Establishing academic programs in integrated media systems

For four years, we have been developing a wide range of graduate and undergraduate degree programs related to integrated media systems on behalf of the Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC), for the School of Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC). The IMSC is a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (ERC) that became operational in 1996. It is not an academic department; however, one of its important missions is education. Most of the developed degree programs have been for engineering students, but one is available to all students. These degree programs are administered either by an academic department (e.g., computer science) or by an assistant dean of the School of Engineering. The purpose of this article is to not only describe these degree programs, but to also provide some lessons that have been learned along the way, lessons that may help expedite the development of similar programs at other universities     

CMOS Digital Time Amplifiers for High Resolution Timing Measurement

In this paper the concept of time amplification in the digital domain is introduced along with a simple CMOS implementation. The time amplifier is presented in the context of a high resolution time-to-digital converter. The issue of limited linearity of the time amplifier is addressed through the utilization of an efficient calibration technique that allows for the correction of such non-ideality. Experimental data validates the design of a resistively loaded time amplifier with a gain of 182 Second/Second. Also, simulations suggest that the time amplifier can be designed for gains up to a few thousands with input dynamic ranges in excess of a few hundred picoseconds. Also, some figures of merit and performance are introduced along with a discussion on some of the trade-offs involved in the design of a time amplifier.Mourad Oulmane received the B.A.Sc. degree from the University of Constantine, Algeria, in 1995, and the M.A.Sc. degree in physics from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, France, in 1997, the M.Eng. Degree from McGill University in 2001 where he is pursuing a PhD Degree. His research interests include analog/mixed-signal/RF IC design as well as interconnect and semiconductor technologies design and modeling.Gordon W. Roberts received the B.A.Sc. degree from the University of Waterloo, Canada, in 1983, and the M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Toronto, Canada, in 1986 and 1989, respectively, all in electrical engineering. He is currently on leave from McGill University as a co-founder of DFT Microsystems, Inc., where he holds the position of Chief Technical Officer. At McGill University he is a full professor where he holds the James McGill Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has published numerous papers in scientific journals and conferences, and he has contributed chapters to various industrially focused textbooks. In addition, he has co-written five textbooks related to analog IC design and mixed-signal test for undergraduate and graduate engineering programs. Dr. Roberts has held many administration roles within conference organizations; most recently he was the 2003 program chair of the IEEE International Test Conference. Dr. Roberts is a Fellow of the IEEE.     

A curriculum in electrooptics for electrical engineers

A relatively intensive electrooptics curriculum is described in detail, including in particular source material. This curriculum allows undergraduate electrical engineering students who wish to do so to specialize in electrooptics. Constraints somewhat unique to Israel are described, as well as an evaluation of the curriculum based on feedback from graduating students. The academic level is such that over 50 percent of the undergraduate senior projects connected with electrooptics have been published in the international scientific and engineering journals.     

日本东京大学工学院电气、电子、信息三学科课程介绍

详细介绍了日本国东京大学工学院电气工程系的电气、信息和电子三个专业的本科生、硕士生、博士生的课程设置情况,并对东京大学电气工程系的培养方案进行了评述。     

Biomedical Engineering Education: Enrollment, Courses, Degrees, and Employment

During the 1979-1980 academic year a two-page questionnaire on biomedical engineering education was sent to 251 engineering schools. 71 schools indicated that they had degree programs and an additional 35 indicated that they had official minor or option programs, 107 did not have a program, and 38 did not respond. For schools offering degrees in biomedical engineering, there were 2859 students enrolled in 37 B.S. programs, 830 students in 48 M.S. programs, and 469 students in 41 Ph.D. programs. Options or minors in biomedical engineering with a degree in another engineering discipline were available at the B.S. level at 41 schools, at the M.S. level at 42 schools, and at the Ph.D. level at 34 schools. Over the past two years, schools offered 109 courses in biomedical instrumentation, 74 in computers in medicine, 162 in physiological systems/modeling, 60 in biomechanics, 47 in biomaterials, 33 in hospital internship, 23 in clinical engineering, 9 in biomedical engineering lab, and 67 in other areas. During the academic year 1978-1979, schools awarded 464 B.S. degrees, 249 M.S. degrees, and 107 Ph.D. degrees in biomedical engineering. Of these graduates, 253 found jobs in industry, 23 in government, 35 in academia, and 66 in hospitals or clinics; 100 went to medical school, 96 to biomedical engineering graduate schools, and 57 to other graduate or professional schools.     

Talkback TV at southern methodist university: Four years of experience

During the past four years several thousand professional employees of industries within a 60-mi radius of the Southern Methodist University (SMU) campus at Dallas, Tex., have participated fully as degree-seeking students in SMU's on-campus engineering graduate courses--without leaving their places of employment. The "talkback TV" system through which this is accomplished is described and evaluated from the standpoint of the students, the professor, the educational administrator, and the industrial employer. Inclusion of neighboring liberal arts colleges among course recipients and originators offers a further dimension of program enrichment at the undergraduate level.     

