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Page 1
George Mason University
School of Information
Technology and Engineering
Program Self-Study Report for
Computer Engineering
ABET EC2000
July 1, 2000
Submitted to the
Engineering Accreditation Commission
of the
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
Engineering Accreditation Commission
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.
111 Market Place, Suite 1050
Baltimore, Maryland 21202-4012
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Table of Contents
Program Self-Study Report for Computer Engineering
............................... 1
A. Background Information................................................................................................1
1. Degree Titles................................................................................................................. 1
2. Program Modes............................................................................................................. 1
Actions to Correct Previous Deficiencies ......................................................................... 1
Overview of Computer Engineering Curriculum.............................................................. 1
B. Accreditation Summary..................................................................................................3
1. Students......................................................................................................................... 3
2. Program Educational Objectives .................................................................................. 4
The Mission Of George Mason University....................................................................... 4
Undergraduate Education Mission and Goals of the School of Information Technology
and Engineering................................................................................................................. 5
Undergraduate Education Mission of the Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department........................................................................................................................ 5
Program Educational Objectives – Establishment and Review ........................................ 7
Program Educational Objectives – Achievement and Assessment................................... 8
3.
Program Outcomes and Assessment....................................................................... 11
Assessment Measures...................................................................................................... 15
Assessment Process......................................................................................................... 15
Assessment of Program Outcomes.................................................................................. 15
Changes that have been implemented to develop and improve the program.................. 20
Materials that will be available for review during the visit............................................. 21
Acceptance of transfer students....................................................................................... 21
Credit for courses taken elsewhere.................................................................................. 21
4. Professional Component............................................................................................. 21
Major Design Experience................................................................................................ 21
Mathematics and Basic Sciences..................................................................................... 22
Engineering Science and Design..................................................................................... 22
General Education........................................................................................................... 23
5. Faculty ........................................................................................................................ 23
6. Facilities...................................................................................................................... 24
Classrooms...................................................................................................................... 24
Instructional Laboratories................................................................................................ 25
Non-ECE Teaching Laboratories.................................................................................... 30
Research Laboratories..................................................................................................... 30
Computing Infrastructure................................................................................................ 33
Modern Engineering Tools.............................................................................................. 35
7. Institutional Support and Financial Resources ........................................................... 35
8. Program Criteria ......................................................................................................... 41
9. Cooperative Education Criteria .................................................................................. 42
10. General Advanced-Level Program.............................................................................. 42
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Program Self-Study Report for Computer Engineering
A. Background Information
1. Degree Titles
The title of the degree is Bachelor of Science with a major in Computer
Engineering. This title appears on the transcript. The diploma carries the name
Bachelor of Science and the Computer Engineering designation.
2. Program Modes
This program is offered in the day mode only. There are some courses offered
during the evening but they are part of our regular offerings and are taught by the
same faculty as those taught during the day. A co-op program is available to our
students through work with many of the numerous industries in the area.
Assistance in obtaining jobs is provided by the Career Services Office. Students
may alternate semesters of school with semesters of classes, or may choose the
parallel method, combining 20 hours of work with 9 hours of classes. No course
credit is given for co-op experience.
Actions to Correct Previous Deficiencies
This is an initial accreditation, consequently there are no Previous Deficiencies.
Overview of Computer Engineering Curriculum
The Computer Engineering Curriculum has a focus on the integration of hardware
and software, both in computer systems and in the computer engineering
curriculum itself. The students are involved in using computer hardware, to run
computer software to design computer systems. The prime tool for this is the
industry standard, Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) Hardware
Description Language (VHDL), used to design and simulate digital logic and
digital systems throughout the curriculum. Additionally, other industry standard
software applications, C++, for programming, MATLAB, for mathematical
analysis and simulations, and SPICE, for circuit design and simulation, are all
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integrated into the curriculum within the first two years.
1
These four tools are
then used throughout the program. The students are grounded in basic math,
physics, computer science and electrical and computer engineering fundamentals,
through the early junior year level. Then additional required CS and ECE courses
at the advanced junior/senior level complete the hardware/software background.
Finally senior level technical electives and design project courses bring the
knowledge base together. Along the way the general education courses include
freshman and junior composition courses plus literature courses to help develop
skills of good writing. The literature courses plus economics and social science
courses broaden the students’ understanding of the social aspects that will
confront their engineering designs.
The first year of the program includes Calculus I and II, Computer Science I and II
(C++), Physics I (mechanics), Freshman English composition, Engineering
Fundamentals, Introduction To Electrical Engineering (MATLAB) and Discrete
Math.
The second year of the program includes Calculus III (Vector Calculus),
Differential Equations, Matrix Algebra, Computer Science III (large projects),
Physics II and Physics II Lab (waves, E&M), Electric Circuit Analysis (SPICE),
Signals and Systems I (Laplace and Fourier analyses), Digital System Design and
Lab (VHDL), and literature.
The third year completes the basic breadth of the program by including Linear
Electronics and Lab (devices and amplifiers), Digital Circuits Design (inverters),
Computer Organization, Operating Systems, Assembly Language, Probability for
Engineers, Physics III (optics, modern physics), advanced English composition,
social science/humanities, and the first course in the technical elective series.
The fourth year caps the program and includes Computer/Data Communications/
Networking, two technical electives, two advanced computer engineering labs, the
Senior Seminar, and the senior level design project oriented courses, Single Chip
Microcomputer and Digital Computer Design and Interfacing. Along with these
are the rest of the general education courses, economics, literature and a social
science/humanities course.
While this is the “published eight-semester” program, very few of our graduates
accomplish the program in this traditional manner. Many of our students are
1
Most transfer students with two years of transfer credit come in with C++ and SPICE knowledge,
and some with MATLAB knowledge. Such students would take ECE 331/332 in their first
semester to learn VHDL. Students without MATLAB knowledge are advised to take ECE 201 in
their first semester or to self study MATLAB, prior to their first semester, via the tutorial in the PC
Student Version of MATLAB with assistance from the MATLAB help links off the ECE web
pages. The ECE Associate Chair maintains regular contact with the Program Head, Engineering/
Electronics at Northern Virginia Community College, which is the predominant source of transfer
students, to encourage appropriate tools inclusions in the Community College curriculum.
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mature, returning (part-time or full-time), individuals who already have industry
experience and now want the formal educational grounding of a degree program.
Due to the immediacy of the large number of technical companies in the Northern
Virginia area, most of our students, regardless of their age or past work
experience, are working in technical positions by mid-junior or senior year (co-op,
interns, part-time or full-time). This reduces their ability to take the 15 or 16
credit hour load that an eight semester program requires. However, this makes
these students highly in demand by industry as they have both an academic
background and a technical work experience background at the time they
graduate.
B.
