Cockrell School of Engineering
The Cockrell School of Engineering is one of the eighteen colleges within the University of Texas at Austin. It has more than 8,000 students enrolled in eleven undergraduate and thirteen graduate programs. The college is ranked fourth in the world according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities and eighth nationally by U.S. News & World Report, while all graduate programs are ranked in the top twenty nationally. Annual research expenditures are over $150 million and the school has the fourth-largest number of faculty in the National Academy of Engineering.
Previously known as the College of Engineering, on July 11, 2007, the University of Texas at Austin renamed the College after 1936 graduate Ernest Cockrell Jr., whose family has over the past 30 years helped to build a $140 million endowment for the College.
Undergraduate departments
Rankings, in parentheses, taken from the 2020 edition of U.S. News & World Report.Overall: 11th
- Petroleum Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Electrical/Electronic Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Computational Engineering
- Architectural Engineering
Graduate departments
Overall: 11th
- Petroleum Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Electrical/Electronic Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Materials Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
Traditions
The Ramshorn
The Ramshorn is one of the most prominent symbols associated with the College of Engineering. Its origins as such can be traced back to over a century ago, when T.U. Taylor, the first engineering faculty member and first dean of the College, began drawing the elaborate checkmark on students' work. A mark reserved for perfect papers, Taylor overheard a student remark he had received a "ramshorn" in 1905, from which the symbol took on its current interpretation and significance.Alexander Frederick Claire
Alec's beginnings as the patron saint of the College came as the byproduct of the efforts of a group of sophomore engineers back in 1908.Joe H. Gill and his engineering friends thoughtfully considered how to make a holiday of April Fool's Day. After an unsuccessful attempt involving tying cans around dogs' tails and releasing them to disrupt class, the group of students saw a wooden statue about five feet high while getting refreshments, which they requested to borrow. The next day, Gill presented the statue as their patron saint and traced his ancestry back to ancient times between classes. The presentation successfully broke up classes, and led to his christening as Alexander Frederick Claire, patron saint of UT engineers, exactly one year later. Alec was at the center of a friendly rivalry between law and engineering students for many years, and was subject to numerous escapades such as kidnappings and amputations. Today, what is left of the original wooden statue is safely preserved in the engineering library.
Every year, engineering groups on campus build new Alecs which are then voted on by the students. The winner is announced on April 1 during Alec's birthday party.
Notable faculty
- John B. Goodenough, recipient of 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research leading to creation of lithium-ion battery
- Hans Mark, former Secretary of the Air Force and Deputy Administrator of NASA
- Yale Patt, inventor of the WOS module, the first complex logic gate implemented on a single piece of silicon
- Alan Bovik, Primetime Emmy Award-winning engineer whose video quality tools pervade television, social media and home cinema
- Ilya Prigogine, recipient of 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics
- Robert Metcalfe, co-inventor of Ethernet.
Research centers
- Advanced Manufacturing Center
- Center for Aeromechanics Research
- Center for Energy & Environmental Resources
- The Center for Energy Security
- Advanced Research in Software Engineering
- Center for Mechanics of Solids, Structures & Materials
- Center for Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering
- Center for Research in Water Resources
- Center for Space Research
- Center for Transportation Research UT Austin
- Computer Engineering Research Center
- Construction Industry Institute
- Phil M. Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory
- Geotechnical Engineering Center
- Microelectronics Research Center
- Offshore Technology Research Center
- Texas Materials Institute
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Student organizations
- is the umbrella organization of all the engineering student organizations, with over thirty engineering organizations affiliated. The SEC is responsible for acting as the official voice of all engineering students in the school and putting on events that benefit the engineering students including the Fall Engineering EXPO, which is the 2nd largest student-run career fair in the United States.
- Omega Chi Epsilon is the Chemical Engineering honor society. Candidates are invited each semester to undergo a pledge process which involves service events, social events, and faculty firesides. OXE's meetings feature high-profile industry partners and are open to all engineering students.
- The American Institute of Chemical Engineers is the primary professional student organization within the Chemical Engineering Department at the University.
- The American Society of Civil Engineers is the primary professional student organization within the Civil Engineering Department at the University.
- The Institute of Transportation Engineers, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, and the Women's Transportation Seminar are the primary professional student organizations for transportation students at the University.
- The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is the primary professional student organization within the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University.
- The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is the primary professional student organization within the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University.
- Eta Kappa Nu is the honor society of the IEEE and serves electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, and other IEEE fields of interest. The University's Psi Chapter of HKN was chartered in 1928 as the 22nd chapter within HKN.
- The Society of Petroleum Engineers is the primary professional student organization within the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University.
- The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers are two national professional student organizations who represent and develop minority student engineers at the University.
- The Society of Women Engineers is a professional student organization who represents women engineers at the University.
- Engineers for a Sustainable World is a professional student organization whose aim is to improve the sustainability at the University.
- is Cockrell School of Engineering's newest professional student organization. It aims to connect business and engineering students interested in working in industries where business and engineering people work together.