Unveiling the College of Engineering Time Capsule

January 31, 2020
time capsule contents

During a recent 2020 renovation of the 268 Snell Engineering classroom, a treasure was found. Hidden behind a corner wall was a College of Engineering time capsule, placed there on August 16, 2004, by David McNeil, former systems coordinator for the Engineering Computer Center, when the space was renovated from a UNIX lab to a lecture-hall configuration.

time capsule being unpacked on table

Interim Dean Jacqueline Isaacs and Senior Systems Coordinator James Jones unpack the time capsule.

As College of Engineering Interim Dean Jacqueline Isaacs unveiled the contents of the time capsule, it shed light on how much technology, the college, and the university has changed over the past 15 years and inspires us to imagine what the future will bring. One by one, Dean Isaacs showed and discussed items from the time capsule, including:

  • Business card with seal logo; the branding has since evolved
  • Pen from the School of Engineering Technology which closed in 2010
  • Intel Pentium 3 card; today’s processor is an Intel Core i9
  • NUTRONs button pin; four years later the student group would win their first award
  • Boston Colonnade-branded rubber duck gotten as a giveaway from a vendor table on campus; the hotel still uses the duck as a giveaway
  • Capstone Design marketing flyer for employers developed by the late Professor Yaman Yener; the program still partners with industry
  • MS in Telecommunications Systems Management flyer; today the program has been renamed to Telecommunication Networks
  • Several floppy disks, including an IBM hardware systems library disk to explore the personal computer, of which Lisa Koch, assistant dean of COE IT, indicated was an antique even in 2004. Other floppy disks included DOS system and co-processor utility disks
  • Computer mouse with an old PS/2 connector
  • Graduate School of Engineering student guide and catalog; today catalogs are available electronically and the college has significantly expanded its program offerings
  • COE Synergies brochure highlighting faculty research, including that of several Emeritus and current faculty, and those who have since become administrators in the college and university
  • Popular Science magazine with feature article predicting “Defense 2020: The Pentagon’s Weapons of the Future”
  • Popular Mechanics magazines with articles on “Amazing Images from Space,” “Corvette: 50 Years of American Power,” “AOL vs MSN for Control of the Universe,” and “Battle Island: Floating Self-Propelled Military Base Projects American Power Anywhere!”
  • Northeastern University 2003 tuition information flyer, with freshmen and underclassmen at $12,800 per term, and parking at $220 per term
  • Project assignments from the then-named MIME department; the MIE department was renamed for a period of time Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
  • Northeastern News newspaper with a cover story on “Bioterror Lab Meets with Protest,” a memorable event for those at Northeastern at that time
  • Voice newspaper of Northeastern with article “University to Expand Residential Options,” and an article honoring former Chancellor Kenneth Ryder on his 80th birthday. Prior to being Chancellor he was President for 15 years. He began his 55-year career at Northeastern in a small office at the YMCA.
  • Sys Admin Network Security magazine, with a disk “Services for UNIX 3.5”; running UNIX on the Solaris machines in the lab was an initiative at that time, recalled Assistant Dean Lisa Koch
  • Smart Computing magazine with featured articles “Repair and Upgrade Your PC on a Budget” and “Which Media Player Is Best”

View a recap video of the unveiling of the time capsule.