M.Eng Coursework and Focus Areas

Focus Areas

Focus areas and courses within each area are listed below.

Microelectronics, Photonics, and Nanotechnology

ECE 441, Physics and Modeling of Semiconductor Devices (3 hours)
Advanced concepts including generation-recombination, hot electron effects, and breakdown mechanisms; essential features of small ac characteristics, switching and transient behavior of p-n junctions, and bipolar and MOS transistors; fundamental issues for device modeling; perspective and limitations of Si-devices.
ECE 442, Silicon Photonics (4 hours)
Overview of silicon integrated photonics in three sections: (1) fundamentals of waveguide optics and passive silicon photonic devices including wavelength filters, mode converters, polarization and dispersion management. (2) active silicon photonic devices based on carrier injection/depletion pn junction, photonic modulators, optical switches, photodetectors. (3) application of integrated silicon photonics in optical communications systems in short and long haul optical links and datacenters. Emerging applications in quantum computing, neuromoprhic computing and biosensing
ECE 444, IC Device Theory & Fabrication (4 hours)
Fabrication lab emphasizing physical theory and design of devices suitable for integrated circuitry; electrical properties of semiconductors and techniques (epitaxial growth, oxidation, photolithography diffusion, ion implantation, metallization, and characterization) for fabricating integrated circuit devices such as p-n junction diodes, bipolar transistors, and field effect transistors.
ECE 455 Optical Electronics (4 hours)
Optical beams and cavities; semi classical theory of gain; characteristics of typical lasers (gas, solid state, and semiconductor); application of optical devices.
ECE 481, Nanotechnology (4 hours)
Fundamental physical properties of nano scale systems. Nanofabrication techniques, semiconductor nanotechnology, molecular, and biomolecular nanotechnology, carbon nanotechnology (nanotubes and graphene), nanowires, and nano scale architectures and systems.
ECE 484, Principles of Advanced Microelectronic Processing (3 hours)
Principles of advanced methods of pattern delineation, pattern transfer, and modern material growth; how these are applied to produce novel and high performance devices and circuits in various electronic materials with special emphasis on semiconductors. Computer simulation of processes and the manufacturing of devices and circuits.
ECE 485, Introduction to Microelectromechanical Devices and Systems (3 hours)
Introduction to principles, fabrication techniques, and applications of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). In-depth analysis of sensors, actuator principles, and integrated microfabrication techniques for MEMS. Comprehensive investigation of state-of-the-art MEMS devices and systems.
ECE 487, Introduction to Quantum Electronics (3 hours)
Application of quantum mechanical concepts to electronics problems; detailed analysis of a calculable two-state laser system; incidental quantum ideas bearing on electronics.
ECE 488, Compound Semiconductors and Devices (3 hours)
Advanced semiconductor materials and devices; elementary band theory; heterostructures; transport issues; three-terminal devices; two-terminal devices; including lasers and light modulators.
ECE 495, Photonic Device Laboratory (3 hours)
Active photonic devices and light wave technology. Hands-on experience with several classes of lasers (HeNe laser, semiconductor edge emitting lasers, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers), photo detectors, and photonic systems. Familiarization with experimental optical characterization techniques and equipment.
ECE 510, Micro and Nanolithography (4 hours)
Comprehensive foundation in the broad field of micro and nanolithography; the science of optical imaging, photochemistry, and materials issues; technological developments including state-of-the-art commercial lithography systems. Applications of micro and nanolithography to diverse fields including: semiconductor devices, displays, flexible electronics, microelectromechanical systems, and biotechnology.
ECE 518, Advanced Semiconductor Nanotechnology (4 hours)
Semiconductor nanotechnology from the formation and characterization of low-dimensional structures to device applications. Compound semiconductors, epitaxial growth, quantum dots, nanowires, membranes, strain effect, quantum confinement, surface states, 3-D transistors, nanolasers, multijunction tandem solar cells, and nanowire thermoelectrics. Handouts are supplemented with papers from the research literature. Critical literature review assignments, research proposals in National Science Foundation format, and oral presentations are required.
ECE 523, Gaseous Electronics and Plasmas (4 hours)
Basic concepts and techniques, both theoretical and experimental, applicable to gaseous electronics, gas and solid plasmas, controlled fusion, aeronomy, gas lasers, and magnetohydrodynamics.
ECE 532, Compound Semiconductors and Diode Lasers (4 hours)
Compound semiconductor materials and their optical properties. Diode lasers including quantum well heterostructure lasers, strained layer lasers, and quantum wire and quantum dot lasers. Current topics in diode laser development.
ECE 535, Theory of Semiconductors and Semiconductor Devices (4 hours)
Introductory quantum mechanics of semiconductors; energy bands; dynamics of block electrons in static and high-frequency electric and magnetic fields; equilibrium statistics; transport theory, diffusion, drift, and thermoelectric effects; characteristics of p-n junctions, heterojunctions, and transistor devices.
ECE 536, Integrated Optics and Optoelectronics (4 hours)
Integrated optical and optoelectronic devices; theory of optical devices including laser sources, waveguides, photodetectors, and modulations of these devices.
ECE 539, Advanced Theory of Semiconductors & Devices (4 hours)
Advanced topics of current interest in the physics of semiconductors and solid-state devices.
ECE 565, Energy Dissipation Electronics (4 hours)
Power dissipation in modern electronics, from fundamentals to system-level issues. Energy transfer through electrons and phonons, mobility and thermal conductivity, power dissipation in modern devices (CMOS, memory, nanowires, nanotubes), circuit leakage, thermal breakdown, interconnects, thermometry, heat sinks. Handouts are supplemented with papers from the research literature, Wikipedia assignments, a final conference-type group paper, and oral presentations required.
ECE 572, Quantum Optoelectronics (4 hours)
Theoretical approach to quantum mechanics and atomic physics, with many applications in spin resonance and modern maser theory.
ECE 574, Nanophotonics (4 hours)
Nanoscale interaction between light and semiconductors, metals, or composites; plasmonics, cavity electrodynamics, polarition cavity condensation, sub-wavelength structures, metamaterials, and applications.

