First Initiatives

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Due to post war-politics and economy after the Second World War, the idea that scientificresearch was an expensive extravagance started to change. The university believed that this discipline could become a securityfactor for the country. The currency boom based on exports during the first years of war, lead to the thought of improving the equipment required by laboratories, both for research and technological education purposes. European and North American supply sources however, were immersed in production problems and were not able to meet the national demand thus the first attempt to do high-level research work failed.
Within this context of engineering-related research, a group of engineers knew progress should be base upon science and research. They knew this was the only way to improve the quality of life, culture and economy since isolated efforts werenot effective and only achieved perishable infrastructures. This concern was present among scholarship holders who studied in the United States, for instance, Nabor Carrillo.

After completing their studies, Mexican graduates from prestigious institutions such as HarvardUniversity, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Illinois and Princeton University, among others, returned to the country and started the idea of creating an institution similar to the North American ones where they could apply their knowledge.

Some of these engineers did not forget their conversations with professors such as Arthur Casagrande, who used to say that Mexico City's subsoil was an opportunity to face a reality. This is why Raúl J. Marsal embraced his advice and came to the country, as recommended by Casagrande, to study and experiment with clays of the capital city using the Terzaghi approach. Terzaghi was also Marsal's professor, whom and wrote his thesis on the urban subsoil sinking mechanism. While developing (incipient and active researchers) different methods to solve problems of high difficulty, the national effort of the University to see and address the need to establish an entity devoted only to carry out engineering research was reinforced. Such an effort crystallized in 1944 when Dean Dr. Alfonso Caso, upon approval by the University Board, made the decision to create an Institute of Engineering devoted to research as long as the university budget would allow for such an expense.
The dream of an Institute of Engineering would fail during this decade due to the reduced education budget, large public construction projects and the fact that Mexico City became more urban but with little industrialization.

In 1945, the UNAM created the Geophysics Institute, the Scientific Research Technical Board (CTIC) and the Scientific Research Coordination (CIC). In some cases, courses for professors and researchers of Civil Engineering were taking place at the experimental labs of the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources (SRH) and at private institutions like the Associated Civil Engineers (ICA).
Nationwide other institutions were being established: the National Irrigation Commission, (now Ministry of Agriculture and Hydraulic Resources), the Hydrological Service, and the Department of Applied Geology and Experimental Engineering. These labs were created giving birth to a new attitude towards concepts of engineering.
It was in these labs that hydraulic models and experimental stress analysis served for the design of garbage dumps, shunt structures and analogical models devoted to water flow analysis in earth formations for the first time in Mexico. It was also where the first Soil Mechanics laboratory was installed. The search for non-conventional solutions started based upon hydraulic and elastic models supported with photo-elastic experimentation. Later on, the Institute of Engineering acquired these methods.

At these laboratories, Raúl J. Marsal, researcher of the Fostering and Coordinating Commission of Scientific Research (CICIC) started to use civil engineering innovations for agricultural and electrical infrastructure: soil mechanics in the design of dams through rock and clay filled damns.
The Environmental Engineering Department later became the Research and Experimental Development (SIDE) in Tecamachalco.
The development of advanced engineering remained the main goal of the Fostering and Coordinating Commission of Scientific Research. Created in 1942 by a Presidential decree, it became the National Institute for Scientific Research (INIC). Today it is the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT). Other promoters were the then-developing company called Civil Engineers Associated (ICA) and the Federal Electrical Power Commission (CFE).
A number of the professionals who later would constitute the Institute of Engineering, worked at the Experimental Engineering labs and taught courses at the National School of Engineering thus were developing the interest for research in their students.

Within this frame of technological implications and deepening research, the demands of a changing society began to arise. Proof of this is the work of Raúl J. Marsal, Fernando Hiriart, Raúl Sandoval, José A. Cuevas, Nabor Carrillo, Leonardo Zeevaert, Leopoldo Nieto Casa, Nicolás Aguilera, Roberto Mercado, Marcos Mazari and Guillermo Hiriart, among others. Despite this, an entity in charge of developing a more competitive engineering program was still missing. Dr. Carlos Graef Fernández expressed this concern during his speech at the Oath-Ceremony of Dr. Nabor Carrillo as rector, on February 14, 1953. Dr. Carlos Graef pointed out that if all of the Scientific Research Centers spread over diverse institutions and state ministries could be located at just one place it would avoid the repetition of research and increase efficiency. Several technical teams then disconnected and working separately on the same type of research would have the possibility to work together. Unification would not only allow for better utilization and distribution of work but would also save millions of pesos.
For a dynamic mind like that of Dr. Nabor Carrillo, the statement by Dr. Carlos Graef was useful to him when later on he submitted a proposed amendment, before the Honorable University Council, to Article 9 of the Organic Law of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Because the article incorporates only minor corrections and that only institutions and no institutes referenced, the Rector suggested the drafting of a temporary article to establish, according to the economic possibilities of UNAM, an experimental engineering institute among other research organizations.

Although the suggestion was accepted, it was not possible to get it started due to economic restrictions. However, it did not prevent Bernardo Quintana, the professors, researchers, and professionals from different disciplines and even industries to continue their effort to create an Institute of Engineering.
It is important to mention that, in 1954, a research entity known as the Applied Science Institute was informally created to conduct research in the subjects of theoretical aspects of contamination, solar radiation and hydrology. A number of university researchers worked at this lab. That same year, the United Nations (UN) sent a three expert delegation to Mexico's Applied Science Institute. This team was supported by Nabor Carrillo, rector of UNAM at that time, by the chairperson of the National Institute of Scientific Research, Dr. Guillermo Haro and the coordinator of Scientific Research, Dr. Alberto Barajas. However, the UNAM Council never formally created the Institute. In 1960, all of the staff members joined the Institute of Geography at UNAM.

In this joint effort to overcome the monetary hindrance, the university was able to define a project at the beginning of 1955 where ICA would pay for almost all equipment and facilities expenses while UNAM would contribute with physical space. This helped the consolidation of the campaign promoted at that moment by the university to channel the cooperation from the private sector in order to carry out specific national projects.