Undergraduate Graduate

Admission Degree Programs Senior Design Scholarships Courses

Computer Engineering Program Electical Engineering Program Engineering Physics Pprogram

Admission Degree Programs General Exams Scholarships Courses

Department News Seminars UConn News Online ECE Newsletter

Annual Report and Summary

2006 Annual Report

RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP
The ECE faculty had another stellar year in research and scholarship pursuing funded research in areas such as systems and manufacturing, microelectronics, biomedical engineering, optoelectronics, electromagnetics and photonics, and VLSI computer engineering. Assisted by outstanding graduate students and visiting scholars, the faculty maintains high funding levels on a continuous basis. Associated scholarly productivity remains strong. The faculty published numerous papers, including 80 refereed journal articles, 18 book chapters, and 150 full conference proceedings papers.

They also published one book and developed 10 software packages. They offered numerous professional short courses, were keynote speakers at 12 international conferences, and delivered 58 invited talks. ECE faculty worked on 82 sponsored grants with annual expenditures estimated to be $4.3 million. During the year, ECE faculty advised 116 graduate students; of these, fifteen successfully completed their Ph.D. degrees and 16 students garnered their M.S. degrees. ECE faculty members held ten major journal editorships, 32 associate editorships or conference chair posts, and 25 other editorial or conference-planning appointments.

FACULTY RECRUITMENT
Dr. Shengli Zhou, with a Ph.D. degree in EE from the University of Minnesota, joined the ECE department as an Assistant Professor in fall 2003. For this stage of his professional career, he is widely published in his research areas of wireless communications, space-time coding, wireless systems design, and adaptive modulation techniques. Further, Dr. Anthony DeMaria came on board as a Professor-in-Residence. Dr. DeMaria is a respected engineer and entrepreneur with expertise in photonics, laser technology, and optoelectronics. His accomplishments are so numerous and significant that he is a member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences.

For the Fall 2006, there will be two new faculty members in the areas of computer engineering and nanotechnology. The ECE faculty has determined that these areas are of strategic importance for the department for future vitality in education and research.

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
The ECE department offers undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering (EE), Computer Engineering (CompE, offered jointly with the Computer Science & Engineering Department), and Engineering Physics (jointly with the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences). Additionally, four ECE faculty members are key contributors to the rapidly growing interdisciplinary Biomedical Engineering Program.

To enhance the competitive advantage of these degree programs, the faculty decided to reduce the number of required credit hours from 134 to 126 for the EE and CompE programs. The reduction in required hours brings the programs in line with top national programs. This was accomplished by streamlining the curricula, in part by integrating laboratory courses with corresponding lecture courses – a widespread practice nationally. We added a new computer tools course, which has long been requested by our students and strengthens the program with respect to the ABET requirement of student proficiency in applications of relevant tools of the trade. The resulting optimized, sharper curricula give the students an improved opportunity to complete these challenging degrees in four years, saving time and money for the students and their parents and providing Connecticut and regional industry with talented engineers in a timely manner.

To further improve the undergraduate experience, we applied for and received a 3-year grant to provide opportunities for our students to perform original research. Funded by NSF, the ECE Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is directed by principal investigator Eric Donkor. Interested undergraduates apply for the available positions to work under the guidance of a faculty member doing research in an area of interest to the student. This early research experience is proven to be highly motivating, stimulating creative thinking and often leading to continued studies in graduate school.

FACULTY HONORS
As pioneers in their fields, ECE faculty members receive many prestigious awards. The major awards obtained during the year are summarized as follows: Eric Donkor, Krishna Pattipati, and Geoff Taylor were elected members of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. John Enderle received the 2006 Theo Pilkington Outstanding Educator Award from ASEE and the AAUP Excellence Award in University Service. Bahram Javidi was named Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). Peter Luh received the 2005 Distinguished Service Award from the Academy of Science and Engineering. Krishna Pattipati received the Walter E. Peterson Award for the Best New Technology Paper at the IEEE Autotestcon. Anthony DeMaria was awarded five patents; Geoff Taylor secured four patents; and Faquir Jain and Bahram Javidi garnered one patent each.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES
The UConn student branch of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) organized and executed professional, service, and social activities for the engineering community. The officers conducted monthly meetings with topics such as how to better prepare ECE students as future engineers and how to improve our school through involvement of the students. A well-attended picnic served to adversize and promote IEEE and to gather faculty and students together. Tutoring was offered every workday in ECE 210W, ECE 212 and ECE 252. Moreover, the IEEE student branch hosted three professional engineering seminars and one recruiting seminar with distinguished lecturers. Dr. Yunsi Fei is the IEEE faculty advisor.

RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP
The ECE Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) provides input on ECE curricula, courses, and strategies. Industrial feedback is essential in maintaining high-quality, relevant programs and is a major link in the ABET accreditation process. Additionally, these closely affiliated companies provide internship opportunities for our students and often hire them permanently. As usual, the ECE IAB met twice during the year, making sound suggestions for program enhancements and strategic initiatives. The growing list of companies represented currently includes SNET, ATMI, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies Research Center (UTRC), Pitney Bowes, Phonon Corporation, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, General Electric Company, JDS Uniphase, Aptima, C-COR, TranSwitch, and Hamilton Sundstrand.