Integrated Circuits and Systems

ECE 425, Introduction to VLSI System Design (3 hours)
Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology and theory; CMOS circuit and logic design; layout rules and techniques; circuit characterization and performance estimation; CMOS subsystem design; Very-Large-Scale Integrated (VLSI) systems design methods; VLSI Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools; workstation-based custom VLSI chip design using concepts of cell hierarchy; final project involving specification, design, and evaluation of a VLSI chip or VLSI CAD program; written report and oral presentation on the final project.
ECE 482, Digital IC Design (3 hours)
Bipolar and MOS field effect transistor characteristics; VLSI fabrication techniques for MOS and bipolar circuits; calculation of circuit parameters from the process parameters; design of VLSI circuits such as logic, memories, charge-coupled devices, and A/D and D/A converters.
ECE 483, Analog IC Design (4 hours)
Basic linear integrated circuit design techniques using bi-polar, JFET, and MOS technologies; operational amplifiers; wide-band feedback amplifiers; sinusoidal and relaxation oscillators; electric circuit noise; application of linear integrated circuits.
ECE 527, System-On-Chip Design (4 hours)
System-on-chip (SOC) design methodology and IP (intellectual property) reuse, system modeling and analysis, hardware/software co-design, behavioral synthesis, embedded software, reconfigurable computing, design verification and test, and design space exploration. Class projects focusing on current SOC design and research. Platform FPGA boards and digital cameras are provided to prototype, test, and evaluate SOC designs.
ECE 552, Numerical Circuit Analysis (4 hours)
Formulation of circuit equations; sparse matrix algorithms for the solution of large systems, AC, DC, and transient analysis of electrical circuits; sensitivity analysis; decomposition methods.
ECE 560, VLSI in Signal Processing and Communications (4 hours)
Basic concepts in digital signal processing, VLSI design methodologies, VLSI DSP building blocks; algorithm transformation and mapping techniques, high-speed, low-power transforms, applications to digital filtering; basics of finite-field arithmetic, forward-error correction algorithms, and architectures; DSP implementation platforms, programmable DSPs, media processors, FPGAs, ASICs, case studies of multimedia communications systems, video codecs, xDSL, and cable modems. Homework and a term project apply these concepts in the design of VLSI architectures for digital signal processing and communication systems.
ECE 581, Advanced Analog IC Design (4 hours)
Advanced topics in modern analog IC design. Emphasis on CMOS building blocks and circuit techniques as a result of fabrication technology advancement. Noise in linear analog circuits; linear feedback theory and stability; harmonic distortion in weakly nonlinear circuits; switched-capacitor circuit technique and realization; Nyquist-rate and oversampled data converters. Extensive computer simulations required in both homework and final project.
ECE 582, Physical VLSI Design (4 hours)
Basic physical design requirements for VLSI; performance-oriented formulation and optimization of chip partitioning, module placement and interconnection; optimized design and layout of on-chip modules; circuit extraction; high-speed VLSI circuits; yield and reliability analysis; advanced VLSI packaging and parametric testing.
ECE 585, MOS Device Modeling & Design (4 hours)
Techniques for characterizing gate oxide and interface properties and reliability, I-V models for circuit simulation, design for control of short channel effects, silicon-on-insulator, and new device structures.

