The origins of EE education: a matter of degree

As the 1830s began, Thomas Alva Edison had big plans - and problems. His new light was becoming his new system. Indeed, the entire incandescent lighting system was already a fait accompli in the minds of many. Although the Pearl Street Station in New York- the first enterprise offering to sell incandescent lighting to the public-would not open until September 1882. Edison was busy installing isolated lighting plants. As early as February 1881, builders in cities such as Chicago and Boston were wiring new structures for the electric lights that they were sure would come. The great Paris Electrical Exhibition of 1881 gave the world a taste of the future, and one of the foremost exhibits was Edison's system - dynamo, lamp, conductors, and switches.