Publishing in Scientific and Engineering Contexts: A Course for Graduate Students Tutorial

Based on feedback from graduate students, from science and engineering faculty who teach graduate students, and from surveys about the skills graduate students need, the authors have designed and taught a graduate-level course in academic publishing. This article describes the need for the course and the theory behind its design, outlines the course content, and presents assessment data from the first three course iterations. The findings indicate that this course has increased students' awareness of the role of rhetorical and discourse knowledge as well as their level of confidence in their ability to write and publish professional work. Further, findings from interviews with faculty advisors yield insight into the benefits of the course for students, advisors, disciplinary programs, and cross-curricular initiatives     

Distance education: Rebottling or a new brew?

Engineering education is undergoing a significant transformation utilizing the very technology that engineers have developed. Many university engineering programs now use the Web as an integral part of both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. A number are delivering "distance education" courses and programs to students who do not have face-to-face contact with any instructor. This paper reviews the educational rationale and the productivity drivers behind this trend and provides some information on related IEEE educational programs. It considers the role of professors; business issues; online course development; lifelong education; universities; electronic publishing; company training; and professional associations     

A New Differential CMOS Current-Mode Preamplifier for GBps Data Communications

This paper presents a new low-voltage fully differential CMOS current-mode preamplifier for GBps data communications. The number of transistors between the power and ground rails is only two so that the minimum supply voltage is one threshold voltage plus one pinch-off voltage. The preamplifier is a balanced two-stage configuration such that the effect of bias-dependent mismatches is minimized. A new inductive series-peaking technique is introduced to increase the bandwidth by utilizing the resonance characteristics of LC networks. In addition, a new negative differential current feedback technique is proposed to boost the bandwidth and to reduce the value of peaking inductors. The preamplifier has been implemented in TSMC 0.18 μm, 1.8 V, 6-metal mixed-mode CMOS technology and analyzed using Spectre from Cadence Design Systems with BSIM3v3 device models. For an optical front-end with a 0.3 pF photodiode capacitance, simulation results demonstrate that the preamplifier has bandwidth of 3.5 GHz and provides a transimpedance gain of 66 dBΩ. The total chip area is approximately 1 mm² and the DC power consumption is about 85 mW. Bendong Sun received the B.Eng. degree in electrical engineering from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China, in1992, and the MASc degree in electrical and computer engineering from Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2003. He is currently working towards the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering at University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. During 1992 through 1998 he was a Design Engineer at China Electronics Engineering Design Institute, Beijing, China. From 1998 to 2000 he worked for Bently Nevada Corporation, a GE Power Systems business, as a System Engineer. Since 2001, he has been a Research Assistant with the System-on-Chip Laboratory at Ryerson University. His research interests include design of analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for high-speed data communications. Fei Yuan received the B.Eng. degree in electrical engineering from Shandong University, Jinan, China in 1985, the MASc degree in chemical engineering and PhD degree in electrical engineering from University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in 1995 and 1999, respectively. During 1985–1989, he was a Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Changzhou Institute of Technology, Jiangsu, China. In 1989 he was a Visiting Professor at Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology, Toronto, Canada. During 1989–1994, he worked for Paton Controls Limited, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada as a Controls Engineer. Since July 1999 he has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he is currently an Associate Professor and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies and Faculty Affairs. He is the co-author of the book “Computer Methods for Analysis of Mixed-Mode Switching Circuits” (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004, with Ajoy Opal). Dr. Yuan received an “Excellence of Teaching" award from Changzhou Institute of Technology in 1988, a post-graduate scholarship from Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada during 1997–1998. He is a senior member of IEEE and a registered professional engineer in the province of Ontario, Canada. Ajoy Opal (S'86-M'88) received the B. Tech degree from Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India in 1981, and the MASc and PhD degrees from University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in 1984 and 1987, respectively. During 1989–92 he worked for Bell-Northern Research in the area of analog circuit simulation. He joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo in 1992 and currently a Full Professor. Dr. Opal works in the area of simulation of analog and mixed digital-analog circuits, such as, switched capacitor, switched current, oversampled sigma-delta modulators. Other interests include circuit theory and filter design.     