Accreditation Summary
1. Students
Evaluation: Students seeking to enter George Mason University as freshmen are
required to have a personal, on-campus, interview. Electrical and Computer
Engineering faculty participate in these interviews. During these informal
interviews, the objectives of the program are communicated to the prospective
students and their abilities and interests are determined. The faculty then provide
an evaluation and recommendation regarding admission. Transfer students
generally must have a 2.75 average in a parallel program in engineering. They
must have completed enough advanced mathematics (with A's and B's) to
reasonably ensure their success in the computer engineering program. Course
work is accepted by the University Admissions Office only with a grade of "C" or
better for a course that is comparable to a course offered at the University. The
Associate Chair makes the final decision as to the “equivalent” course for
technical courses, based on catalog descriptions from the transfer institution and
other data provided by the transfer student. Course equivalencies are recorded in
the University Student Information System and annotated in the student’s
department file. Course work must be from accredited institutions.
Advising: Every computer engineering student is assigned an ECE Department
faculty member as an advisor and is instructed to see the advisor each semester to
ensure that they can have appropriate advice for proper course selection. The
choices of Technical Elective Track courses and Social Science/Humanities
electives are made only from among courses designed to satisfy the ABET
requirements. Students interested in a more software oriented Technical Elective
Track are directed to also coordinate with a Computer Science Department
advisor. A brochure designed for student use, to inform them of the requirements
and to provide them with “survival” tips, is provided during the initial advising
session with each student upon admission to the computer engineering degree
program. Students are advised to regularly check their degree progress via the
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University Analysis of Academic Progress (AAP). This document is available on
demand via the University web site and provides an individual analysis of
progress toward the degree, based on courses the student has completed and is
taking. Concerns or questions about progress shown on the AAP are brought to
the attention of the student’s advisor. This document along with program
requirements worksheets ensure that all students are aware of their progress and
status. An updated AAP showing how all requirements have been met, or will be
met, is part of the Graduation Application documentation.
Monitoring: Students not meeting the prerequisites for a course are flagged on the
course roster. This allows the instructor to interview the student to determine
whether the student has the prerequisite knowledge required for success in the
course. Being flagged for “lack of prerequisite” could occur if the prerequisite
was met by a transfer course which was not “picked up” by the University Student
Information System. Students earning less than a 2.0 GPA in any semester are
required to see their advisor and are limited to no more than 13 credit hours of
course work in the following semester. Students are advised of the assistance of
the Mathematics and Physics Departments free tutoring.
2. Program Educational Objectives
The objectives of the computer engineering program are consistent with the
mission and objectives of the University, the School of Information Technology
and Engineering, and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.
The Mission Of George Mason University
“George Mason University will be an institution of international academic
reputation providing a superior education enabling students to develop critical,
analytical, and imaginative thinking and to make well founded ethical decisions.
The university will prepare students to address the complex issues facing them in
society and to discover meaning in their own lives. The university will be a
resource of the Commonwealth of Virginia serving private and public sectors and
will be an intellectual and cultural nexus between Northern Virginia, the nation,
and the world. “
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Undergraduate Education Mission and Goals of the School of Information
Technology and Engineering
“The Undergraduate Education mission of the School of Information Technology
and Engineering (IT&E) is to provide a quality education in support of the needs
of Virginia and the nation.”
The goal of the IT&E undergraduate programs is to graduate students that:
1. Are technically competent;
2. Are prepared for ethical professional practice;
3. Can communicate effectively;
4. Can work as members or leaders of technical teams;
5. Are prepared for a lifetime of learning; and
6. Understand the global nature and impact of information technology and
engineering.
Undergraduate Education Mission of the Electrical and Computer
Engineering Department
“The undergraduate education mission of the Electrical and Computer
Engineering Department is to provide a quality education for electrical
engineering and computer engineering students in support of the needs of
Virginia and the nation.”
Constituencies
The significant constituencies of the computer engineering program are:
o Undergraduate Computer Engineering Students: The undergraduate
computer engineering students are represented by students enrolled in ECE
classes and members of student organizations.
Departmental Undergraduate Student Advisory Committees (USAC) are
being created this semester at the suggestion of the Dean, IT&E. Selected
from student applications, the members of the USAC are tasked with
making recommendations regarding the curriculum, standards, and
academic policies of the Department. This organization will be one of the
primary interfaces with the undergraduate computer engineering student
constituents.
o Computer Engineering Alumni: The computer engineering graduates/
alumni are represented by the ECE Alumni Association and by alumni
enrolled in ECE graduate programs’ classes.
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The ECE Department Alumni Association has as one of its mission goals
to provide advice and ideas to the department related to programs within
the department. Many computer engineering graduates remain in the
Northern Virginia area. These individuals return to George Mason for
their graduate work. When in ECE classes, they “chat” with the ECE
faculty regarding their work experiences.
o ECE Departmental Faculty: The faculty are involved via committees
(Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, Awards Committee,
Undergraduate Recruitment Committee) and as the Department-as-a-
whole.
o Industry, Government and Academia: These constituents are involved
via the ECE Department Advisory Committee and graduate students
enrolled in graduate level courses. The ECE Department Advisory
Committee has the responsibility of reviewing existing and proposed
Departmental Mission and Objectives statements and degree and
certificate programs, and providing input to the Department on these or
other issues of interest. The ECE Department Advisory Committee is
composed of:
• Dr. Harry Dietrich, Head, High Frequency Materials and Devices
Section, Naval Research Laboratory
• Mr. Bruce Gallemore, Vice President, Technologies Division, Digital
System Resources, Inc.
• Mr. Tom Krappweis, Senior System Engineering Manager, Lockheed-
Martin Federal Systems Inc.
• Dr. Sumner Matsunaga, General Manager, Electronic Systems
Directorate, The Aerospace Corporation
• Mr. Hank Orejuela, Vice President, Information and Advanced
Systems, Raytheon Systems Company
• Dr. Donald Reago, Director, Science and Technology Division, Night
Vision Laboratory, US Army
• Mr. Paul Tatum, Regional Systems Engineering Manager, Service
Providers, Southern Area, Sun Microsystems
• Mr. Carroll Wright, Chief Technologist, government Solutions, Lucent
Technologies.
Page 9
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Program Educational Objectives – Establishment and Review
The present computer engineering Program Objectives were initially proposed
during the program’s first semester, Fall 1998, as revisions to the electrical
engineering Program Objectives of 1994 which had been used in creating the
computer engineering program. These revised objectives were initiated by the
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, a standing committee appointed by the
Department Chair each year. The Committee consists of four faculty, representing
the four major areas of electrical and computer engineering within the department:
electronics, computer engineering, communications/ signal processing and
controls/robotics. This committee is responsible for course and curriculum
development proposals for presentation to the Department-as-a-whole. The
proposed Program Objectives were distributed to and discussed by the
Department-as-a-whole and approved via vote in December 1998.
Subsequently these Program Objectives were presented to the ECE Department
Advisory Committee for review and comment in Spring 2000. The Advisory
Committee provided input regarding aspects of the Objectives that should receive
emphasis and followed this with an expression of approval of the Program
Objectives as presented to the Committee. This cycle resulted in the addition of a
specific mention of direct observation and interaction with industry. These
objectives are published in the University catalog, in the advising handbook and
on the computer engineering program web page.