Power and Energy Systems

ECE 431, Electric Machinery (4 hours)
Theory and laboratory experimentation with three-phase power, power-factor correction, single- and three-phase transformers, induction machines, DC machines, and synchronous machines; project work on energy control systems; digital simulation of machine dynamics.
ECE 432, Advanced Electric Machinery (3 hours)
Advanced rotating machine theory and practice: dynamic analysis of machines using reference frame transformations; tests for parameter determination; reduced order modeling of machines; mechanical subsystems including governors, prime movers and excitation systems; digital simulation of inter-connected machines.
ECE 464, Power Electronics (3 hours)
Switching functions and methods of control such as pulse-width modulation, phase control, and phase modulation; dc-dc, ac-dc, dc-ac, and ac-ac power converters; power components, including magnetic components and power semiconductor switching devices.
ECE 469, Power Electronics Laboratory (2 hours)
Circuits and devices used for switching power converters, solid-state motor drives, and power controllers; dc-dc, ac-dc, and dc-ac converters and applications; high-power transistors and magnetic components; design considerations including heat transfer.
ECE 476, Power System Analysis (3 hours)
Development of power system equivalents by phase network analysis, load flow, symmetrical components, sequence networks, fault analysis, and digital simulation.
ECE 530, Analysis Techniques for Large-Scale Electrical Systems (4 hours)
Fundamental techniques for the analysis of large-scale electrical systems, including methods for nonlinear and switched systems. Emphasis on the importance of the structural characteristics of such systems. Key aspects of static and dynamic analysis methods.
ECE 568, Modeling and Control of Electromechanical Systems (4 hours)
Fundamental electrical and mechanical laws for derivation of machine models; simplifying transformations of variables in electrical machines; power electronics for motor control; time-scale separation; feedback linearization and nonlinear control as applied to electrical machines. Typical electromechanical applications in actuators, robotics, and variable speed drives.
ECE 573, Power Systems Operations and Control (4 hours)
Energy control center functions, state estimation and steady state security assessment techniques, economic dispatch, optimal power flow, automatic generation control, and dynamic equivalents.
ECE 576, Power System Dynamics and Stability (4 hours)
Detailed modeling of the synchronous machine and its controls, such as excitation system and turbine-governor dynamics; time-scales and reduced order models; non-linear and linear multi-machine models; stability analysis using energy functions; power system stabilizers.
ECE 588, Electricity Resource Planning (4 hours)
Techniques in electricity resource planning including methodologies for reliability evaluation and assessment, production costing, marginal costing, supply-side and demand-side planning, integrated planning, and planning under competition.

Biomedical Imaging, Bioengineering and Acoustics

ECE 402, Electronic Music Synthesis (3 hours)
Historical survey of electronic and computer music technology; parameters of musical expression and their codification; analysis and synthesis of fixed sound spectra; time-variant spectrum analysis/synthesis of musical sounds; algorithms for dynamic sound synthesis..
ECE 403, Audio Engineering (3 hours)
Resonance and wave phenomena; acoustics of rooms and auditoriums; artificial reverberation and sound localization-spatialization; loudspeakers, enclosures, and microphones; topics in digital audio.
ECE 414, Biomedical Instrumentation (3 hours)
Engineering aspects of the detection, acquisition, processing, and display of signals from living systems; biomedical sensors for measurements of biopotentials, ions and gases in aqueous solution, force, displacement, blood pressure, blood flow, heart sounds, respiration, and temperature; therapeutic and prosthetic devices; and medical imaging instrumentation.
ECE 415, Biomedical Instrumentation Laboratory (2 hours)
Laboratory to accompany BIOE 414 use of sensors and medical instrumentation for static and dynamic biological inputs. Measurement of biomedical signals.
ECE 416, Biosensors (3 hours)
Underlying engineering principles used to detect small molecules, DNA, proteins, and cells in the context of applications in diagnostic testing, pharmaceutical research, and environmental monitoring. Biosensor approaches including electrochemistry, fluorescence, acoustics, and optics; aspects of selective surface chemistry including methods for biomolecule attachment to transducer surfaces; characterization of bisensor performance; blood glucose detection; fluorescent DNA microarrays; label-free biochips; bead-based assay methods. Case studies and analysis of commercial biosensor.
ECE 437, Sensors and Instrumentation (3 hours)
Hands-on exposure to fundamental technology and practical application of sensors. Capacitive, inductive, optical, electromagnetic, and other sensing methods are examined. Instrumentation techniques incorporating computer control, sampling, and data collection and analysis are reviewed in the context of real-world scenarios.
ECE 467, Biophotonics (3 hours)
Overview of the field of biophotonics, in three segments: (1) fundamental principles of light, optics, lasers, biology, and medicine; (2) diagnostic biophotonics including imaging, spectroscopy, and optical biosensors; (3) therapeutic applications of biophotonics including laser ablation and photodynamic therapies. Reviews and presentations of current scientific literature by students. Tours of microscopy facilities..
ECE 472, Biomedical Ultrasound Imaging (3 hours)
Theoretical and engineering foundations of ultrasonic imaging for medical diagnostics. Conventional, Doppler, and advanced ultrasonic imaging techniques; medical applications of different ultrasonic imaging techniques; engineering problems related to characterization of ultrasonic sources and arrays, image production, image quality, the role of contrast agents in ultrasonic imaging, and system design.
ECE 473, Fundamentals of Engineering Acoustics (3 or 4 hours)
Development of the basic theoretical concepts of acoustical systems; mechanical vibration, plane and spherical wave phenomena in fluid media, lumped and distributed resonant systems, and absorption phenomena and hearing.
ECE 480, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (3 or 4 hours)
Fundamental physical, mathematical, and computational principles governing the data acquisition and image reconstruction of magnetic resonance imaging.
ECE 537, Speech Processing Fundamentals (4 hours)
Development of an intuitive understanding of speech processing by the auditory system, in three parts. I): The theory of acoustics of speech production, introductory acoustic phonetics, inhomogeneous transmission line theory (and reflectance), room acoustics, the short-time Fourier Transform (and its inverse), and signal processing of speech (LPC, CELP, VQ). II): Psychoacoustics of speech perception, critical bands, masking (JNDs), and the physiology of the auditory pathway (cochlear modeling). III): Information theory entropy, channel capacity, the confusion matrix, state models, EM algorithms, and Bayesian networks. Presentation of classic papers on speech processing and speech perception by student groups. MATLAB (or equivalent) programming in majority of assignments.
ECE 545, Advanced Physical Acoustics (4 hours)
Advanced topics in acoustics including physical properties of a fluid; linear propagation phenomena; nonlinear phenomena such as radiation force, streaming, and harmonic generation; cavitation; absorption and dispersion.
ECE 564, Modern Light Microscopy (4 hours)
Current research topics in modern light microscopy: optics principles (statistical optics, Gaussian optics, elastic light scattering, dynamic light scattering); traditional microscopy (bright field, dark field, DIC, phase contract, confocal, epi-fluorescence, confocal fluorescence); current research topics (multiphoton, CARS, STED, FRET, FIONA, STORM, PALM, quantitative phase)..
ECE 594, Mathematical Models of Language (4 hours)
This course covers mathematical models of linguistic structure and their implementation in computational algorithms used in automatic speech understanding and speech synthesis. Statistical and automata-theoretic techniques are studied, allowing a quantitative description of acoustic-phonetics, phonology, phonotactics, lexicons, syntax, and semantics. The methods are used to build components of a speech understanding system. For 4 hours credit, an extended project is required.

