![Fig. 2: Development of the number of freshmen in the integrated Master (until 2005) and Bachelor students (2005 onwards) over the years. (Sources: [16] and TU Delft)](/figures/fig-2-development-of-the-number-of-freshmen-in-the-2a7zcqsi.webp)
Delft University of Technology
80 Years of Aerospace Engineering Education in the Netherlands
Saunders, Gillian; Melkert, Joris; Schuurman, Michiel
DOI
10.2514/6.2020-0643
Publication date
2020
Document Version
Final published version
Published in
AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum
Citation (APA)
Saunders, G., Melkert, J., & Schuurman, M. (2020). 80 Years of Aerospace Engineering Education in the
Netherlands. In
AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum: 6-10 January 2020, Orlando, FL
(pp. 1-19). [AIAA 2020-0643]
(AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum; Vol. 1 PartF). American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc. (AIAA).
https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2020-0643
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1
80 Years of Aerospace Engineering Education
in the Netherlands
Gillian N. Saunders-Smits
1
, Joris A. Melkert
2
, Michiel Schuurman
3
Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
This year, 2020, the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology
in the Netherlands celebrates its 80
th
birthday. This paper describes the history of the
department since its founding in early 1940, just before the start of World War II in the
Netherlands, until present day. The paper will highlight how its research and education
developed within the socio-economic context of the Netherlands and the developments in
aerospace over the past 80 years.
Introduction
This year, 2020, marks the 80
th
anniversary of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of
Technology, located in Delft in the western part of the Netherlands. Since its commencement in May of 1940 until
present day the Faculty has developed itself into one of the largest Aerospace Departments in the world, with an annual
intake of over 400 Bachelor students and 400 Master students as well as the presence of 270 PhD students. The
university ranks 10
th
in the Shanghai ranking for Aerospace Engineering. The aerospace curriculum is fully taught in
English and the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering employs over 150 academic staff members. Delft University of
Technology, as a whole, totals over 25,000 Bachelor and Master students and 2,500 academic staff.
In this paper the authors will tell the history of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of
Technology from its creation in 1940 till the present day within the socio-economic context in the Netherlands and in
particular of the Dutch aerospace industry. Furthermore, its history will be positioned within the development of
Engineering and in particular Aerospace Engineering as a branch of study over the past century. This perspective will
be based on a multitude of historic sources and is based in part on previous research performed by the first author,
Saunders-Smits [1], as well as records of subsequent events and publications since.
I. The Development of Aerospace Engineering as a University Degree
Although Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was one of the first engineers to record possible designs of flying crafts,
he, like the first aircraft designers after him, was predominantly an auto-didactic with little formal training in
engineering at an academic level. To fully understand how aerospace engineering became an academic degree course,
it is important to examine this development in the context of the development of engineering education at Higher
Education level, and the development of aerospace as an established field of science. Therefore, in this section these
developments and the birth of the first aerospace departments in the world will be discussed before exploring the
conception of aerospace within the Netherlands and the history of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft
University of Technology.
A. Defining Aerospace Engineering
To avoid confusion in this paper, the authors would first like to define what they mean with Aerospace Engineering
as a field of science, as the term is often loosely used, especially internationally. The authors would like to use the
1
Associate Professor, Aerospace Structures and Materials, Member.
2
Senior Lecturer & Educational Fellow, Aerodynamics, Wind Energy, Flight Performance and Propulsion, Lifetime
Member.
3
Assistant Professor, Aerospace Structures and Materials, Member.
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AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum
6-10 January 2020, Orlando, FL
10.2514/6.2020-0643
Copyright © 2020 by Gillian N.
Saunders-Smits , Joris A. Melkert , Michiel Schuurman. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission.
AIAA SciTech Forum
2
definition as listed in the Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering [2] which defines aerospace engineering as: “the
primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft”. This definition was coined
when the field of aeronautical engineering, defined as “the primary field of engineering concerned with the
development of aircraft,” increasingly started to extend their work to include vehicles operating in (outer) space, also
leading to the renaming of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NACA to the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, NASA in 1953. In literature, when referring to (outer) space engineering, the terms
astronautical engineering or space engineering are also used, defined as “the primary field of engineering concerned
with the development of spacecraft”.
B. Development of Engineering Education at Higher Education Level
Engineering was one of the last fields of sciences to be developed as scientific field of study. Natural sciences
were already studied by ancient civilizations and considerably developed as an independent field of science in the 16
th
and 17
th
century with the emerging of scholars such as Copernicus (1473-1543), Galilei (1564-1642), and Newton
(1642-1727) and the founding of the Royal Society (of London for Improving Natural Knowledge) in 1660. The
logical explanation for this is discussed by Saunders-Smits [1] and Lintsen et al. [3], who tell of the Dutch science
philosopher Van Peursen who likens the development of engineering as a science to the water cycle [4]: with first the
development of formal sciences, followed by the development of the empirical sciences and, for now, conclude by the
applied sciences, which includes the field of Engineering, as being closest to social reality. In this analogy it makes
perfect sense that engineering is not offered as a university degree nor is it researched at a university level until the
late 18
th
century and the first half of the 19
th
century. This of course also coincides with the start of the Industrial
Revolution in the United Kingdom, greatly aided by the further development of Newcomen’s Steam Engine by James
Watt in 1765, creating a societal need for more applied knowledge in order to prosper.
