Thomas J. Watson, the founder of IBM and namesake of our school, kept that sign above his desk for inspiration.

This is an important message for students, faculty, staff and visitors to an engineering school to be certain, but I would surround my desk with other signs as well. Create. Courage. Compassion. Inspire. Wisdom. Give. Serve.

At the Watson School, our vision is bigger than a single message. We are committed to sustaining an environment that encourages our people to take intellectual risks, engage in the kinds of creative works and research that would yield monumental breakthroughs, work on huge unsolved problems with ingenuity, intellectual honesty and freedom from ideological bias, and introduce innovative concepts to our classrooms and our world. Recognizing that the ultimate goal of our work is to benefit the society, we are devoted to transforming our innovations into policies and products so that the economic well-being and quality of life of our citizenry is improved.

Your visit to the Watson School will be bold. Whether visiting our website or our classrooms, you will be challenged.

In short, you will be asked to think creatively.

Welcome to the Watson School.

Seshu Desu, Dean