Electromagnetics, Optics, Remote Sensing

ECE 447, Active Microwave Circuit Design (3 hours)
Microwave circuit design of amplifiers, oscillators, and mixers.
ECE 451, Advanced Microwave Measurements (3 hours)
Manual- and computer-controlled laboratory analysis of circuits at microwave frequencies.
ECE 452, Electromagnetic Fields (3 hours)
Plane waves at oblique incidence; wave polarization; anisotropic media; radiation; space communications; waveguides.
ECE 453, Wireless Communication Systems (4 hours)
Design of a radio system for transmission of information; modulation, receivers, impedance matching, oscillators, two-port network analysis, receiver and antenna noise, nonlinear effects, mixers, and phase-locked loops.
ECE 457, Microwave Devices & Circuits (3 hours)
Electromagnetic wave propagation, microwave transmission systems, passive components, microwave tubes, solid state microwave devices, microwave integrated circuits, S-parameter analysis, and microstrip transmission lines.
ECE 458, Applications of Radio Wave Propagation (3 hours)
Terrestrial atmosphere, radio wave propagation, and applications to radio sensing and radio communication.
ECE 459, Communications, I (3 hours)
Analog underpinning of analog and digital communication systems: representation of signals and systems in the time and frequency domains; analog modulation schemes; random processes; prediction and noise analysis using random processes; noise sensitivity and bandwidth requirements of modulation schemes. Brief introduction to digital communications.
ECE 454, Antennas (3 hours)
Switching functions and methods of control such as pulse-width modulation, phase control, and phase modulation; dc-dc, ac-dc, dc-ac, and ac-ac power converters; power components, including magnetic components and power semiconductor switching devices.
ECE 455, Optical Electronics (4 hours)
Optical beams and cavities; semi classical theory of gain; characteristics of typical lasers (gas, solid state, and semiconductor); application of optical devices.
ECE 456, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (4 hours)
Engineering aspects of space-based navigation systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). Engineering and physical principles on which GPS operates, including orbital dynamics, electromagnetic wave propagation in a plasma, signal encoding, receiver design, error analysis, and numerical methods for obtaining a navigation solution. GPS as a case study for performing an end-to-end analysis of a complex engineering system. Laboratory exercises focus on understanding receiver design and developing a MATLAB-based GPS receiver.
ECE 460, Optical Imaging (4 hours)
Scalar fields, geometrical optics, wave optics, Gaussian beams, Fourier optics, spatial and temporal coherence, microscopy, interference chromatic and geometric aberrations, Jones matrices, wave plates, electromagnetic fields, and electro-optic and acousto-optic effects. Laboratory covers numerical signal processing, spectroscopy, ray optics, diffraction, Fourier optics, microscopy, spatial coherence, temporal coherence, polarimetry, fiber optics, electro-optic modulation, and acousto-optic modulation.
ECE 465, Optical Communication System (3 hours)
Fundamentals of light wave systems: characterization of light wave channels, optical transmitters, receivers, and amplifiers; quantum and thermal noise processes; design of optical receivers; multimode and single-mode link analysis.
ECE 466, Optical Communications Lab (1 hour) Fiber components and measurements, transmitters and detectors, fiber amplifiers, multimode fiber links, and wavelength division multiplexing.
ECE 468, Optical Remote Sensing (3 hours)
Optical sensors including single element and area arrays (CCDs); optical systems including imagers, spectrometers, interferometers, and lidar; optical principles and light gathering power; electromagnetics of atomic and molecular emission and scattering with applications to the atmosphere the prime example; applications to ground and spacecraft platforms. Four laboratory sessions (4.5 hours each) arranged during term in lieu of four lectures.
ECE 520, Electromagnetic Waves and Radiating Systems (4 hours)
Fundamental electromagnetic theory with applications to plane waves, waveguides, cavities, antennas, and scattering; electromagnetic principles and theorems; and solution of electromagnetic boundary-value problems.
ECE 531, Theory of Guided Waves (4 hours)
Propagation of electromagnetic waves in general cylindrical waveguides; stationary principles; non-uniform in homogeneously filled waveguides; mode and power orthogonality; losses in waveguides; analytical and numerical techniques; microwave integrated circuits waveguides; optical waveguides.
ECE 540, Computational Electromagnetics (4 hours)
Basic computational techniques for numerical analysis of electromagnetics problems, including the finite difference, finite element, and moment methods. Emphasis on the formulation of physical problems into mathematical boundary-value problems, numerical discretization of continuous problems into discrete problems, and development of rudimentary computer codes for simulation of electromagnetic fields in engineering problems using each of these techniques.
ECE 546, Advanced Signal Integrity (4 hours)
Signal integrity aspects involved in the design of high-speed computers and high-frequency circuits; addressing the functions of limitations of interconnects for system-level integration. Topics explored include packaging structures, power and signal distribution, power level fluctuations, skin effect, parasitic, noise, packaging hierarchy, multilayer wiring structures as well as the modeling and simulation of interconnects through the use of computer-aided design (CAD) and computational electromagnetics.
ECE 569, Inverse Problems in Optics (4 hours)
Physical optics, solution of linear inverse problems, and computed imaging. Forward problems in diffraction, asymptotic, ray propagation, x-ray projections, scattering, sources, optical coherence tomography, and near-field optics. Solution of associated inverse problems including back-propagation, back-projection, Radon transforms (x-ray CT), inverse scattering, source localization, interferometric synthetic aperture microscopy, and near-field tomography. Special topics as time permits.
ECE 579, Nonlinear Optics (4 hours)
Turing machines; determinism and non-determinism; time and space hierarchy theorems; speed-up and tape compression; Blum axioms; structure of complexity classes NP, P, NL, L, and PSPACE; complete problems; randomness and complexity classes RP, RL, and BPP; alternation, polynomial-time hierarchy; circuit complexity, parallel complexity, NC, and RNC; relativized computational complexity; time-space trade-offs.
ECE 571, Electromagnetic Waves in Inhomogeneous Media (4 hours)
Electromagnetic waves in layered media; plane wave expansion of electromagnetic point source field; Sommerfeld integrals; transient response; WKB method with asymptotic matching; scattering by junction discontinuity; surface integral equation; volume integral equation; and inverse problems.
ECE 577, Advanced Antenna Theory (4 hours)
Selected topics from recent engineering literature on antennas supplemented by advanced topics in electromagnetic theory needed for comprehension; current techniques for analysis of wire, slot, horn, frequency independent, quasi-optical, and array antennas.

