Celebrating 51 Years of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Engineering

Author: Teresa Walker
Event Date: September 1, 2020
In the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, Dr. Richard Grace sought out the support needed to launch a new program in the College of Engineering in 1969. He asked faculty to consider teaching students other than in their own degree programs across the college and university. A first-of-its-kind concept, undergraduate students would have a similar experience as graduate students, working with the program director and advisor to help them blaze their own interdisciplinary careers.


Dr. Grace and group of advisors pictured in 1969
Circa 1969, the original staff including Dr. Richard Grace, Founding Head, second from left.

With the approval from the Purdue Board of Trustees on September 1, 1969, Dr. Grace's persistence helped launch a new pathway for engineering students to set the pace for new and emerging fields. Fast forward to now, our alumni/ae with a persistence of their own pursuit, are acoustical engineers, lawyers, legacy nuclear, environmental and biomedical engineers, visual design engineers, doctors and surgeons, general engineers, NASA flight directors, engineering college deans, engineering professors, and most recently theatre and humanitarian engineers. 

Dr. Wankat, Dr. Pilotte, and Dr. Grace
Circa 2015, Dr. Phi Wankat, Dr. Mary Pilotte, and Dr. Richard Grace, together at the annual Interdisciplinary Engineering Colloquium.

In the 51 years of the program, we have only had four directors with whom each brought not only his or her skills and expertise, but also a heart for mentoring. Dr. Richard ‘Dick’ Grace, Dr. David Kessler, Dr. Phillip ‘Phil’ Wankat, and Dr. Mary Pilotte, the four named directors, along with their advisors (Joan, Ida and Ms. Pekny!), worked tirelessly to connect students with other disciplines (many outside of engineering) to ensure their engineering students’ personal plans of study were successful. As we talk with our alumni and learn of their unique career paths, each time the credit for their success at Purdue is directed back to their IDE ‘mentors’ - the names we recognize as our directors. We can't thank you enough, Dick, David, Phil, and Mary!

Class of 2019 Group Photo
Circa 2019, Class of 2020 with Dr. Mary Pilotte and Ms. Chris Pekny (far right)

A Celebration to Remember

Last year, we celebrated our 50th anniversary together with our alumni/ae and engineering education community. Below is a collection of media from the two-day event, beginning with the podcast interview with Dr. Grace who gave us a history lesson of our legacy program Interdisciplinary Engineering (IDE).  

50th Anniversary Photo Album

ENE Celebrating Milestones
Click for Flickr Album

Video Series of Anniversary Events

More History

Interview with Dr. Mary Pilotte, Director of Enginering Education Undergraduate Programs

Dr. Pilotte, known to her students as 'Professor P', talks about the changes to the program over the years with the founding producers of the Ides of Engineering podcast, Oscar and Zach.