ASME: A Connection to Stevens That Began in 1880

Stevens' first professor of mechanical engineering, Robert Thurston, was inspired to lead the way in professionalizing and standardizing the mechanical engineering field — and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) was one of the results. Dr. Henry Morton, the first president at Stevens, was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the effort.

Asked if he could use space at Stevens for the first meeting of ASME, he did not hesitate. In a gas-lit assembly hall in the Edwin A. Stevens Building, that first formal ASME meeting was held, announcing Thurston as first president of the new organization. Two years later, President Morton would become vice president of ASME. Many more from Stevens would eventually serve as presidents or vice presidents of the organization.