While the original Program Objectives had been developed by faculty having
informal interaction with the undergraduate computer engineering students,
formal discussions have been held with members of student organizations such as
Eta Kappa Nu and the student chapter of IEEE. In each case the student reaction
was of approval of the range and content of the Program Objectives.
Page 10
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The program educational objectives of the Computer Engineering program
are to:
1. provide students with the fundamental knowledge and methodologies of
electrical or computer engineering, including the opportunity to learn appropriate
experimental and computational tools, essential for a successful career.
2. provide students with an awareness of, and skills in, life-long learning and self
education.
3. cultivate teamwork, technical writing and oral communication skills.
4. provide students with an appreciation of engineering's impact on society and the
professional responsibilities of engineers.
5. provide students with an opportunity to acquire an understanding of the
engineering profession and to observe the use of cutting-edge technologies and
advanced systems in use in industry through direct interaction with industry,
including internships and cooperative education experiences.
Program Educational Objectives – Achievement and Assessment
The Program Objectives are addressed throughout the courses making up the
curriculum and through extra curricular opportunities such as industry trips and
presentations and student organizations.
Achievement of Program Objectives will be determined by analysis of the
assessment of the Program Outcomes. Table A - Program Outcomes and Program
Educational Objectives (page 12) shows how the Program Objectives are mapped
onto the Program Outcomes. Section 3 describes how students are given the
opportunity to achieve each of the Program Outcomes and the methods of
assessing each Program Outcome.
The Program Objectives are to be reviewed each Spring by the Undergraduate
Curriculum Committee considering input from the Department Advisory
Committee, the Department Undergraduate Student Advisory Committee and
faculty, and data from assessment of the Program Outcomes. Appropriate
changes are presented to the entire Department faculty for consideration and
approval, with final review by the ECE Department Advisory Committee and
student groups each Fall. The final Program Objectives are then published in the
George Mason University catalog and other appropriate media. Any changes in
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curriculum needed as a result of Program Objectives changes are then addressed,
starting with the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. While it is expected that
this process will initially be accomplished annually, the goal is to move to a
biannual cycle once a “steady state” process has been achieved.
The review and assessment process has been established. The Department
Advisory Committee was established in 1999. Consequently we have only the
“assessment” and “evaluation” actions that took place recently while establishing
the Program Objectives. However, this process has already raised the issue of a
need for more direct interaction with industry by more students. This issue is
being directed to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee for ideas to be
brought to the faculty as a whole at a regular ECE Department faculty meeting
this Fall.
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Undergraduate
Advisory
Committee
Departmental
Advisory
Committee
Undergraduate
Curriculum
Committee
ECE
Faculty
Fall
Spring
Spring/Fall
Fall/Spring
Measured
Data
Faculty
Suggestions
Move to biannual once established
Figure 1 - Objectives Process
Summer
Survey Data
Page 13
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3.
Program Outcomes and Assessment
The Program Outcomes that have been established based on the Program
Educational Objectives include:
(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and
interpret data
(c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs
(d) an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams
(e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
(f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
(g) an ability to communicate effectively
(h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering
solutions in a global and societal context
(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
(j) a knowledge of contemporary issues
(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools
necessary for engineering practice.
(l) a knowledge of the use of cutting-edge technologies and advanced systems
in use in industry
The Program Outcomes a-k listed above relate directly to the outcome
requirements of Criterion 3a-k. Program Outcome l is unique to the George
Mason program.
The relation of the a-l Program Outcomes, above, to the five Program Educational
Objectives is shown in Table A - Program Outcomes and Program Educational
Objectives (page 12).
Page 14
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Table A - Program Outcomes and Program Educational Objectives
Outcomes
Apply
knowledge
of math,
science
and
engineering
Design and
conduct
experiments,
as well as to
analyze and
interpret data
Design a
system,
component,
or process to
meet desired
needs
Function on a
multi-disciplinary
team
Identify,
formulate,
and solve
engineering
problems
Understand
professional
and ethical
responsibility
Communicate
effectively
Broad
education
necessary to
understand the
impact of
engineering
solutions in a
global and
societal
context
Recognize
the need for,
and ability to
engage in
life-long
learning
Knowledge of
contemporary
issues
Use the
techniques,
skills, and
modern
engineering
tools
necessary for
engineering
practice
Have
knowledge of
the use of
cutting-edge
technologies
and advanced
systems in
use in industry
Objectives
provide students with the
fundamental knowledge and
methodologies of electrical or
computer engineering,
including the opportunity to
learn appropriate experimental
and computational tools,
essential for a successful
career.
√
√
√
√
√
√
provide students with
awareness of, and skills in,
life-long learning and self
education
√
√
√
√
√
cultivate teamwork, technical
writing and oral
communication skills.
√
√
provide students with an
appreciation of engineering's
impact on society and the
professional responsibilities of
engineers
√
√
√
provide students with an
opportunity to acquire an
understanding of the
engineering profession and to
observe the use of cutting-
edge technologies and
advanced systems in use in
industry through direct
interaction with industry,
including internships and
cooperative education
experiences
√
√
√
Page 15
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The Program Outcomes are addressed throughout the courses making up the
curriculum and through extra curricular opportunities such as industry trips and
presentations and student organizations. Table B - Outcomes and Curriculum
Courses (page 14) shows the mapping of Program Outcomes onto curricula
courses – both technical courses and as part of the general education component.
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Table B - Outcomes and Curriculum Courses
Computer Engineering Program
MA
T
H
125
MA
T
H
113
MA
T
H
114
MA
T
H
213
MA
T
H
214
MA
T
H
203
ST
AT
3
4
4
P
H
Y
S
160/250
P
H
Y
S
260/350
P
H
Y
S
261/351
P
H
Y
S
262/352
E
N
GR 107
C
S
112
C
S
211
C
S
265
C
S
310
C
S
471
ECE 2
0
1
ECE 2
2
0
ECE 2
8
0
ECE 3
3
1
ECE 3
3
2
ECE 3
3
3
ECE 3
3
4
ECE 4
3
1
ECE 4
4
5
ECE 4
4
2
ECE 4
4
7
E
C
E
462 OR
C
S
455
ECE 4
4
9
T
E
CH EL
EC
T
E
CH EL
EC
T
E
CH EL
EC
ECE 4
9
1
E
N
GL 101
E
N
GL 302
L
I
T
EL
EC (
2
)
E
C
ON 103
A
REA C EL
EC
HUM
/
SS EL
EC
CRITERIA
Apply knowledge of math, science
and engineering
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
Design and conduct experiments,
as well as to analyze and interpret
data
ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü
Design a system, component, or
process to meet desired needs
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
Function on a multi-disciplinary
team
ü
ü
ü
ü
Identify, formulate, and solve
engineering problems
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü
ü
ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü
Understand professional and
ethical responsibility
ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü
ü
Communicate effectively
ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü
Broad education necessary to
understand the impact of
engineering solutions in a global
and societal context
ü
ü
ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü
Recognize the need for, and
ability to engage in life-long
learning
ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
Knowledge of contemporary
issues
ü
ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü
Use the techniques, skills, and
modern engineering tools
necessary for engineering practice
ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü
ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
Have knowledge of the use of
cutting-edge technologies and
advanced systems in use in
industry
ü ü
ü
Page 17
- 15 –
Assessment Measures
To provide information from which to draw assessment conclusions the following
will be used.
