Using visionary thinking to deliver work that matters
For 125 years, CMU’s students, faculty, staff and alumni have harnessed the power of possibilities to tackle complex issues, create life-changing innovations and make critical discoveries. These accomplishments brought the world to where we are today and helped build CMU’s legacy as a leader in education and research.
Pioneering solutions to humanity’s most pressing challenges.
CMU creates the Engineering and Public Policy Department in 1976 after faculty members recognize a need to examine — and prepare students to address — the societal repercussions of technology.
Laying the foundation for CMU’s future.
In the 1940s, president Robert Doherty develops the Carnegie Plan, which encourages students to study academic disciplines outside their primary academic area.
Unleashing a flurry of files in cyberspace.
Alumnus Nathaniel Borenstein sends the first-ever email attachment — a photo and recording of his barbershop quartet, the Telephone Cords — in 1992.
Reaching for the stars.
Judith Resnik (ENG 1970) was selected by NASA in 1978 for its inaugural cohort of female astronauts. She became the second American woman in space on the Discovery shuttle, and was a mission specialist for the ill-fated Challenger flight in 1986.
The birth of frozen orange juice.
From 1913 until 1967, when it merged with Carnegie Tech, the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research took on problems large and small. It is where the processes that made frozen orange juice, razor blades and skinless hot dogs were made — as well as important work in reducing air pollution and increasing occupational safety.
explore the mellon institute's legacy of innovation
Brilliance overcomes barriers.
CMU Professor Joseph Dadok was an early pioneer in the field of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and was referred to as the "founder of NMR in Czechoslovakia."