A comparison of systems engineering programs in the United States

Given the length of time systems engineering has been taught in the US, it is now appropriate to examine the types of programs being offered and to compare and contrast these programs. The paper provides this comparison with a view toward the future of systems engineering education in the US. In particular, we first examine the US undergraduate and graduate programs in systems engineering in order to understand what is taught and how it is taught. Using cluster analysis, we identify four distinct types of systems engineering undergraduate programs, and an informal analysis examines the directions in the systems engineering graduate programs. Next we look at issues in systems engineering education, which have shaped the development of the curricula over the last thirty years. These include the definition of systems engineering, associated professional societies, similar degree types, the role of an undergraduate systems engineering degree, and the role of information technology in systems engineering. We conclude with opportunities for systems engineering education within the US with regard to curricula directions and job opportunities     

Instrumentation education in Japan: despair and expectation

The impact of innovations directly attributable to digital technology has been substantial. Measurement sophistication can be built into the most basic of instruments. Adding it is cost-effective because component costs are low, and good development tools are widely available. For Japanese industry, the major impact of the digital revolution has been the steady erosion of Japan's enviable position with respect to quality, which was sustained largely by faithful adherence to standards. We are now faced with intense global competition from international companies that have employed digital technology to substantially increase product quality. To win the global competition, industry demands young engineers who have many detailed professional skills, and it wants engineers who understand a systems approach to problem solving. This impact has been felt in the I&M curriculum. Universities have responded to this challenge by adding new elective courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. New professional graduate education programs also have been added. Making changes is not easy. Creating a course and deciding on content is left to the discretion of the instructor. This approach has pitfalls. Sometimes the same topics are covered by several courses, or some important topics such as data acquisition, digital signal processing, and system identification, are missing. To improve this situation, we have initiated a review of the undergraduate and graduate curricula     

生物医学工程研究生培养方式初探

以南京航空航天大学生物医学工程学科硕士点为例,分析探讨了生物医学工程学科硕士研究生培养的方式。着重从生源选拔、课程设置、科研选题、学术讨论、实践能力、创新能力和论文撰写等七方面详细分析了培养研究生的方式,强调了把创新意识与创新能力的培养作为研究生培养工作的核心。结合我校生物医学工程研究生教育教学工作中进行了详细阐述,并说明了在具体实施工作中取得的效果。     

Mentors, models and clients: using the professional engineeringcommunity to identify and teach engineering genres

The Writing Program faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), developed a unique three-quarter writing sequence for College of Engineering freshmen. These students write a variety of engineering documents: design proposals, project management plans, status reports, instructions, poster papers, etc. The genres in the sequence, their identification, and their teaching result from outreach to the engineering community. Although this curriculum benefits from a three-quarter sequence, the methods used are applicable to shorter courses in academic and industry settings. This curriculum may be of interest to industry professionals who recruit or who wish to contribute to undergraduate engineering curriculum innovations     

Engineering students and the education of the disadvantaged—The dartmouth experience

The current interest of college students in helping to solve society's problems is attacked in two novel programs at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H. Both undergraduate and graduate engineering students are involved in teaching, learning, and working at off-campus sites for a term. One group is in Jersey City, N. J., where they help to teach the ECCP developed "Man-Made World" (MMW) to inner-city high school seniors while working for the city government. Another group is at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where they help to teach a novel freshman engineering course based on the MMW as well as attend regular classes. Results of the programs are discussed and future plans are indicated.     

Academic Research Institutes in the Microwave Field

Since World War II, large research institutes have burgeoned forth on the campuses of many colleges and universities throughout the United States. Fulfilling at their inception a national need in time of crisis, they have continued in these less critical times to contribute importantly to the national research program. Their impact on academic curricula has been varied but no less important. The effective increase in faculty provided by academic research institutes is permitting the expansion of graduate course programs into ever widening areas of science and engineering in a manner responsive to contemporary scientific and technical developments. Expanded curricula and research facilities make it possible for students in increasing numbers to enter into research programs that attempt to prepare them realistically for the demands our technological society imposes upon them. Despite these evident advantages, research institutes have yet to find a truly permanent place in the academic structure. Financial difficulties, together with related problems of securing balance between research and academic obligations, characterize this paradoxical situation. Since these points bear strongly on the question of the proper utilization of our national scientific and engineering potential, let us examine the role academic research institutes can play on the educational scene with particular stress, by example, on those in the microwave field.     

皇后大学创新性教学对双语课程的启示

本文通过从教学思想、教学方法、实践环节和教学评价等方面，详细介绍了加拿大皇后大学电气工程学院本科生教学。通过课程教学对比，皇后大学创新性本科教学经验为国际班电气专业双语教学提供了良好的借鉴；通过双语教学的改革和优化，充分加强学生与教师的互动性，突出实践环节，从多角度培养学生创新能力与实践能力。     

Dropping Rate Reduction in Hybrid WLAN/Cellular Systems by Mobile Ad Hoc Relaying