Signal Processing, Communications, Control Systems

ECE 401, Signal and Image Analysis (4 Hours)
An introduction to signal analysis and processing methods for advanced undergraduates
or graduate students in the biological, physical, social, engineering and computer
sciences. Signal analysis methods and their capabilities, weaknesses, and artifacts with
an emphasis on their practical application. Significant hands-on processing and
interpretation of real data using MATLAB. 4 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours
ECE 417, Multimedia Signal Processing (4 hours)
Characteristics of speech and image signals; important analysis and synthesis tools for multimedia signal processing including subspace methods, Bayesian networks, hidden Markov models, and factor graphs; applications to biometrics (person identification), human-computer interaction (face and gesture recognition and synthesis), and audio-visual databases (indexing and retrieval). Emphasis on a set of MATLAB machine problems providing hands-on experience.
ECE 418, Introduction to Image and Video Signal Processing (4 hours)
Concepts and applications in image and video processing; introduction to multidimensional signal processing: sampling, Fourier transform, filtering, interpolation, and decimation; human visual perception; scanning and display of images and video; image enhancement, restoration and segmentation; digital image and video compression; image analysis. Laboratory exercises promote experience with topics and development of C and MATLAB programs.
ECE 420, Embedded DSP Laboratory (2 hours)
Development of real-time digital signal processing (DSP) systems using a DSP microprocessor; several structured laboratory exercises, such as sampling and digital filtering; followed by an extensive DSP project of the student's choice.
ECE 459, Communications, I (3 hours)
Analog underpinning of analog and digital communication systems: representation of signals and systems in the time and frequency domains; analog modulation schemes; random processes; prediction and noise analysis using random processes; noise sensitivity and bandwidth requirements of modulation schemes. Brief introduction to digital communications.
ECE 463, Digital Communications Laboratory (2 hours)
Hands-on experience in the configuration and performance evaluation of digital communication systems employing both radio and optical signals.
ECE 486, Control Systems I (4 hours)
Analysis and design of control systems with emphasis on modeling, state variable representation, computer solutions, modern design principles, and laboratory techniques.
ECE 490, Introduction to Optimization (4 hours)
Basic theory and methods for the solution of optimization problems; iterative techniques for unconstrained minimization; linear and nonlinear programming with engineering applications.
ECE 513, Vector Space Signal Processing (4 hours)
Mathematical tools in a vector space framework, including: finite and infinite dimensional vector spaces, Hilbert spaces, orthogonal projections, subspace techniques, least-squares methods, matrix decomposition, conditioning and regularizations, bases and frames, the Hilbert space of random variables, random processes, iterative methods; applications in signal processing, including inverse problems, filter design, sampling, interpolation, sensor array processing, and signal and spectral estimation.
ECE 515, Control System Theory & Design (4 hours)
Feedback control systems emphasizing state space techniques. Basic principles, modeling, analysis, stability, structural properties, optimization, and design to meet specifications.
ECE 517, Nonlinear & Adaptive Control (4 hours)
Design of nonlinear control systems based on stability considerations; Lyapunov and hyperstability approaches to analysis and design of model reference adaptive systems; identifiers, observers, and controllers for unknown plants.
ECE 528, Analysis of Nonlinear Systems (4 hours)
Nonlinear dynamics, vector fields and flows, Lyapunov stability theory, regular and singular perturbations, averaging, integral manifolds, input-output and input-to-state stability, and various design applications in control systems and robotics.
ECE 534, Random Processes (4 hours)
Basic concepts of random processes; linear systems with random inputs; Markov processes; spectral analysis; Wiener and Kalman filtering; and applications to systems engineering.
ECE 544, Topics in Signal Processing (4 hours)
Lectures and discussions related to advanced topics and new areas of interest in signal processing: speech, image, and multidimensional processing. May be repeated 8 hours in a term to a total of 20 hours. Credit towards a degree from multiple offerings of this course is not given if those offerings have significant overlap, as determined by the ECE department.