• Course exams and homework
• Questionnaires/quizzes in follow-on courses
• Project and laboratory reports
• Presentation evaluations
• Senior surveys
• Alumni surveys
• Student focus group comments (Department Undergraduate Student
Advisory committee, student organizations)
• Course evaluations by students
• Industry surveys (from Career Services Office and as an adjunct to alumni
surveys)
Assessment Process
The primary on-going assessment process involves gathering student performance
in the form of exams, lab and project reports, and presentation and project
evaluations, in classes in support of Outcomes. This is done by course instructors.
Senior surveys are done at the School of IT&E level in conjunction with the
graduation application process. Results are subsequently provided to the
Programs. The University also administers a Senior Survey at the time of
graduation. The results of this survey is made available to the Schools and
Departments shortly after the end of the semester. Alumni surveys and Industry
surveys are done by the ECE Department, normally during late Spring/early
Summer. Student focus groups are organized by the Department Associate Chair
during the regular academic year, taking advantage of student organizations’
volunteers. Course evaluations are administered at the end of each semester by
the University and subsequently provided to the Department. The specific
assessment techniques for each of the Outcomes are listed below.
Assessment of Program Outcomes
• Outcome a: an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and
engineering
This outcome is addressed by mathematics, basic sciences, and all the
engineering and computer science courses. This is the core of an engineering
education.
Page 18
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Assessed by performance on exams and assignments in courses. Assessed by
questionnaires or quizzes in follow-on courses. Documented through
supporting material collected from course instructor.
Assessed directly in surveys of students and alumni.
• Outcome b: an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to
analyze and interpret data
This outcome is addressed by the basic sciences’ labs, the core courses with
accompanying labs (ECE 201, 220, 280, 333, 334, 331, 332, CS 112) and
upper level/advanced labs ECE 434, 435, 429, 447, 449)
Assessed by performance as shown in lab reports and assignments in courses.
Documented through supporting material collected from course instructor.
Assessed directly in surveys of students and alumni.
• Outcome c: an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet
desired needs
This outcome is addressed by a mixture of core courses (ECE 280, 220, 333,
CS 112, 211, 310) and upper level (ECE 442, 445, 447) courses.
Assessed by performance as shown in project reports and assignments in
courses. Documented through supporting material collected from course
instructor.
Assessed directly in surveys of students and alumni.
• Outcome d: an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams
This outcome is addressed by a number of courses from the freshman level to
the Senior Capstone course.
1. The freshman ENGR 107, Engineering Fundamentals, course involves
students in group projects while being mentored by juniors and seniors. This
results in a wide range of types of students (40% of ENGR 107 students are
not declared engineering students) as well as capabilities.
2. The physics labs are team-lab courses. These teams can consist of
engineers, physicists, computer science students as well as other non-
engineering disciplines.
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3. CS 310 has students working on large software programs in a team
environment, composed of hardware and software oriented students.
4. The Senior Capstone course project involves teams of students, some with
hardware strengths and some with software strengths, who bring a variety of
skills to the team.
Assessed directly in surveys of students and alumni.
• Outcome e: an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering
problems
This outcome is addressed throughout the curriculum, particularly in ECE
220, 331, 333, 433 and then in the Senior Capstone Project. Problems in the
mathematics, physics and computer science courses also involve engineering
problem solving.
Assessed by performance on project, assignments and exams in courses.
Documented through supporting material collected from course instructor.
Assessed directly in surveys of students and alumni.
• Outcome f: an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
This outcome is addressed in a number of courses. Throughout the curriculum
the GMU Honor Code is emphasized. It's applicability to homework, team
projects and exams is discussed. Some ECE faculty require a written essay on
the Engineering Code of Ethics and the GMU Honor Code. ENGR 107,
Engineering Fundamentals, presents ethics as related to product development.
ECE 491, Engineering Seminar, has a presentation on Professional
Engineering Registration - procedures, values. ECE 491, Engineering
Seminar, has a presentation/participation activity on "office" ethics as well as
a presentation/discussion on professional engineering ethics. Students are
evaluated on the "office" ethics participation activity and are required to
respond to short answer questions on Professional Registration and the
Engineering Code of Ethics in the final exam.
Assessed by performance on assignments and exams in courses. Documented
through supporting material collected from course instructor.
Assessed directly in surveys of students and alumni.
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• Outcome g: an ability to communicate effectively
This outcome is addressed in the freshman and junior level composition
courses, two literature courses, lab and project reports, the Senior Seminar,
ECE 491, course and by the two Writing Intensive courses, one of which is the
Senior Capstone Project which involves both written and oral reports.
Assessed by presentation evaluations, performance on the ECE 491
presentations and via project and lab reports. Documented through supporting
material collected from course instructor.
Assessed directly in surveys of students and alumni.
• Outcome h: the broad education necessary to understand the impact of
engineering solutions in a global and societal context
This outcome is addressed by the general education component of the
program, in ENGR 107 by outside speakers, directly in ECE 491 and
informally throughout the curriculum by faculty injecting references to the
globalization of technology.
Assessed in surveys of students and alumni.
• Outcome i: a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-
long learning
This outcome is addressed to some extent in the majority of the required major
related courses, but it is specifically addressed in ECE 491, in which a short
term, 5-year and 10-year goal Career Plan is prepared. This outcome is also
addressed in all incoming computer engineering orientation programs.
Assessed and documented by ECE 491 Career Plan.
Assessed directly in surveys of students and alumni.
• Outcome j: a knowledge of contemporary issues
This outcome is addressed by the general education component of the
program. Instructors in upper level courses also are encouraged to relate the
course material to problems they are aware of via their research.
Assessed in surveys of students and alumni.
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• Outcome k: an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern
engineering tools necessary for engineering practice
This outcome is addressed by most of the curriculum technical courses. The
current policy, based on discussions with students and industry
representatives, is to integrate analysis, design and simulation tools used in
industry (C++, MATLAB, VHDL, SPICE) in all appropriate courses.
Assessed by performance on projects, assignments and Senior Capstone
Projects. Documented through supporting material collected from course
instructor.
Assessed in surveys of students and alumni.
• Outcome l: a knowledge of the use of cutting-edge technologies and
advanced systems in use in industry
This outcome is addressed in senior technical electives, Senior Capstone
Project and by regularly scheduled trips to the high tech companies
surrounding George Mason.
Assessed in surveys of students and alumni.
Data to demonstrate that the graduates satisfy the Program Outcomes
The assessment process has just been implemented. While there is little direct
data available at this time to demonstrate that our three graduates satisfy the
Program Outcomes, the process for collecting high quality data is in place for
continuous process improvement as the number of graduates increases.
