Throughout its existence, The Engineering Society of
Detroit® (also known as The Engineering Society®)
has been a leader, whether in promoting the engineering and scientific
professions or by providing invaluable technical assistance to
the community.
In 1895, thirteen
young engineering students from the University of Michigan
formed the Detroit Association of Graduate Engineers, later
known as the Engineering Society of Detroit, for one specific
purpose – to
demonstrate to the Regents at the University of Michigan the value
of an engineering education. During the next six years the Society’s
membership expanded to include engineering graduates from
other universities. By 1929 the membership grew to 871, but
the Great Depression descended upon the nation and within
five years the Society lost 75% of its members. Faced with
bankruptcy, then president, Harold S. Ellington, an engineer
and partner in the architectural-engineering firm of Harley
and Ellington, sent letters to past and present members asking
for financial assistance and suggestions by which the Society
could regain solvency. Bryson Horton, a trustee of the Horace
H. Rackham and Mary A. Rackham Fund suggested the Society
petition the Trustees for financial support to assist with
its work in promoting the advancement of the engineering
profession.
Based
on this initial request there has been an ongoing relationship
that continues today between the Rackham Engineering Fund
and the Society. With the financial support of the Rackham
Engineering Fund the reorganized Society experienced phenomenal
growth from 523 active members in 1930 to 2,396 in 1938.
In 1942 the Society’s
moved into its new home which was dedicated, the Horace H. Rackham Memorial Building.
For the next fifty years The Engineering Society of Detroit and the Rackham Memorial
Building served as the hub for metropolitan Detroit’s
engineering community.
Since
our early beginnings, ESD has enjoyed the overwhelming support
of industry within the metro Detroit region. The list of
members reads like a "Who’s
Who" of past and present industry and civic giants from Charles Kettering
and William "Bunky" Knudsen, to Henry Ford and Henry Ford II, Alex
Dow, Walter J. McCarthy, Jr., Lee Iacocca, Elliott "Pete" Estes,
Dexter Ferry, Albert Kahn, Richard Kuhn, Father William T.
Cunningham, Keith Crain, Dr. David Cole and G. Richard Wagoner,
Jr.
Today ESD continues to receive the
overwhelming support from industry leaders. As one of the
largest and oldest multi-disciplinary engineering societies
in the nation, ESD’s membership
represents a multitude of industries and related technical fields including automotive;
utilities; construction and design; information technology; materials, chemicals
and steel; and education and research. With several hundred corporate and several
thousand individual members throughout the Great Lakes Region, ESD unites engineers,
scientists, architects and those in related technical fields in a common goal – the
advancement and promotion of the profession.
The Society’s programs and services are dedicated
to enhancing the profession and the community, while encouraging
growth and development of engineers and scientists for the
future.
See listings of ESD Past Presidents and Fellows.
