▁Emer ging ▁out ▁of ▁the ▁Fair ’ s ▁World ▁Engineering ▁Congress , ▁S PE E ▁members ▁dedicated ▁themselves ▁to ▁impro ving ▁engineering ▁education ▁at ▁the ▁class room ▁level . ▁Over ▁its ▁history , ▁the ▁society ▁has ▁put ▁out ▁several ▁reports ▁on ▁the ▁subject , ▁such ▁as ▁the ▁Mann ▁Report ▁( 1 9 0 7 ), ▁the ▁W ick enden ▁Study ▁( 1 9 2 0 s ), ▁and ▁the ▁Gr inter ▁Report ▁( 1 9 5 5 ). ▁ ▁During ▁World ▁War ▁II , ▁the ▁federal ▁government ▁started ▁to ▁place ▁more ▁emphas is ▁on ▁research , ▁prompt ing ▁S PE E ▁to ▁form ▁the ▁Engineering ▁College ▁Research ▁Association ▁( EC RA ), ▁which ▁was ▁more ▁concerned ▁with ▁research ▁than ▁S PE E ▁had ▁ever ▁been . ▁The ▁EC RA ▁spoke ▁for ▁most ▁engineering ▁research ers , ▁sought ▁federal ▁funds , ▁and ▁collected ▁and ▁published ▁information ▁on ▁academic ▁engineering ▁research . ▁After ▁the ▁war , ▁the ▁desire ▁to ▁integrate ▁the ▁less ▁research - orient ed ▁S PE E ▁with ▁the ▁EC RA ▁resulted ▁in ▁the ▁dis band ing ▁of ▁S PE E ▁and ▁the ▁formation ▁of ▁A SEE ▁in ▁ 1 9 4 6 . ▁ ▁A SEE ▁was ▁a ▁volunte er - run ▁organization ▁through ▁the ▁ 1 9 5 0 s . ▁In ▁ 1 9 6 1 , ▁A SEE ▁established ▁a ▁staff ▁headquarters ▁in ▁Washington , ▁DC , ▁and ▁under to ok ▁a ▁more ▁activ ist ▁post ure . ▁However , ▁through ▁the ▁ 1 9 6 0 s ,