shops building. Residential lighting in the town first appeared on February 20, 1900, supplied by the Newmarket Electric Light, Heat and Power Company (changed in 1912 to the Newmarket Electric Light Company) from its plant on the Lamprey River in the Packers Falls section of Durham. With the arrival of Professor Hewitt in 1908 and probably due to his advice, the College arranged for bringing electric power to the campus over a branch line which connected on the Dover Road to the 3-phase 13,200 volt 25-cycle alternating current transmission line connecting the generating station of the Rockingham County Light & Power Company in Portsmouth to the substation of the Dover, Somersworth & Rochester Electric Railway located in Dover. Three 25 KVA transformers enclosed in a small brick building in the rear and to the west of the shops building converted the 13, 200 volts to 2300 volts for campus distribution. Adjacent to the brick house containing the transformers and within a wire cage were three lightning arresters of the aluminum oxide type which required periodic charges. This charging operation also became the responsibility of the Department of Electrical Engineering. At that time carbon filament lamps were used throughout the campus. They gave a disagreeable flicker when lighted due to the low 25 cycle frequency. To avoid this flicker large wattage carbon lamps were used. This problem was solved following World War I when a change was made to 60-cycle power by the Rockingham Light and Power Company. This change required the College to discard and replace all of its 25-cycle equipment of motors, transformers, regulators, etc. PART III In 1907 an Engineering Club was organized with the following officers: J.H. Priest ’08, President; J.T. Croghan ’08, Vice President; and H.D. Walker ’08, Secretary and Treasurer. There were 28 members as follows: from the class of 1908, seven EEs, four MEs and 1 ChE, totaling twelve; from the class of 1909, one ChE, six EEs and nine MEs, totaling sixteen. This Engineering Club continued until 1909 when the E.E. and M.E. Departments were represented by its own branch of the corresponding national society. A Student Branch of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers was organized on February 25, 1909. Its officers and members were: Professor A.M. Buck, Chairman, E.R. Fellows ’09 Secy. and Treas.; Executive Committee: Professor A.M. Buck, E.R. Fellows ’09, and P.F. Ellsworth ’09; Members: Professor C.E. Hewitt ’93, F.E. McKone ’09, P.F. Ellsworth ’09, Professor A.F. Nesbit, T.A. Thorpe ’10, E.R. Fellows ’09, Professor A.M. Buck, G.S. Wendell ’09, O.D. Goodwin ’09, W.S. Campbell ’09 and B.A. Lougee ’09. The Student Branch appears to have been inactive from the closing of the college year on May 1, 1918 until August 1926. In the fall of 1918 student enrollment was nearly depleted due to enlistments and acceptance of positions in industry resulting from the country’s entrance into World War I. Records show that the Branch was reactivated in August 1926. In July 1952, a joint IRE-AIEE charter was granted. At this writing (1968) the Student Branch continues to be active under the parent organization of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. E.E. DEPARTMENT. MOVES TO DeMERITT During the summer of 1914 the Department of Electrical Engineering moved from Conant Hall to DeMeritt Hall which had just been completed. Assigned to the Department on the basement floor were a large laboratory for testing purposes, dark room, photometer room, shop room, and storage battery room. On the second floor were two offices, two recitation rooms, and a drafting and library room. The Department remained in DeMeritt Hall until 1950. In the spring of 1916 Professor Hewitt offered instruction in the theory, testing, and adjustment of watt-hour meters to be given after class hours to prepare interested students for summer employment as meter testers with public service companies. Because of a misunderstanding between Professor Hewitt and the representative of the General Electric Company, who promoted this instruction, with reference to the placement of the students, this offering of instruction was not repeated another year. This instruction was organized especially for students in the two-year program in Industrial Engineering. N.Y.A. PROGRAM In 1938 a National Youth Administration resident training center was established in Durham. Its purpose was to provide training of young men for service in industry. Class room and laboratory facilities of the university were provided for training in machine shop, forge shop, shop mathematics, and drafting. The young men in this resident center were housed and trained as a unit separate from the college students. However, funds from the N.Y.A. Program were made available also for other projects. To assist college students, provision was made for assignment of students to departments for service under the supervision of members of the staff. One student assigned to the Department of Electrical Engineering installed in a class room for demonstration purposes a small unit consisting of a Holtzer Cabot Rotary Converter direct connected to a Crocker Wheeler Direct Current Motor, together with switchboard, meters, wiring, and controlling devices to permit operation to show starting, speed control, obtaining data for showing characteristics, synchronizing, etc. Another student assisted in the installation in the Department of Music in Ballard Hall equipment for recording and transcribing instructional material for class use. E.E. DEPARTMENT MOVES TO KINGSBURY Immediately following the final examinations in June, 1950, preparations for moving all Department equipment and supplies from DeMeritt Hall to Kingsbury Hall developed in intensity until the former quarters were completely vacated on July 15, the date set for complete evacuation. The moving was accomplished with student help and the use of a University truck except for the larger pieces such as the switchboard and heavy machine units which were handled under contract by riggers. This entire moving operation was accomplished with practically no breakage or damage to equipment. Three members of the Department staff, Professors A.L. Winn, W.B. Nulsen, and L.W. Hitchcock, were retained on a Summer School basis to supervise and assist in the preparation of the laboratories for instruction. Summer employment was given to four students who built shelves and benches and installed switchboards and machinery. Because of the nature of the laboratory instruction whereby only meters and a supply of 120-volt 60-cycle alternating current power were needed it was possible to start classes in the electronics laboratory in October. In the machine laboratory it was impossible to give instruction requiring the use of power until November 18, 1950, and then only with temporary connections to one generator unit. The delay in starting this laboratory was due to the late delivery of panels for the distribution switchboards which finally arrived on October 2, 1950. By the careful scheduling of experiments the laboratory was placed