Campus History
CEG Campus was established in 1794, as a School of Survey with eight students in a building near Fort St. George. Founded by Michael Topping, the school became the Civil Engineering School in 1858. Subsequently, this was established as a college in 1859 under the Madras University. It was then rechristened as College of Engineering in 1861 with the inclusion of the Mechanical Engineering branch.
Civil Engineering was a much sought after field of study the specialty in those early days. The first set of the students received the DCE degree in 1864. In 1920 the College moved into the sprawling 185 acres campus at Guindy. In 1925, Rao Bahadur G. Nagarathinam Ayyar became the first Indian Principal of the College. This institution became the oldest technical institution in Asia and has several firsts to its credit. Shifting of the college to Guindy was the impact of conducting the Degree courses in Mechanical Engineering and paved the way for rapid expansion to add some more Degree courses.
The Degree courses thus added into curriculum are:
- Mechanical Engineering - 1894
- Electrical Engineering - 1930
- Telecommunication and Highways - 1945
- Printing Technology - 1982
Research Programmes were introduced in 1935. Dr. K. L. Rao, former Union Minister for irrigation obtained his first M.Sc. Degree by Research. Miss. Leela George and Miss. A. Lalitha were the first two lady Engineers of Guindy (1940). In 1942-43, accelerated course was brought into effect with no vacations and 3 batches passed out in two years because of World War II. In 1946 first Ph.D. was obtained by Prof. K. Sukumaran. In 1947 two more colleges were started, one at Ananthapur and another at Vishakhapatnam. But they functioned at Guindy itself for some time for want of infrastructural facilities at the new places.
In 1957, the intake of students was increased from 175 to 275 for the College. Pre professional course was introduced and the entry level was the newly started Pre-University course. This was later changed to 5 year integrated course.
In 1978, Perarignar Anna University of Technology (PAUT) was formed. Subsequently Anna University was established with four constituent colleges, viz. College of Engineering (Presently known as CEG Campus), Madras Institute of Technology, Alagappa College of Technology, and School of Architecture and Planning. The Anna University functioned from the Guindy Campus. Mr. P. Sivlingam was the first Vice Chancellor. Dr.Kulandaisamy took over as the second Vice Chancellor and Dr. M.Anandakrishnan was the third Vice Chancellor of the University. New branches of Engineering were introduced in the College. The College offers a number of UG and PG courses in different disciplines. In January 2001, all engineering colleges in Tamilnadu were affiliated to Anna University.
As one of the oldest engineering institutions in the country, CEG Campus has a rich tradition of research, and is dedicated to furthering the frontiers of technology and engineering. To meet the research needs of both Tamil Nadu and the Indian government, the students of CEG Campus work towards sustainable solutions to real world problems. One of the many achievements brought about by the diligence of its research body, is the launch of the indigenously built microsatellite, ANUSAT, the first such satellite to be built by an Indian university. Under the aegis of ISRO, students and faculty worked tirelessly to build, launch and operate the satellite. CEG Campus is hence the nexus of technology and some of the brightest minds of the country, truly encouraging to an atmosphere of progressive research. CEG Campus engages the research scholars in extensive research activities that extend beyond classrooms. Various specialized Research Centres, with highly experienced faculty, are located around the campus that provides facilities to undertake research in any chosen sphere. Apart from prioritized academic focus, research centres in CEG Campus aim to provide the comprehensive knowledge to the society.
CEG Campus emerged as the top most educational campus in the State, and only the top ranking students are able to get admissions in this campus.
Michael Topping
Michael Topping (1747–1796) was the Chief Marine Surveyor of Fort St. George in Chennai (then Madras) responsible for founding the oldest modern technical school outside Europe. The Survey School was completed on 17 May 1794, with an initial intake of eight students. Topping was also the first full-time modern professional surveyor of India having surveyed the seas off the Coromandel Coast, India's south-east coast. Topping persuaded astronomer William Petrie to gift his equipment to the government and set up the first modern astronomical observatory in Nungambakkam. The school was established in 1792 and Topping was appointed as the astronomer. Topping died in 1796.