The Pennsylvania State University’s rich tradition and history began in 1855, as the Farmer’s High School of Pennsylvania. It wasn’t until 1882, under President George W. Atherton, that the school expanded outside the realm of agricultural studies. The school was renamed The Pennsylvania State College and engineering studies were introduced to the curriculum. The school expanded greatly in the years that followed and the first branch campuses were opened in 1930s. This was the groundwork for the 24 current campuses located throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The school finally got its present-day name in 1953.

The Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering was established in 1909 and was the first IE department in the world. At the time, courses consisted of modern IE concepts such as: time and motion study, engineering economics, and plant layout optimization. For most of its history, the department shared a building with other engineering discipline. That changed in 2000, when the Leonhard Building was opened. This 95,200 square-foot facility is the home to a host of lecture halls, classrooms, computer and research labs, and student lounges. The most impressive of these is the 10,000 square-foot Factory for Advanced Manufacturing Education, or FAME Lab. It houses multiple CNC machining centers, a full metal casting area, various welding booths, as well as injection molding equipment. Over the last century, more than 7,000 industrial engineers have graduated from the department with B.S., M.Eng., M.S., and/or Ph.D. degrees. For more information, visit psu.edu.

The Pennsylvania State University

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