Process by which assessment results are applied to further develop and
improve the program.
Each semester each course instructor will gather evidence of student performance
(exams, homework, lab and project reports, project and presentation evaluations,
faculty evaluations) related to each of the Outcomes identified for that course and
will make an instructor self-assessment of the performance of students in each of
the Outcomes. One of the forms of the evidence will be assessments (via quizzes
or questionnaires) of the knowledge that students bring to their classes from the
prerequisite courses. In early Spring this Outcomes-organized material will be
provided to the appropriate Departmental core area (electronics, computers,
controls, communications/signal processing) faculty groups. Each course is
assigned to an appropriate core area. These faculty will, during each spring,
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examine the material from the previous year (Spring, Summer, Fall) to verify to
what extent students have demonstrated the Outcomes associated with each
course. (See Table B - Outcomes and Curriculum Courses, page 14.) The result
of this examination will be a Course Evaluation Report on each course which will
be presented to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. Any discrepancy
between the instructor self-assessment and the core area group evaluation of
Outcome performance will be discussed with the instructor. Any weaknesses
identified will be accompanied by recommendations for improvement. Obvious
changes which an instructor could make will be passed to the instructor(s)
immediately.
The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee has small subcommittees to address
each of the Outcomes. Copies of appropriate Course Evaluation Reports, input
from senior and alumni and industry surveys, presentation evaluations, and
student group comments will be passed to each subcommittee to prepare an
assessment of achievement of each Outcome.
These Outcome Reports will be compiled by the Undergraduate Curriculum
Committee and an annual report will be prepared and will be provided to the
faculty, the Department Advisory Committee and to the Department
Undergraduate Student Advisory Committee. Recommendations for strengthening
weaknesses will be included.
The faculty will take action on the recommendations. The Department Advisory
Committee and the Department Undergraduate Student Advisory Committee will
review and comment on the Report back to the Undergraduate Curriculum
committee and the faculty.
Depending on the ultimate amount of time/effort required by this process, it may
be revised to address, for instance, only half of the courses/outcomes in a given
year, resulting in a two year total assessment cycle.
Changes that have been implemented to develop and improve the program
The computer engineering program has been in existence since Fall 1998. The
faculty plan on holding off on any immediate changes until more students have
experienced all aspects of the program, from freshman through senior year, in
order to make an accurate assessment and correct conclusions. Most of the faculty
supporting the computer engineering program also are involved with the electrical
engineering program and will take advantage of constituent feedback resulting in
constructive changes to that program that will benefit the computer engineering
program and its constituencies.
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Materials that will be available for review during the visit
• Course content samples: exams, project reports, handouts, textbook
• Alumni survey report
• EBI Senior Survey
• Department Advisory Committee meeting minutes
• Faculty meetings/retreat minutes
• Student focus groups meeting notes
• Course evaluations by students
• Industry surveys (from Career Services Office and as an adjunct to alumni
surveys)
Acceptance of transfer students
Students transferring into the program generally must have a 2.75 average in a
parallel program in engineering. They must have completed enough advanced
mathematics (with A’s and B’s) to reasonably ensure their success in the
computer engineering program.
Credit for courses taken elsewhere
Course work is accepted by the University Admissions Office only with a grade of
"C" or better for a course that is comparable to a course offered at the University.
The Associate Chair makes the final decision as to the “equivalent” course for
technical courses, based on catalog descriptions from the transfer institution and
other data provided by the transfer student. Course equivalencies are recorded in
the University Student Information System and annotated in the student’s
department file. Course work must be from accredited institutions.
4. Professional Component
Major Design Experience
Most of the required and elective ECE courses contain considerable design
relevant material. Because of the extensive industrial experience of our faculty,
the “real world” aspects of engineering are woven into the lectures of most
courses.
The basic aim of the computer engineering program is to prepare the student for
entry into the practice of engineering or for graduate study. More specifically, the
major emphasis in the area of "practice" is to meet the needs of the engineering
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community and industry in the Northern Virginia-Washington D.C. region. This
emphasis reflects the essence of the School of Information Technology and
Engineering - that of Information Technology and Information Engineering. Thus
two of the three broad areas of computer engineering in the George Mason
University computer engineering program – Computer hardware and Computer
software - are developed. Also, reflecting the Information Technology and
Information Engineering of IT&E and Northern Virginia, the computer
engineering program emphasizes the modeling and simulation aspects of
computer engineering. The third area - Electronics - provides an underpinning
strength to the computer engineering program. The emphasis here is partially
modeling and simulation, and partially hardware, test and measurements. The
required courses and the Technical Electives, as described in the George Mason
University catalog, and the Department Undergraduate Brochure, makes this
evident.
The program presently has a major engineering design experience in the capstone
course ECE 447, Single Chip Microcomputers. This experience involves
integration of high level language, assembly language and hardware. In this
design experience the student works with other students in small teams and also
works with an experienced faculty engineer. This project is individually designed
and nearly all projects require most of the aspects of design outlined in the ABET
criteria - creativity, open ended problem, problem and specification formulation,
feasibility, alternative solutions, economic factors (while there can be modest
funding from industry or departmental sources, most of the cost is supported by
the team members, consequently there is a strong emphasis on economical
design!), and reliability. Other engineering design decision considerations are
also frequently found.
Mathematics and Basic Sciences
The solid background in mathematics required for the study and application of
computer engineering is provided by twenty three credits, seven courses, of
calculus and analytic geometry I, II and III, differential equations, matrix algebra,
discrete mathematics, and probability and statistics. Understanding of physics is
provided by an eleven credit, 3 lecture/1 lab sequence covering mechanics, waves,
thermal physics, electricity, magnetism, optics and modern physics. This
comprises 34 semester hours (more than one year) of college level mathematics
and basic sciences appropriate to computer engineering.
Engineering Science and Design
Engineering topics are taught throughout the curriculum, starting with the first
semester ENGR 107, Engineering Fundamentals, and culminating with technical
electives and the Senior Design Project. The engineering content of specific
courses is shown in Appendix I, Table 1. This can be summarized as: 2 hours of
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engineering fundamentals, 35 hours of core engineering courses, 13 hours of
advanced engineering courses, and 15 hours of technical electives, advanced labs
and Senior Design Project. This results in at least 65 hours (more than 2 years) of
engineering science and engineering design appropriate to computer engineering.
General Education
The general education component is an important part of the engineering student’s
academic experience. Satisfying the George Mason University general education
requirement, it is composed of: 3 credits of freshman composition, 3 credits of
junior, advanced composition, 6 credits of literature, 3 credits of economics and 6
credits of approved social science/humanities.
5. Faculty
The computer engineering program is primarily supported by 11 of the full time
faculty from the ECE Department and eight full time faculty from the Computer
Science Department who teach courses required for the computer engineering
program beyond the basic Computer Science I and Computer Science II. These
faculty all have strong, diverse, educational backgrounds. All have earned
doctorates, including many from top ranking institutions. They are contributing to
current developments in their fields and most have significant experience in actual
practice of engineering. This combination of education, experience and activity
creates a very appropriate atmosphere for engineering students.
