Engineering was redefine in 1948 which is when it became
   "Applied Science'. It was a political move, in order to increase
   funding for Research and Development. It worked. Funding for the
   pure sciences was waning at a time when all the funding was
   going towards Engineering. By placing Engineering under the
   category of Science allowed the theoretical research to continue
   in the sciences while the engineering kept building the bridges,
   making the up and coming computers. Otherwise, the Research arm
   would've withered and died off. It was the age of "let's get
   practical" and pure research does not show immediate practical
   results ,sometimes never, sometimes immediately, but it's not
   guaranteed.