Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a private university located in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States. Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. WPI's 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, management, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees. WPI's faculty works with students in a number of research areas, including biotechnology, fuel cells, information security, materials processing, and nanotechnology. Students may participate with worldwide communities and organizations through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are 25 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe. Worcester Polytechnic Institute was founded in 1865 as the Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science by John Boynton and Ichabod Washburn, two prominent Worcester industrialists. Stephen Salisbury II, Emory Washburn, George Frisbee Hoar, Phillip Moen, Seth Sweetser, David Whitcomb, and Charles O.