Frederick B. Morse

2010 Co-op Hall of Fame Inductee (Posthumous)

Career Highlights

- MS 1947, Purdue University
- BS 1942, Oregon State University
- Professor Emeritus in the School of Mechanical Engineering
- One of three founding members of the Cooperative Engineering Education Program at Purdue University
- First Cooperative Education Faculty Coordinator in Mechanical Engineering
- First Director of the Cooperative Education Program for the School of Engineering

Biography

Originally from northern California, Fred Morse came to Purdue as a graduate teaching assistant in December of 1945 after serving in the United States Army during World War II. He earned his master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1947 and served as an instructor in the School of Mechanical Engineering for nearly 40 years, retiring as a full professor.

In 1954, Professor Morse administered the initial work-study plan for a pilot program in cooperative education that was comprised of eight School of Mechanical Engineering undergraduate students and seven industrial employers. Over the course of the next several years, the program expanded to include all of the engineering schools, and Professor Morse served as the first Director of the Purdue University Cooperative Engineering Education Program from 1964 through 1969. Under his guidance, the co-op Program grew to include hundreds of students and industrial partners. Professor Morse was a member of the Indiana Society of Professional Engineers, serving as association president in 1959. He served two years as Director of the National Society of Professional Engineers and consulted for numerous corporations and state agencies in the field of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC).

Professor Morse was widely respected as an HVAC expert, but what he truly cherished were the relationships with his students that he maintained long after they departed Purdue’s West Lafayette campus. In 1971, Professor Morse was awarded the Harry L. Solberg Best Teacher Award in Mechanical Engineering and the Dean A. A. Potter Best Engineering Teacher Award.

Professor Morse passed away in April 2004 and is represented here today by his daughters, Tamara E. Morse and Linda A. Morse.