The station was established as "the research agency in engineering" to support extension work for the School of Engineering. The station was intended to address engineering issues of local state and regional concern. H.B. Shaw became its first director.
A.F. Greaves-Walker publishes a 6-part series of bulletins through the Engineering Experiment Station, to outline the need for developing and investing in North Carolina minerals. The bulletins describe "the location of the deposits and enumerate the possible uses of various minerals, with the hope that North Carolinians may be interested in developing new mineral industries during the post-war period." Greaves-Walker points out that North Carolinians ... More
The Engineering Experiment Station is renamed the Engineering Research Department, and continues to serve as the research agency for engineering at NC State College and work closely with the departments of Ceramic, Mining, and Geological Engineering. W.G. Van Note serves as head of the department until 1951, followed by N.W. Conner and R.F. Stoops.
N.W. Conner serves as head of the Engineering Research Department until 1967.
Dr. Fraker began her career at NC State's Department of Engineering Research, where she contributed to biomaterials engineering research. Her research focused on surgical implant materials, seeking to find a material that was compatible with the chemistry of the human body but would not corrode. In her later work at the National Bureau of Standards and Technology (NIST), Dr. Fraker's research led to the development of standards for implant materials.
The former Engineering Research Department is renamed to become the Engineering Research Services Division, serving as research division for the Materials Engineering department. R.F. Stoops remains head of the division until 1981.
The Engineering Research Services Division informally adopted the name Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) during the 1981-1982 fiscal year. By the 1990s that had become the official name of the unit.