4 Commencement 2026 HISTORY OF STEVENS Stevens Institute of Technology is named for the distinguished family known as “America’s First Family of Inventors.” The Stevens family influenced American engineering for decades, designing steamboats, locomotives, railroad tracks and a host of other technical innovations that powered the new nation. When inventor Edwin A. Stevens passed away in 1868, his bequest provided for the establishment of the university that now bears his family’s name. Two years later, and through the effort and guidance of his widow, Martha Bayard Stevens, Stevens Institute of Technology opened, offering a challenging engineering curriculum grounded in scientific principles and the humanities and leading to the degree of Mechanical Engineer. Over subsequent decades, Stevens grew by leaps and bounds, evolving from a small four-year undergraduate college of engineering into a leading technological university with strengths in key fields such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, resilience engineering, robotics, complex systems, healthcare, biomedical research, brain research and fintech. The university has produced a Nobel Prize winner (Frederick Reines ’39 M.S. ’41) and thousands of new technologies, products, services and research insights. In 1971, Stevens opened its doors to undergraduate women for the first time. In 1982, the university became the first major U.S. educational institution to require students to purchase personal computers for use in the classroom and also developed one of the nation’s first intranets, leading a revolution in higher education’s use of information technology. Today Stevens continues to ascend, expanding enrollment, facilities, partnerships and research programs. Post-graduation outcomes and return on tuition investment remain some of the nation’s strongest. The university’s collaborations with industry and government include numerous grant awards, contracts and collaborative projects, as well as two National Centers of Excellence designated by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. Stevens also recently opened the transformative University Center Complex, providing residential housing for approximately 1,000 students while creating a true campus hub with meeting, collaboration and event spaces. Stevens students, faculty and 50,000 alumni continue to make significant impact globally. Through its leading-edge research, innovative curriculum and robust internship and cooperative education programs, the university will continue to grow in size and impact — creating new knowledge, confronting the most urgent challenges of our time and positively shaping the future of global society for years to come.
