Venue & Travel

Welcome to the Historic Yale Campus

Founded in 1701 and originally named the “Collegiate School”, Yale is the third oldest higher-education institution in the United States.  The school was renamed to “Yale College” in 1718 in honor of the Welsh merchant and donor Elihu Yale. More than a century later, Yale awarded the first Ph.D. degree in the US in 1861. Today, Yale has developed into a vibrant university with over 5,000 undergraduates enrolled in Yale College and 6,500 graduate students distributed among the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and ten professional schools. Yale’s Main Campus is located in downtown New Haven surrounded by local restaurants, bars, and shops. Whether on campus or off, there is always something to do, and we hope that while you are here, you get an opportunity to “Experience the Yale Legacy.” 

Reception: Peabody Museum of Natural History

The Sunday Welcome Reception will be held at the Great Hall of Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, which is one of the oldest (founded in 1866) and largest university natural history museums in the world. Among its holdings are the University’s comprehensive mineralogical and ornithological collections, the second-largest repository of dinosaur artifacts in the US, the extensive Hiram Bingham Collection of Incan artifacts from Machu Picchu, and the largest intact Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus) in the world. Conference activities will kick-off with a dinner reception at the Great Hall of Dinosaurs, which is the home of the museum’s world-renowned paleontology collection and feature’s Rudolph Zallinger’s famous mural The Age of Reptiles

Conference Banquet: Sterling Memorial Library

Tuesday Banquet and Dinner will be held at the Sterling Library Nave. The main library on Yale’s campus, Sterling was built as “a cathedral to learning.” It was constructed in 1930 to resemble a European Gothic cathedral with a 60 ft (18 m) ceiling, cloisters, clerestory windows, side chapels, 3,300 stained glass windows, and a circulation desk altar. The nave has recently undergone a major restoration project completed in fall of 2014.

Meetings and Poster Session: Yale Commons

The Commons will hold Breakfast and Luncheon Meetings throughout the conference as well as Monday Poster Session. Both these buildings were constructed in 1901 to celebrate Yale’s bicentennial. In 1927, the complex became a war memorial. The names of major World War I battles are inscribed across the top of the building. The names of Yale students killed in wars are carved into the walls of the Woolsey Rotunda. In years past, the Commons was commonly referred to as a place to link the different spheres of Yale together as one, and we hope it serves a similar purpose at the AEESP meeting, providing a space where engineering and science can meet at the nexus.

Plenary Lectures: Woolsey Hall

Plenary lectures will be delivered at Woolsey Hall, built in 1901.  The ornately decorated hall is primarily used for performances by the Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale and the Yale Symphony Orchestra.  The hall is home to the Newberry Memorial Organ, one of the world’s largest and most renowned pipe organs.  Woolsey Hall is also used for Freshmen Address and Commencement Ceremony by Yale College.

For more information about the Yale Campus, take the Yale Virtual Tour or check out the Interactive Campus Map.

How to Get Here

Yale University is located in New Haven, CT about 2 hours northeast of New York City and 2.5 hours southwest of Boston. Many options are available for travel to Yale University. Please note that the conference does not provide a shuttle service to the site.

By Plane: Tweed New Haven Airport (flights to and from Philadelphia) is 10 minutes from the Yale campus by car or taxi. There are also several major airports in nearby cities: Bradley International Airport (BDL) is located just north of Hartford, CT—about a 50 minute drive from Yale Campus.  Conference attendees can also travel through LaGuardia , JFK, and Newark Airports near New York City. 

Shuttle services from airports are provided by CT Limo (www.ctlimo.comto receive discount, please come to Phelp’s Gate in New Haven), Hy’s Limo (www.hyslimo.com), or Go Shuttle (www.2theairport.com).

By Train: Union Station is minutes away from Yale’s campus and services many train arrivals. Metro-North (http://www.mta.info/mnr) offers frequent train service between New Haven and New York City. Amtrak (http://www.amtrak.com/home) provides many options from numerous locations that are often competitively priced to air travel.

By Bus: Union Station also serves as a bus terminal for Greyhound (http://www.greyhound.com/) and Peter Pan (http://peterpanbus.com/) bus services, which may be a viable option for conference attendees.

By Car: New Haven can be easily reached via Interstate 95 and Interstate 91, thus facilitating easy car travel. Long-term parking may be difficult on campus, so it may be best to consult the following link for parking options in New Haven (http://nhparking.com).

For more details about traveling to Yale University, please visit http://admissions.yale.edu/travel-arrangements