Future mobile handsets will often be multi-mode, containing both wireless LAN (WLAN) and cellular air interfaces. When such a device is within a WLAN it can be served by the WLAN resources. As it moves out of the WLAN coverage area, it has to be served by the cellular system. Therefore, handoffs are necessary between the WLAN and the cellular system. In loosely coupled WLAN/Cellular systems the system administrator of the WLAN is different from the cellular one. Therefore, in these situations, reducing the dropping probability based on classical methods, such as using some reserved guard channels, is difficult. In this paper, we propose to use ad hoc relaying during the vertical handoff process in a hybrid WLAN/Cellular system. The method that we propose in this paper improves the dropping probability regardless of the number of reserved channels. Therefore, this method could be employed in loosely coupled hybrid systems. Both analytical reasoning and simulation results support the effectiveness of the proposed method. Pejman Khadivi received the BS and MS degrees in computer engineering (Hardware and Computer Systems Architecture) in 1998 and 2000, respectively from Isfahan University of Technology, where he is currently working toward his Ph.D. During the 2003/2004 academic year, he was a Visiting Researcher with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, McMaster University, ON, Canada. Different aspects of computer architecture and networking are Mr. Khadivi’s research interests specially, adhoc networks, QoS routing and seamless handoff in hybrid mobile networks. Shadrokh Samavi received the B.S. degrees in industrial technology and electrical engineering from the California State University, Fresno, in 1980 and 1982, respectively, the M.S. degree from the University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, in 1985, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, in 1989. In 1995, he joined the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran, where he was an Associative Professor. During the 2002/2003 academic year, he was a Visiting Professor with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. His current research interests are implementation and optimization of image-processing algorithms and area-performance tradeoffs in computational circuits. Dr. Samavi is a Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.), USA, and is a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and the National Association of Industrial Technologists (NAIT). Hossein Saidi received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering (Electronics and communication Eng.) from Isfahan University of Technology (IUT), in 1986 and 1989, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Washington University in St. Louis, MO. in 1994.From 1994 to 1995, he was a research associates at Washington Univ. St. Louis, and in 1995 he joined the Electrical and Computer Engineering of IUT, where he is an Associate Professor. His Research interest includes ATM, high speed networking, QoS guarantees, routing, algorithms and information theory. Terence D. Todd received the B.A.Sc, M.A.Sc and Ph.D degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. While at Waterloo he spent 3 years as a Research Associate with the Computer Communications Networks Group (CCNG). He is currently a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.Professor Todd spent 1991 on research leave in the Distributed Systems Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ. He also spent 1998 on research leave at The Olivetti and Oracle Research Laboratory in Cambridge, England. While at ORL he worked on the piconet project which was an early embedded wireless network testbed.Dr. Todd’s research interests include metropolitan/local area networks, wireless communications and the performance analysis of computer communication networks and systems. He currently holds the NSERC/RIM/CITO Industrial Research Chair on Pico-Cellular Wireless Internet Access Networks. Dr. Todd is a Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario and a member of the IEEE. Dongmei Zhao received the Ph.D degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in June 2002. Since July 2002 she has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada where she is an assistant professor. Dr. Zhao’s research interests include modeling and performance analysis, quality-of-service provisioning, access control and admission control in wireless cellular networks and integrated cellular and ad hoc networks. Dr. Zhao is a member of the IEEE.     

An academic DSP workstation

The University of Florida is developing a technology-based comprehensive engineering educational delivery system for the study of digital processing (DSP). The DSP curriculum, which covers both the undergraduate and graduate programs, exhibits a commitment to cooperative learning and personal computer-based instructional (CBI) tools. The article discusses the technological elements of this mix, which includes low-cost DSP software, a low-cost TI TMS320C5x DSP starter kit, and a generic soundboard     

Critical issues related to international R&D programs

This paper discusses critical management, business and technical issues related to three recent international R&D programs between the United States and Japan. It summarizes case studies on two of these programs, then it extrapolates a third case of a program in progress. A review of these programs revealed that international R&D programs present unique challenges in relation to business mobilization, convincing organizations to accept outside technology, financing, program planning, joint program management, and engineering issues. Approximately 25 subjects were observed as critical issues. This paper discusses and illustrates organizational strategies and practical suggestions for managing these critical issues     

建设独具特色的"计算机控制"精品课程

"计算机控制系统"课程是一门与国际先进大学相关课程接轨、适应航空航天和机器人等运动体控制的工程应用需求、适应本科生和研究生的专业基础教学要求的专业基础课程。该课程在内容上突出"快变系统精确建模与控制"、"模拟系统数字化实现"等,突出高速运动体的精确测量与控制技术。同时建设了一套实验体系,针对本科生、研究生的不同知识基础实行分层次、分类别组织实验的教学计划;授课同时撰写了多本"计算机控制系统"精品教材,分别由北航、高教和清华出版社出版,各版教材增加了工程应用例题和习题,为课程教学打下了基础。