The major curricular areas of the computer engineering program are: computer
hardware, computer software and electronics. The size and competencies of the
faculty are such that nearly 100% of all offerings of the undergraduate courses are
taught by full time faculty every semester. For the situation that there is a need to
employ an adjunct, the numerous technical companies in Northern Virginia
provide an incredible source of knowledgeable and experienced industry
engineers who bring an interesting industry perspective. The size of the faculty
allows sufficient classes and sections to be offered that junior and senior classes
rarely exceed thirty students. This allows considerable student-faculty interaction.
This faculty-student interaction is important. It takes place in small classes (upper
level classes are normally less than 30 students for ECE and less than 40 for CS),
during advising (required before registering each semester) and in informal
gatherings of students. To enhance the “community of engineers”, and to
encourage working together (teaming), several rooms have been set aside or are
minimally scheduled for classes. Faculty drop by these rooms for casual
interactions with students. Four of these are on the same floor of Science and
Technology II as the ECE faculty offices. Room 200 is set aside for engineering
student organizations to use. Rooms 208 and 260, seminar/class rooms, are rarely
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scheduled for classes. Students use these for study groups, peer mentoring,
help/review sessions by faculty (and students!). Room 265, while primarily
designated for instructional support for undergraduate classes, is available 24
hours a day 7 days a week for students willing to volunteer some of their time to
serve as room monitors. As a result it serves as a popular gathering and learning
spot for students, and for faculty to drop by unannounced. Some faculty
participate with the students in visits to local industry engineering sites (via the
Career Services Office coordinated “Off sITE Conversations”).
All ECE faculty advise students, with each professor advising up to twenty five
undergraduate students. CS faculty advise the Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM). ECE faculty serve as faculty advisors of the Society of
Women Engineers (SWE), IEEE, Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Epsilon, (the
Engineering Honor Society), and the Armed Forces Communications and
Electronics Association (AFCEA), and interact on a regular basis with students in
the Engineering Student Council (ESC).
From Appendix IA, Table 4, it can be seen that all faculty are members of IEEE
(or an appropriate alternate professional society). Many are officers of Technical
Societies, are engaged in organizing conferences, or serve as editors of technical
publications. The average industrial experience is 7 years.
As the computer engineering enrollment grows and matures, it is expected that
additional faculty will be needed in order to offer the courses, sections, and
faculty-student interaction needed for an engineering education. Based on past
experience with School and University administrators, we do not foresee major
hurdles to faculty growth as substantial student enrollment growth is
demonstrated.
6. Facilities
Classrooms
Lecture classes are held in general University classrooms. The University uses an
automated scheduling system which responds to requests submitted by
departments. It has been possible to obtain schedules such that all technical
electives or courses that are normally expected to be taken at the same time (i.e.
calculus and physics) can be offered in non-conflicting days/times. The
University continues to augment standard classrooms with electronic support. All
standard classrooms have network access. A growing number of Electronic
Classrooms have full computer and sophisticated projection systems. Thus
demonstrations of computer based simulations and capabilities (C++, MATLAB,
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VHDL, PSPICE) and computer based presentations (Powerpoint) can be brought
into lecture classes.
Instructional Laboratories
Instructional laboratories include both Fabrication, and Test and Measurement
(equipment) labs, and Computation and Simulation (computer) labs. The existing
rooms and equipment facilities are adequate to handle the needed sections of labs
for our present enrollment and, with careful scheduling, some planned enrollment
growth. However, with enrollment growth and the resulting increased numbers of
lab sections required, the amount of time available for the important open-lab
periods will tend to decrease and will have to be monitored carefully. The
responsibility for the continued updating and development of our laboratory
courses is assigned to that professor who teaches the associated lecture course.
The following listing shows with which lecture courses the various laboratory
courses are associated.
Laboratory Course Associated Lecture Course Responsible Professor
101*
101
Prof. Athale
280*
280
Prof. Sutton
301*
301
Prof. Sutton
332
331
Prof. Gaj
334
333
Prof. Berry
429
421/422
Prof. Beale
434
433
Prof. Mulpuri
435
431
Prof. Ioannou
437*
437
Prof. Berry
447*
447
Prof. Hintz
449
445
Prof. Hintz
461
460
Prof. Baraniecki
*For these courses the laboratory is part of the lecture course.
The responsibility for the routine operation of the ECE instructional laboratories
has been delegated to a full-time Instructional Laboratories Manager who reports
to the Department Chair. The Lab Manager sets lab rules and teaches the
introduction to basic equipment use during the first laboratory meetings of each
semester. The Lab Manager also establishes an open lab schedule for the various
labs with teaching assistants and undergraduate volunteers to provide monitors of
the equipment usage during those times. This open lab time offers the
engineering students the opportunity to augment their regularly scheduled lab
times for completing experiments, for expanding on the experiments on their own
or to pursue individual efforts, independent of classes or required/assigned
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projects. The Lab Manager works directly with laboratory instructors, faculty, and
staff to solve equipment problems and needs.
With the growth of the number and sophistication of the Computation and
Simulation labs and a combination of the aging of, and the increased use of, the
equipment in the Test and Measurement labs, additional permanent personnel (i.e.
a half time employee) and additional student (wages) employees to assist the
Laboratory Manager may be needed in the future.
The present undergraduate instructional labs/lab support include:
BASIC DIGITAL AND ELECTRONICS LABORATORY (ST1 2A)
Instructional lab for ECE 101, 301, 332, 334
This lab handles the majority of the basic electronics courses. During open lab
times, however, any students needing to use equipment for a class or project,
including the senior design projects, may work here. The lab is open only when a
Teaching Assistant holds class or has office hours in the adjoining room. There
are thirteen test stations. Each station has a Heathkit trainer and an oscilloscope.
There are multiple power supplies, multi-meters, function generators, frequency
meters, and curve tracers. If necessary, students move and stack equipment
according to need for a particular experiment. Four PC's plus a printer are in the
room for use. This also allows for access to online assignment information.
ADVANCED ELECTRONICS, COMPUTER, COMMUNICATIONS AND
CONTROLS LABORATORY (ST1 2B)
Instructional lab for ECE 429, 434, 435, 449, 461
Advanced electronics classes have first priority in this room. This minimizes the
amount of equipment which must be shifted to the adjoining lab. Any
undergraduate or graduate students may use the lab during open lab times or by
signing in with the lab manager if none of the TA's are holding office hours/open
lab.
There are twelve general test benches, each with either an analog or digital
oscilloscope, or both, and a Heathkit trainer. They have an assortment of power
supplies, multi-meters, function generators and frequency meters.
Adjoining most test benches are PC's. Two of these PC's are connected to
hardware which allows them to simulate spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, or
chart recorders. They are primarily used as spectrum analyzers. These
supplement the five spectrum analyzers in the lab. One PC is dedicated to the
controls lab (ECE 429) equipment.