in normal operation at the opening of the second semester. It was not until April 16, 1951, that the 2300-volt circuit to the generator room was connected and power made available to supply the larger motor-generator unit and thus permiting full operation of the laboratory. THESIS With the establishment of a Department of Electrical Engineering in 1890 a course designated as Thesis is listed as a requirement in the senior year. The title given this course in the catalogs up to and including that of 1894-95 is "Work On Thesis," and the time allotted to this course is approximately five hours per week in the third term of the senior year. A more complete description of the procedure for submitting the thesis is given in the catalog of 1905-06, as follows: "A thesis upon some subject connected with the work of the course taken is required of every candidate for a degree. The subject, together with a written approval of it by the head of the department within which it lies, must be submitted to the president before the fifteenth day of December preceding graduation. The completed thesis shall be submitted to the head of the department concerned not later than the second Tuesday preceding Commencement. The thesis shall be typewritten or printed upon standard thesis paper, 8 ½ by 11 inches, medium weight, neatly bound in black cloth, and gilt lettered on first cover with title, name of author, degree sought, and year of graduation. This bound copy shall be approved by the faculty, filed and left with the college librarian." Under the heading of THESIS* in the catalog of 1910-11 is the following: "A thesis upon some subject connected with the work of the course taken is required of candidates for a degree, in all courses except the Arts and Science Course. The subject, together with a written approval of it by the head of the department within which it lies, is to be submitted to the president before the 15th day of December preceding graduation. The thesis is to be submitted to the head of the department concerned not later than the second Tuesday proceeding commencement day. The thesis is to be completed in typewritten and bound form and be in the hands of the department concerned before the Tuesday proceeding commencement day. The thesis is to be typewritten or printed on standard thesis paper, eight and one-half by eleven inches, medium weight, neatly bound in black cloth and gilt-lettered on first cover with title, name of author, degree sought and year of graduation. This bound copy is to be filed and left with the college librarian." Later, in the same catalog of 1910-11, under Description Of Studies in Electrical Engineering the following appears under Thesis: "A deposit of fifteen dollars to cover any damage done to instruments or apparatus, etc., is required in this course. Any unexpended balance is refunded at the close of the college year. Where apparatus is constructed as a part of a thesis, it shall remain the property of the department." * This was a catalog requirement for graduation from four-year courses. In the college year 1911-12 the election of Thesis became optional with the head of the department and continued as such through 1913-14. From 1914-15 through 1925-26 Thesis was listed as a course but did not appear among the courses listed in the curriculum. In 1926-27 and through 1928-29 Thesis became a requirement in all three terms of the senior year. It was replaced by a Term Paper in 1929-30 which was a requirement in all three terms of the senior year but was reduced to one term for 1932-33 through 1934-35 when the Term Paper was discontinued. In the catalog of 1926-27 the description of Thesis given under courses required by the department is as follows: "An investigation of the history and development of electrical theory or equipment, or an original research involving electrical principles and their application. The written thesis must conform to the rules of grammar and composition and must be submitted at stated intervals for criticism." The description of Term Paper in the 1929-30 catalog is identical with that just given under Thesis in 1926-27. The subject of Thesis has been somewhat emphasized because of its contribution of equipment for laboratory experimental purposes. In the early years of the college at Durham the number of students was such that there was no lack of space in the foundry, shops, or laboratory for the construction and testing of equipment. For many years several items of equipment built or altered as thesis projects have been assigned for laboratory experiments such as the Hysteresis Meter, and the Universal Alternator, and the 3K.W. and 15K.W. generators converted to deliver both direct current and alternating current. RESEARCH Sponsored research did not become effective in the Department of Electrical Engineering until after World War II. Earlier research was in the form of a thesis or an investigation initiated by a student or a member of the teaching staff and carried on at convenient hours. One such project was "A Superheterodyne For Long Distance Television Reception" by Donald W. Mack, UNH ’32. This research was conducted in a small room on the third floor of DeMeritt Hall which originally was a blueprint room for the Department of Drawing and Architecture. Reception was usually confined to evening hours. This research required the design of circuits, determination of motor speeds for proper synchronization, and viewing equipment for successfully receiving a picture. In its final form the equipment consisted of a superheterodyne detector-tuner using an unusually low intermediate frequency (300 KC as compared to the 1500 KC usual at that time) and an electron-coupled oscillator to produce the required sensitivity without destroying the necessary wide and band pass characteristics which then were unique to television. The first clean sharp picture which was held for five or ten minutes. or so was received from Station W3XK in Silver Springs, Maryland, during the latter part of March, 1932. Within fourteen operating days the following stations were received: W3Xk Silver Springs, MD.; W1XAV Boston, Mass.: W2XR Long Island City, N.Y.; W2XAB New York, N.Y.; W2XBS New York, N.Y.; W2XCR New York, N.Y.; and W2XCD Passiac, N.J. A paper covering this research consisting of six pages of description and diagrams was presented by Mr. Mack at a Northeastern District Convention of Student Branches of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers for which he was awarded a Certificate of Best Branch Paper Prize for the Year of 1932. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ADVANCED DEGREES The opportunity for graduates to earn the professional degree of Electrical Engineer first appeared in the catalog of 1921-22. Enrollment of graduate students for the Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering occurred for the first time in February, 1947. *Part I was published in the last issue (Winter 1973) of Tech Alumni Newsletter and also in 1998 issue of Signal and Noise. The history of our Department will be continued in the next issue of Signals and Noise. |
