Chapter 9 The History of the Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics Department at the University of Minnesota Amy Elizabeth Foster, MA William L. Garrard, Ph.D. Graduate Student Professor and Department Head Department of History Department of Aerospace Auburn University Engineering and Mechanics Auburn, AL - University of Minnesota Minneapolis MN 1929 to 1958 - From Aeronautical Engineering to Mecbanics The University of Minnesota fLrst offered courses in aeronautical engineering to undergraduate' in mechanical engineering in 1926. This was 13 years after the first aeronautical engineering program in the U.S. was established at MIT. In early 1928. Ora M. Leland, Dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture, proposed to the Minnesota Board of Regents tbat an independent department of aeronautical engineering be established. He believed that "Minnesota is favorably located to become a center for this field of engineering for the Northwest." Leland recommended that the new curriculum continue much as it had from witbin the mechanical engineering department. A special lectureship was given to John D. Akelman, who not only taught during the 1928-1929 school year, but also helped design the final form of the department. In the fall of 1929, the Department of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Minnesota officially opened its doors to students. Jolm Akerman, then an associate professor, served as its first department head, a position he would hold for nearly three decades. Consistent with Akerman's background. the department's curriculum reflected the interests of industry. Born in Latvia, Akerman began his aeronautical studies at the Imperial Technical Institute in Moscow under the pioneer aerodynamicist Nickolai Joukowski. Akerman was also acquainted with Igor Sikorsky and maintained contact with Sikorsky after both immigrated to the USA. When World War I started, Akerman served as a pilot for the Russian Imperial Air Service. After the Bolshevik take over in 1917, he fled to France and served as a pilot in the French air force. He moved to the United States after the war in 1918. Akerman's aeronautical interests led him to the University of Michigan. where he earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1925. Akerman stayed at Michigan until 1927, Copyright © 2004 by Amy Elizabeth foster and William L. Garrard. Published by the American Institute ofAeronautics and Astronautics. Inc .. with pennission. lOra M. Leland to President L. D. Coffman. 4 February. 1928. College of Engineering and /\rchitecture, Department of Aeronautics. 1929-1940 File. President's Office Papers. 1911-1945. University of Minnesota Archives. 99