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Seven digital oscilloscopes are on carts so they may be shifted to where needed.
They will print hard copies on either the plotters or laser printers. There are five
plotters and three HP LaserJet printers for use with the test equipment. A fourth
LaserJet printer is networked to handle printing for the NT Workstations. A fifth
LaserJet is networked to print all material from the Windows 95 PC's. The
spectrum analyzers can print to the plotters.
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE FABRICATION AND TEST LAB (ST1 4)
Instructional lab for ECE 437 and ECE 689
In this lab students gain hands-on experience on various silicon device processing
steps like wafer cleaning, oxidation, diffusion, metallization, contact alloying, and
photolithography. They also perform material and device characterization using a
four point probe system and device characterization station. Depending on the
enrollment, one or a group of two students is given a silicon wafer for processing
and characterization. In this lab at the undergraduate level students are asked to
make and characterize p-n junction diodes, MOS capacitors, and MOSFETs; in
the graduate level course students are expected to make integrated circuits. The
lab goes in parallel with the classroom teaching. This lab is also used for graduate
level research in the areas of compound semiconductor doping and
characterization studies.
ANALYSIS, SIMULATION AND COMPUTATION LAB (ST2 133/137)
Instructional lab for ECE 201, 220
These two rooms are equipped with a total of 40 Network Computing Devices
(NCD) Explora series X-terminals. All are connected via high speed networks to
the main Unix servers managed by the School of Information Technology and
Engineering and by University Computing and Information Services and to local
printers. Software requiring workstation capability is loaded on these servers and
can be accessed during class/labs as well as during open-lab periods. This lab
provides students with an environment to do both basic and advanced
computation and simulation for a number of electrical and computer engineering
courses, primarily for MATLAB. The lab is supervised by teaching assistants
when not being used for a class. This supervision includes approximately 80
hours a week of open lab time.
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SIGNAL PROCESSING LAB (ST2 203)
Instructional lab for ECE 410, 464
This lab is equipped with fourteen multimedia workstations (Silicon Graphics)
and is supported by a multi-processor file server. The multimedia capabilities of
the workstations support hands-on experiments in signal processing very naturally
as they permit processing of "interesting" real-world signals, including audio and
video. As such the lab serves as a virtual laboratory for students to conduct a rich
set of experiments related to signal processing. The workstations are easy to use
and allow even early undergraduate courses to be conducted there.
FPGA DESIGN AND TEST LAB (ST2 228)
Instructional lab for ECE 445, 447, 449
This lab enables students to get acquainted with the entire process of designing
and testing large scale digital circuits. The primary class of digital circuits being
designed in the lab are reconfigurable logic devices, such as Field Programmable
Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs). The
design process is based on several Computer Aided Design (CAD) packages,
including Xilinx Foundation Series, Altera MAX+PLUS II, Altera Quartus, Aldec
Active-HDL, and Mentor Graphics. All these packages are installed on eight 500
MHz Intel-based Windows NT workstations connected to the NT server
PowerEdge 4300, with 1 GB RAM, 72 GB hard drive, and 192 GB Tape Backup.
The student designs can be immediately tested for correct operation, using eight
sets of FPGA prototyping boards from XESS corporation. The input/output
signals can be observed and verified using four digital real-time oscilloscopes,
Tektronics TDS 224, with 4 channels, 100 MHz bandwidth, and 1GS/s sample
rate.
The lab currently includes several complex FPGA boards from Virtual Computer
Corporation and Compaq, which are used for design of large-scale digital circuits
for applications in computer networks, encryption, and image and signal
processing. The lab includes the state of the art Controller Development
Environment, CODE, from Introl Corp., including C cross-compiler, cross-
assembler, simulator and debugger, supporting the efficient hardware/software co-
design.
ASIC DESIGN AUTOMATION AND TEST LABORATORY (ST2, 220)
Instructional lab for Special Topics courses and projects in ECE 492/493
This lab is scheduled to support senior-level undergraduate courses and more
advanced graduate-level courses, starting in Fall 2000. The lab will allow students
to design full-custom and semi-custom Application Specific Integrated Circuits
(ASICs). The students will get acquainted with industry standard CAD toolsets:
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Synopsys, Cadence, Mentor Graphics, and HSpice. All these packages will be
installed under Unix and run on the Sparc workstations, allowing for the design of
digital circuits of the complexity used in real-life applications. The students will
learn all phases of the design process, from specifying the circuit behavior in a
hardware description language, to creating and verifying the physical layout. The
second part of the lab will give students the opportunity to verify and characterize
manufactured integrated circuits. It will be based on a modular reconfigurable
functional tester and a multi-channel logic analyzer. This lab will have a number
of objectives. First, it will provide students with the opportunity to gain hands on
integrated circuit test and debug experience. Secondly, it will serve to
demonstrate the bridge from design automation software to the realities of
hardware implementation. Finally, it will provide the foundation for research in
digital circuit design and testing.
ECE COMPUTATION AND MEASUREMENT LAB (ST2 265)
Instructional lab for ECE 201, 220, 333, 334, 433, 434,
This laboratory supports both the undergraduate and graduate program. It
provides test equipment and computers with engineering software to
accommodate most classes and projects. Volunteer monitors are used to allow
extended access nights and weekends. Presently it contains three SUN Ultra 5
UNIX based workstations, ten Windows NT computers, three Windows 95
computers, two printers (one for the NT's and one for the 95's), and four test
stations. All computers and printers are networked to the university net via
Ethernet. The test stations have oscilloscopes, multimeters, function generators
and power supplies.
LABORATORY MANAGER SUPPORT ROOM (ST1 120)
Supports all ECE laboratory functions
This is a multipurpose room. It provides office space for the Electrical and
Computer Engineering laboratories manager/specialist. The laboratories
manager/specialist uses the office to sell parts and kits, check out materials, assign
teaching assistant office hours and spaces, issue keys to offices, store inventory,
issue and receive company bid responses and purchase records, and handle other
administrative duties. A major portion of the room provides storage for all of the
electronic components which are used for repair and in the laboratory kits. These
parts are also sold individually as replacement parts or for projects. A workbench,
large desk, drafting table, and several mobile tables are used in kitting, temporary
storage, and repair work. Repair and testing of laboratory equipment is handled
mainly at the workbench which is equipped with appropriate instrumentation and
tools. Some of the more sophisticated departmental equipment is contracted out
for repair. Another function of the room is to house a technical reference library
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of catalogs, data books, instruction manuals, and selected technical magazines.
These are used by students, faculty, and staff.
Non-ECE Teaching Laboratories
Appropriately equipped lab facilities supplied by the Physics Department are
provided for the required PHYS 261 lab course.
Appropriately equipped computer labs, supported by the School of Information
Technology and Engineering and by the university, are provided for the required
CS 112 and CS 211 courses.
