Walk into Deanna Matthews’ office, and you can’t miss the seven-foot-long, wooden slide rule hanging above her sofa. With far more panache than a framed print, the artifact harkens back to a time when engineers used these mechanical analog computers, which look like tricked-out rulers, to tease out calculations that sent humans to the moon.
Matthews proudly explains that she got the coveted object from Emeritus Professor Paul Fischbeck when he was cleaning out his office. “He is a collector of CMU things and dumpster-diver extraordinaire in a previous life. He is also the person who would see the value in holding on to something like this,” says Matthews, teaching professor and associate department head for undergraduate affairs in the engineering and public policy.
While the sentimental value exceeds its value on eBay, the giant object served an important purpose in its day. Matthews believes that it was used in lectures as a visual aid to teach mathematical concepts, and engineering students could follow along, using their own slide rules. Students typically carried 10-inch-scale slide rules in belt holsters while a 5-inch-scale ruler was pocket perfect.
Before the advent of the handheld calculator, engineering students used slide rules throughout their education and careers. “My dad was an engineer, and I have his slide rule,” says Matthews.
