A New Home for Fire Protection, Too

Mechanical engineering graduates of the 19th century, including Henry Phillips, Class of 1893, and George Rockwood, Class of 1888, made major contributions to the field of firesafety, never knowing that many years later WPI would offer degrees in fire protection engineering. The Institute began offering the worldÕs first master of science degree in the discipline in 1979; it offered the first Ph.D. in fire protection engineering in 1991.

Today, WPI is the world leader in fire protection engineering education. Higgins Laboratories has been home to the program since its inception. The recent renovation project not only gave the program a modern new home, but created a state-of-the-art Fire Science Laboratory