Historical Review

 The beginning was in 1886 when the engineering school was founded with two

departments: Irrigation and Architectural Engineering. The study consisted of

five years starting with a preparatory year to study mathematics, physics,

mechanics and descriptive geometry. Although this system was canceled in 1892,

its right idea reappeared thirty five years later.  In 1927, the Royal

Engineering School included four engineering departments. However, in 1930 a

fifth department for basic sciences was added. Three laboratories for general

physics, electronic physics and acoustics were built when the school joined the

Egyptian University in 1935, and the school  name changed to the Faculty of

Engineering. The task of teaching basic sciences to engineering students was

assigned to two departments  Preparatory and Physics. During the early fifties,

the two departments were united to form the Department of Mathematical and

Physical Sciences. During the early sixties, the  departmental staff members

were asked to be doubly qualified with a bachelor degree of science (Mathematics

or Physics) in addition to a Bachelor degree of engineering together with the

Ph.D. degree. This double qualification of faculty members contributed to

expanding the mission of the department to include graduate studies. The

graduate program was developed steadily during the seventies and Master degrees

were awarded. The name of the department was changed in 1978 to suit its

aspiration to be a bridge between applied engineering and basic sciences. The

new name is the “Department of Engineering Mathematics and Physics.”

Growth continued during the eighties and nineties with the requirement of

obtaining a B. Sc. in Mathematics or Physics which  was replaced by the

requirement of taking ten qualifying  courses in engineering mathematics or

engineering physics taught by the staff of the Department. Ph.D. degrees in

engineering mathematics, engineering physics and engineering mechanics have been

awarded since 1985.