Fig. 1: The building of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology when it opened
in 1965 (left) and currently (right) – Images © TU Delft
Historians are in disagreement on when and where the first institutionalized scientific training of engineers took
place. Simon Stevin (1548-1620) was asked by the Dutch prince Maurits of Orange (1567-1625) to found a military
engineering school at the University of Leiden (in the Netherlands) in 1600. However, this school taught in Dutch as
opposed to Latin, which was the primary language used at universities at the time. As a result, the school struggled to
gain real recognition for more than a century as an academic institution and was eventually abandoned [5]. It is
therefore not seen as an academic institution by historians.
Gregory [6] suggests that the “École Polytechnique” – Polytechnic School, was the first school to be founded in
France in 1795, but other historians, such as Emmerson [7] and Armytage [8] mention an earlier school in France:
the “École des Ponts et Chaussées” – School of Bridges and Roads, founded in 1747. After these, other European
countries followed in rapid succession with the Freiburg School of Mines in Germany in 1765 and a military
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3
engineering academy being founded in Delft by King William I in 1814, which would become the Royal Academy
for Civilian Engineers by 1842 by order of his son King William II. This school was renamed to “Polytechnische
Hogeschool” in 1864 and became a formalized Higher Education Institute named “Technische Hogeschool” in 1905,
modelled after the French model of “Écoles Polytechniques”. It is this school that laid the foundation for the present
Delft University of Technology or “Technische Universiteit Delft” in Dutch, commonly referred to as “TU Delft.” [5].
In England it took until 1840 for the first chair in engineering to be set up in London. In Glasgow, Scotland an
engineering chair was set up in the same year, followed by Dublin in Ireland in 1842 and Belfast in Northern Ireland
in 1849.
Which college was the first engineering college in the United States of America, is still a topic of an ongoing
debate. The consensus, however, is that the following four schools [9] can be considered the first engineering colleges:
- The United States Military Academy at WestPoint, New York (first engineering graduate in 1817),
- Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont (first Civil Engineering degree awarded in 1834)
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York (first graduate in Civil engineering 1835)
- Union College, Schenectady, New York (degree course in Engineering offered from 1845)
C. Development of Aerospace Engineering Education
The development of the field of aerospace initially focused on aeronautics. The push to teach subjects related to
aeronautics and create academic degree programs was greatly aided by the first recorded sustained flight of an aircraft
by the Wright Brothers in 1903 and the rapid rise of other aircraft designers who followed soon after. However, as to
who taught the first courses in aeronautical engineering, is still an ongoing debate in literature. McCormick [10] states
that Professor Lucien Marchis of the University of Paris, France was the first to teach formal courses in aerodynamics
at university level in 1910. These claims are disputed by other sources. Ransom and Self [11] list the claim that
Imperial College in London, England taught its first course in aeronautics in 1909. They also report that the first chair
in Aeronautics at Imperial College was founded in 1920. In addition, Queen Mary’s College London, England proudly
lists on its website, that they are the oldest aeronautical engineering department in the United Kingdom, founded in
1909 and already teaching courses in aeronautics from 1907. The first institution reported to be established to award
a degree in aeronautical engineering was the “L’École Polytechnique de L’Aéronautique” in 1909 in Toulouse in
France. This school still exists today under the name “ISAE SUPAERO”. In the United States of America, the first
degree and 4-year program in aeronautical engineering was founded in 1916 at the University of Michigan combined
with founding of a department in aeronautical engineering. In 1926 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
in Cambridge, Massachusetts. founded its aeronautical engineering department. From the 1930s onwards more schools
were founded all over the world and this accelerated after the outbreak of World War II. With the start of the space
program most aeronautical universities also started to include space in their curricula, which from 1958 onwards led
to many institutes changing the name of their departments from aeronautical to aerospace engineering.
II. Developments in Dutch Aviation until 1940
The Netherlands has its own strong tradition in aerospace engineering. The most famous of Dutch designers,
Anthony Fokker, flew his first design the “Spin” (Spider) on its maiden flight in 1911[12]. He had a fierce competitor
named Frits Koolhoven whose aircraft the “Heidevogel” (Moor bird) also took to the skies in 1911 [13]. Fokker left
for Germany due to a lack of customers in the Netherlands, where he became a successful aircraft designer during the
First World War with his Fokker DR-I gaining notoriety among the Allied Forces. For similar reasons Koolhoven left
for England where he was a designer for British Deperdussin, Armstrong Whitworth and British Aerial Transport.