ECE 547, Topics in Image Processing (4 hours)
Fundamental concepts, techniques, and directions of research in image processing: two-dimensional Fourier transform and filtering, image digitization, coding, restoration, reconstruction, analysis, and recognition.
ECE 551, Digital Signal Processing, II (4 hours)
Basic concept review of digital signals and systems; computer-aided digital filter design, quantization effects, decimation and interpolation, and fast algorithms for convolution and the DFT; introduction to adaptive signal processing.
ECE 553, Optimum Control Systems (4 hours)
Theoretical and algorithmic foundations of deterministic optimal control theory, including calculus of variations, maximum principle, and principle of optimality; the Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian design; differential games and H-infinity optimal control design.
ECE 554, Dynamic System Reliability (4 hours)
Reliability and dynamic performance evaluation for large-scale and complex systems; building on system-theoretic modeling, analysis, and design techniques. Design methods for reliability including architecture design and filter-based fault detection and isolation. Analytical methods for optimal redundancy allocation, sensitivity analysis methods for iterative system design, and other techniques for design optimization. Mechatronic systems used in aircraft and automotive, power electronic systems, and electrical power systems are examples of applications discussed.
ECE 555, Control of Stochastic Systems (4 hours)
Stochastic control models; development of control laws by dynamic programming; separation of estimation and control; Kalman filtering; self-tuning regulators; dual controllers; decentralized control.
ECE 556, Coding Theory (4 hours)
Coding theory with emphasis on the algebraic theory of cyclic codes using finite field arithmetic, decoding of BCH and RS codes, finite field Fourier transform and algebraic geometry codes, convolutional codes, and trellis decoding algorithms.
ECE 558, Digital Imaging (4 hours)
Multidimensional signals, convolution, transforms, sampling, and interpolation; design of two-dimensional digital filters; sensor array processing and range-doppler imaging; applications to synthetic aperture radar, optics, tomography, radio astronomy, and beam-forming sonar; and image estimation from partial data.
ECE 559, Topics in Communications (4 hours)
Lectures and discussion related to advanced topics and new areas of interest in the theory of communication systems: information theory, coding theory, and communication network theory. May be repeated in the same term, if topics vary, to a maximum of 12 graduate hours; may be repeated in separate terms, if topics vary, to a maximum of 16 graduate hours. Credit toward a degree from multiple offerings of this course is not given if those offerings have significant overlap, as determined by the ECE Department.
ECE 561, Detection and Estimation Theory Detection and estimation theory, with applications to communication, control, and radar systems; decision-theory concepts and optimum-receiver principles; detection of random signals in noise, coherent and noncoherent detection; parameter estimation, linear and nonlinear estimation, and filtering. 4 graduate hours.
ECE 562 Advanced Digital Communications (4 hours)
Digital communication systems modulation, demodulation, signal space methods, channel models, bit error rate, spectral occupancy, synchronization, equalization, trellis-coded modulation, wireless channels, multiantenna systems, spread spectrum, and orthogonal frequency modulation.
ECE 563, Information Theory (4 hours)
Mathematical models for channels and sources; entropy, information, data compression, channel capacity, Shannon's theorems, and rate-distortion theory.
ECE 580, Optimization by Vector Space Methods (4 hours)
Normed, Banach, and Hilbert spaces; applications of the projection theorem and the Hahn-Banach Theorem to problems of minimum norm, least squares estimation, mathematical programming, and optimal control; the Kuhn-Tucker Theorem and Pontryagin's maximum principle; iterative methods.
ECE 586, Topics in Decision and Control (4 hours)
Lectures and discussions related to advanced topics and new areas of interest in decision and control theory: hybrid, sampled-data, and fault tolerant systems; control over networks; vision-based control; system estimation and identification; dynamic games. May be repeated up to 12 hours within a term, and up to 20 hours total for the course. Credit towards a degree from multiple offerings of this course is not given if those offerings have significant overlap, as determined by the ECE Department.

Computing Systems, Networks, Software, and Algorithms

ECE 408, Applied Parallel Programming (4 hours)
Parallel programming with emphasis on developing applications for processors with many computation cores. Computational thinking, forms of parallelism, programming models, mapping computations to parallel hardware, efficient data structures, paradigms for efficient parallel algorithms, and application case studies.
ECE 411, Computer Organization and Design (4 hours)
Basic computer organization and design: integer and floating-point computer arithmetic; control unit design; pipelining; system interconnect; memory organization; I/O design; reliability and performance evaluation. Laboratory for computer design implementation, simulation, and layout.
ECE 412, Microcomputer Laboratory (3 hours)
Design, construction, and use of a small general-purpose computer with a micro-processor CPU; MSI and LSI circuits used extensively; control panel, peripheral controllers, control logic, central processor, and programming experiments.
ECE 419, Security Lab (3 or 4 hours)
Operating systems security: access control, least privilege mechanism and malware techniques. Network security: firewalls, sniffing, tunnels, intrusion detection, AAA, and worm structure. System security: forensics security architectures, and attack/defend exercises. Complements CS 461 via hands-on project.
ECE 422, Computer Security I (3 or 4 hours)
Fundamental principles of computer and communications security and information assurance: ethics, privacy, notions of threat, vulnerabilities, and risk in systems, information warfare, malicious software, data secrecy and integrity issues, network security, trusted computing, mandatory and discretionary access controls, certification and accreditation of systems against security standards. Security mechanisms: authentication, auditing, intrusion detection, access control, cryptography, security protocols, and key distribution.
ECE 424, Computer Security II (3 or 4 hours)
Program security, trusted base, privacy, anonymity, non-interference, information flow, confinement, advanced auditing, forensics, intrusion detection, key management and distribution, policy composition and analysis, formal approaches to specification and verification of secure systems and protocols, and topics in applied cryptography.
ECE 425, Introduction to VLSI System Design (3 hours)
Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology and theory; CMOS circuit and logic design; layout rules and techniques; circuit characterization and performance estimation; CMOS subsystem design; Very-Large-Scale Integrated (VLSI) systems design methods; VLSI Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools; workstation-based custom VLSI chip design using concepts of cell hierarchy; final project involving specification, design, and evaluation of a VLSI chip or VLSI CAD program; written report and oral presentation on the final project..
ECE 428, Distributed Systems (3 or 4 hours)
Protocols, specification techniques, global states and their determination, reliable broadcast, transactions and commitment, security, and real-time systems.
ECE 435, Computer Networking Laboratory (3 or four hours)
Design, application, analysis, and evaluation of communication network protocols under both Linux and Windows NT operating systems. Emphasis on identifying problems, proposing alternative solutions, implementing prototypes using available network protocols and evaluating results. Multiple programming team projects. 3 or 4 graduate hours.
ECE 438, Communication Networks (3 or 4 hours)
Layered architectures and the OSI Reference Model; design issues and protocols in the transport, network, and data link layers; architectures and control algorithms of local-area, point-to-point, and satellite networks; standards in networks access protocols; models of network interconnection; overview of networking and communication software.
ECE 439, Wireless Networks (3 or 4 hours)
Overview of wireless network architectures including cellular networks, local area networks, multi-hop wireless networks such as ad hoc networks, mesh networks, and sensor networks; capacity of wireless networks; medium access control, routing protocols, and transport protocols for wireless networks; mechanisms to improve performance and security in wireless networks; energy-efficient protocols for sensor networks.
ECE 448, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (3 or 4 hours)
This course is designed to give students an overview of major results and current research directions in artificial intelligence, along with an in-depth treatment of a member of representative systems, through programming exercises and class discussions.
ECE 462, Logic Design (4 hours)
Unate function theory, unate recursive paradigm, synthesis of two-level logic, synthesis of incompletely specified combinational logic, multi-level logic synthesis, binary decision diagrams, finite state machine synthesis, automatic test pattern generation and design for test, equivalence checking and reachability analysis of finite machines, and technology mapping.
ECE 470, Introduction to Robotics (4 hours)
Fundamentals of robotics including rigid motions; homogeneous transformations; forward and inverse kinematics; velocity kinematics; motion planning; trajectory generation; sensing, vision; control.
ECE 478, Formal Software Development Methods (3 or 4 hours)
Mathematical models, languages, and methods for software specification, development, and verification. (Same as CS 477)
ECE 489, Robot Dynamics and Control (4 hours)
Fundamental concepts and analytical methods for analysis and design of robot systems. Laboratory experiments complement theoretical development. (Same As GE 422)
ECE 492, Introduction to Parallel Programming (3 or 4 hours)