Both returned to the Netherlands after the First World War to start their own factories. They were however, not the
only Dutch aircraft designers at the time. Spyker, initially built Farman aircraft in license and later started to produce
his own aircraft the “Spyker V1, V2 and V3”. Then there were the Pander factories which produced the “Pander D”
and the “Pander E” as well as the “S.4 Postjager.” The latter took part in the 1924 London-Melbourne race. Pander’s
designers continued in 1934 at the Schelde factories building the S.12 and the S.20 [12]. Finally, there was Hugo
Lambach, a graduate in Mechanical Engineering of TU Delft who built two aircraft, the “Lambach HL I” and the
“Lambach HL II” [14]. None of these companies ever reached the same size of Fokker and Koolhoven who employed
over 1,200 people each.
On the operations side, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was founded by Albert Plesman in 1919 and soon started
regular flights to the Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia) from the first Dutch Civil Airport, Schiphol. Schiphol
initially was a military airport but became a civil airport in 1920 and is now a major hub airport.
The Dutch armed forces, similarly to the British armed forces, started a Flying Corps, (in Dutch:
“Luchtvaartafdeling”) upon the urging of General Snijders in 1913. During the First World War, the fleet of this unit
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4
was greatly extended by over a 100 foreign aircraft, which were confiscated from both sides of the conflict who sought
refuge in Dutch neutral territory. Of these recovered aircraft 69 were restored to flying condition and added to the
Dutch military fleet. During the interbellum the air unit continued to grow to become an independent branch of the
Dutch Armed Forces, now known as the “Royal Netherlands Air Force” [15].
Also, to support the ongoing developments in the field of aviation, the Dutch National Study Department for
Aeronautics (in Dutch: “Rijksstudiedienst voor de Luchtvaart”) opened its doors in 1919. This organization still exists
and is now known as the “Royal Dutch Aerospace Center” (NLR).
As a result of all these developments, there was a great need for highly trained and skilled aeronautical engineers.
III. History of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology
To address this need, from the 1930s onwards, the first courses in aeronautical engineering were being taught at
TU Delft within the department of Mechanical Engineering and Shipbuilding, according to the history book of the
Faculty published on the occasion of its 50
th
anniversary in 1990 [16]. Professor Burgers taught the basic principles
of Aerodynamics and Professor Biezeno taught the principles of Aircraft Structural Analysis. Early industry
collaboration was started, asking ir. J. Roosenschoon from the Fokker Aircraft Company to also teach aeronautics
part-time. The abbreviation “ir.” is for the Dutch word “ingenieur” meaning engineer and is a protected title under
Dutch law that can only be used by holders of a Master of Science in Engineering degree from one of the Dutch
Universities of Science and Technology. This is not be confused with the abbreviation “ing.” which indicates a
bachelor of engineering degree from one of the Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences.
A. The Founding of the Faculty and the Outbreak of World War II in the Netherlands
However, the formal starting date of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft is seen as May 6, 1940, when the first
Full Professor in Aeronautical Engineering, Professor Van der Maas is appointed by the Dutch Crown within the
Department of Mechanical Engineering. This appointment was later than initially intended, as the first candidate for
the job, ir. A.G. Baumgartner, a helicopter designer and flight mechanics expert was killed during a 1939 test flight
of Boeing Stratoliner in the United States of America. This was not the only bad fortune to hit the start of the Faculty.
Just four days later on May 10, 1940, Germany declared war on the Netherlands and invaded. The Dutch Armed
Forces felt compelled to surrender after only 5 days to avoid further mass bombardments of large cities. This after
Rotterdam, the largest harbor city of the Netherlands, some 5 miles South of Delft, was almost completely destroyed
by German aerial bombardments.
Although the university at first continues to operate and Professor Van der Maas held his inaugural lecture entitled:
“the Start” and in 1943 he even instigated the degree program in aeronautical engineering [16], teaching was
suspended in 1943. In 1944 Professor Van der Maas was forced into hiding with his wife and 11 children as he was
warned he was to be taken hostage by the occupying forces [16]. Therefore, the degree program did not formally start
until September 1945. As Professor Van der Maas was a very religious, Calvinistic Protestant, he was a firm believer
that idle hands are the devil’s playground: he used his time in hiding to write the lecture notes for the aeronautical
curriculum and taught students who had not signed the Loyalty Statement to the Third Reich [17] to allow them to
make a quick start once the war was over. Among them was one of the future deans of Aerospace Engineering,
Professor Wittenberg.
B. 1945 – 1975: The After Bellum
After the end of World War II, the degree program in aeronautical engineering started to take off. The first twenty
years can really be characterized as foundation years and investment in the future. A second full professor, Professor
Van der Neut, in the field of aircraft structures was appointed in 1945 and by 1965 a total 16 full professors in
aeronautical engineering had been appointed of which three were also working in industry. At the start of its degree
program, aeronautical engineering was not an independent department. It was part of a larger department including
mechanical engineering and shipbuilding.
In 1953 this department was split into two: The Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of
Aeronautical Engineering and Shipbuilding. At the same time heavy investments were made to develop research
facilities (more on that later) and in 1965 the Department of Aeronautical Engineering moved into its own building
(See Fig. 1), which is still in use as the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering today.
The students also started to organize themselves. In 1945 the “Aerospace Study Association, Leonardo da Vinci”
was founded to support students in their studies and personal development as well as provide entertainment.
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