Fundamental issues in design and development of parallel programs for various types of parallel computers. Various programming models according to both machine type and application area. Cost models, debugging, and performance evaluation of parallel programs with actual application examples. (Same as CS 420)
ECE 508, Manycore Parallel Algorithms (4 hours)
Algorithm techniques for enhancing the scalability of parallel software: scatter vs. gather, problem decomposition, spatial sorting and binning, privatization for reduced conflicts, tiling for data locality, regularization for improved load balance, compaction to conserve memory bandwidth, double-buffering to overlap latencies, and data layout for improved efficiency of DRAM accesses. Course Information: Same as CS 508. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit. Prerequisite: ECE 408 or CS 420.
ECE 511, Computer Architecture (4 hours)
Advanced concepts in computer architecture: design, management, and modeling of memory hierarchies; stack-oriented processors; associative processors; pipelined computers; and multiple processor systems. Emphasis on hardware alternatives in detail and their relation to system performance and cost.
ECE 512, Computer Microarchitecture (4 hours)
Design of high performance computer systems; instruction level concurrency; memory system implementation; pipelining, superscalar, and vector processing; compiler back-end code optimization; profile assisted code transformations; code generation and machine dependent code optimization; cache memory design for multiprocessors; synchronization implementation in multiprocessors; compatibility issues; technology factors; state-of-the-art commercial systems.
ECE 524, Advanced Computer Security (4 hours)
Current research trends in computer and network security. Privacy, tamper-resistance, unwanted traffic, monitoring and surveillance, and critical infrastructure protection. Subtopics will vary depending upon current research trends. Students work in teams in close coordination with the course instructor to develop one of the topics in depth by carrying out background research and an exploratory project.
ECE 526, Distributed Algorithms (4 hours)
Theoretical aspects of distributed algorithms, with an emphasis on formal proofs of correctness and theoretical performance analysis. Algorithms for consensus, clock synchronization, mutual exclusion, debugging of parallel programs, peer-to-peer networks, and distributed function computation; fault-tolerant distributed algorithms; and distributed algorithms for wireless networks.
ECE 541, Computer Systems Analysis (4 hours)
Development of analytical models of computer systems and application of such models to performance evaluation: scheduling policies, paging algorithms, multi-programmed resource management, and queuing theory.
ECE 542, Design of Fault-Tolerant Digital Systems (4 hours)
Advanced concepts in hardware and software fault tolerance: fault models, coding in computer systems, module and system level fault detection mechanism, reconfiguration techniques in multiprocessor systems and VLSI processor arrays, and software fault tolerance techniques such as recovery blocks, N-version programming, check pointing, and recovery; survey of practical fault-tolerant systems.
ECE 548, Computer Models of Cognitive Processes (4 hours)
Formal models and concepts in automated cognition; integrating machine learning and prior knowledge; current approaches and detailed analyses of the role of reasoning in the learning process; computational complexity and fundamental tradeoffs between expressiveness and tractability; implications for state-of-the-art artificial intelligence areas such as automated planning, the semantic web, relational learning, structured prediction, latent models, structure learning, theory formation, etc.; and philosophical and psychological aspects of integrating analytic and empirical evidence.
ECE 549, Computer Vision (4 hours)
Information processing approaches to computer vision, algorithms, and architectures for artificial intelligence and robotics systems capable of vision: inference of three-dimensional properties of a scene from its images, such as distance, orientation, motion, size and shape, acquisition, and representation of spatial information for navigation and manipulation in robotics.
ECE 550, Advanced Robotic Planning (4 hours)
Computational approaches to robot motion planning, configuration space, algebraic decompositions, artificial potential fields, retraction, approximate decompositions, planning under uncertainty, grasp planning, and task-level planning.
ECE 567, Communication Network Analysis (4 hours)
Performance analysis and design of multiple-user communication systems; emphasis on rigorous formulation and analytical and computational methods; includes queuing networks, decentralized minimum delay routing, and dynamic network flow control.
ECE 584, Embedded System Verification (4 hours)
Examines formal analysis a synthesis approaches for discrete, continuous, and hybrid models of computing systems and their physical environment. Introduces timed and hybrid automata models. Analysis techniques including model checking, Hoare-style deduction, and abstractions for safety and stability, and controller synthesis strategies with applications in distributed robotics, automobile system, traffic control, and real-time systems

Course Planning

For a detailed list of current and future courses, see the ECE Courses section of the ECE website.

Experimental courses are offered as ECE498 and ECE 598 (Special Topics in ECE). All course offerings are subject to cancellation if there is insufficient enrollment. Courses most likely to be canceled for lack of enrollment are advanced graduate courses, ECE 598 offerings, and courses offered in the summer.

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