Research Laboratories
Research labs, supported by external (industry, government) and internal (ECE,
School of IT&E) funding, allow professors to engage in professional development
and to offer opportunities for undergraduate students to be involved in non-
classroom engineering research and development under the supervision of
computer engineering faculty. Research laboratories also provide resources for
students to use in independent study or Design Projects. These labs include:
SYSTEMS DIAGNOSTICS LABORATORY (ST2 258)
Research Laboratory
The laboratory supports advanced research in the area of fault detection and
diagnosis in engineering systems. It provides a research environment for graduate
students and visiting researchers working in that field. Present support for this
activity comes from NSF. In the past, substantial funding was obtained from
industry (GM) and CIT. The lab is equipped with general purpose computing
equipment (one workstation and PC's).
IMAGING SENSOR LABORATORY (ST2 207)
Research Laboratory
The function of the Imaging Sensor Laboratory is to conduct research in the
control and coordination of imaging sensors as well as in digital image processing.
It also provides research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students
through research supported assistantships and wage positions. It has also
provided a resource for several senior projects such as a web-based video camera.
In addition to several solid-state video cameras and an 8-12 micron thermal
imaging system, the laboratory recently moved towards implementing control and
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signal processing algorithms in reprogrammable FPGAs through an Army
sponsored research program. This research program implemented an FPGA-based
control system for a multi-function laser system which included control of 5
different fiber optic lasers and an associated FPGA signal processing chip.
Resources in the laboratory include multiple PC-based Linux and Microsoft
operating system computers which provide X-terminal access to university and
department mainframe computers as well as provide local computing capability.
Local capability include the latest version of XILINX Foundation series FPGA
design and synthesis tools as well as Xilinx Vertix and other prototyping boards
and a large-format ink-jet printer (17x22) for printout of engineering size FPGA
drawings. The entire laboratory is on its own subdomain behind a firewall.
The equipment in this laboratory has also been used to support the undergraduate
microcontroller design class, ECE447, by hosting the web site for class materials,
zip file of Introl Motorola 68HC11 C-language cross-compiler and assembler, and
programming of boot ROMs for the 68HC11 development boards.
PHOTONICS LABORATORY (ST1 6)
Research Laboratory
The Photonics Laboratory is a fully equipped opto-mechanical and electrical
prototyping facility, supporting the activities of faculty, several graduate research
assistants, and undergraduate research assistants that are typically working on
senior projects related to on-going research activities. The lab is ideally suited for
the packaging, integration, and testing of devices, modules, and prototypes of
optical systems. It has several large vibration isolated tables, a variety of visible
and infrared lasers, single element 1-D and 2-D detector arrays and a large
compliment of optical and optomechanical components and mounting devices. In
addition, the photonics laboratory has extensive data acquisition and analysis
equipment, including a workstation, a variety of high performance networked PCs
and a laptop computer instrumented for data acquisition and control. The data
acquisition system has been specifically designed to evaluate the electrical and
optical characteristics of smart pixel devices and FSOI modules. Support
electronics hardware includes various test instrumentation, including analog and
digital oscilloscopes, waveform generators, and video frame grabber boards. The
lab is also equipped with a variety of CAD tools for optical and electronic design.
VLSI DEVICE AND RELIABILITY LABORATORY (ST2 248)
Research Laboratory
The focus of this research laboratory is on semiconductor device physics and hot
carrier and radiation reliability. Most of the work in recent years has been on
Silicon-On-Insulator technology. Analytical, compact modeling, numerical
simulations, and experimental measurements can be accomplished. The lab is
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equipped with state of the art Hewlett Packard semiconductor measurement
equipment and advanced workstations, running state of the art numerical
simulators donated by SILVACO Corporation. Substantial, continuous funding
from NSF and the US Navy have supported this lab continuously for over ten
years.
WAVES AND FIELDS LAB (King 1020)
Research Laboratory
This laboratory does research on medium and high power microwave devices.
These devices typically involve kilowatts of microwave power in the 1 to 100
GHz range, electron beams, and ultra high vacuums. The aim is to develop new
devices with increased efficiency, smaller size, or lighter weight than
commercially available microwave devices. Projects have included a very
compact and efficient microwave amplifier, a compact 1 MeV electron
accelerator, and a field emitting array based electron gun. This work is done in
cooperation with Microwave Technologies, Inc. and is funded by Ballistic Missile
Defense Office (BMDO), NSF, Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, and
various interested corporations.
COMMUNICATION THEORY LAB (ST2 222)
Research Laboratory
The Communication Theory Lab supports the activities of several faculty in the
area of Communications. The theoretical nature of the research is supported by
the computational capabilities of three UNIX workstations and two X-terminals.
The lab is used mainly in support of funded research activities. Recent research
sponsors include NSF, DARPA, and Raytheon. Research projects carried out in
the lab range from signal processing problems for wireless communication
systems to efforts to characterize and control connections through the Internet in
real-time.
ROBOTICS AND CONTROL LABORATORY (ST2 242)
Research Laboratory
This lab is a computational laboratory in support of students working in the areas
of controls, robotics, neural networks, estimation and adaptive systems. As such
the lab is equipped with appropriate computational capable networked
workstations.
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COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING LABORATORY (ST2 212)
Research Laboratory
The Communications and Networking Laboratory supports research, education
and scholarly activities in the broad area of communication networks and systems,
with emphasis on theory, architecture, modeling, performance analysis, multi-
access, mobility and call control, switching, teletraffic and protocols. The areas of
interest include, but are not limited to broadband communications, high
performance computer networks, wireless mobile and personal communications,
and digital video and multimedia communications. To accomplish these efforts it
is equipped with appropriate high level workstations and software.
ADVANCED INTERNET LABORATORY (Johnson Center G10)
Research Laboratory
This new lab is the result of a 1999 $500,000 grant, plus loan of advanced
network testing equipment, from UUNET to develop a laboratory for high speed
networks testing. The University provided space and facilities improvements to
support the lab. This lab provides a program of research, testing and education in
the critical areas of high-speed networking and Internet technology. The initial
testing objective of the lab is to evaluate and contribute to Interoperability in the
area of Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). Major international networking
and Internet service providers are sponsoring this effort. Aside from the work on
MPLS Interoperability testing, currently several research programs on high
performance, large bandwidth Internet core networks are in progress. It is
anticipated that the lab will be an interesting showcase of new Internet
technologies for students.
Computing Infrastructure
Computer support exists on three levels: university (via Department of
Instructional Improvement and Instructional Technologies - DOIIIT, and
University Computing and Information Systems - UCIS), school (via Engineering
Computing and Resource Management - ECRM) and program/department.
University level support is addressed in Appendix II.
The School of Information Technology and Engineering now has an Engineering
Computing and Resource Management (ECRM) function that was established two
years ago. It is supported by a Director, three Computer Network Engineers, one
Field Technician and a number of graduate assistant lab administrators. One
Network Engineer and the Field Technician are funded through UCIS. The
ECRM staff is dedicated to support of School of IT&E school-level computer
resources, with limited assistance for Departmental computer facilities. ECRM
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manages over 160 Sun/NCD/NT or Windows based PC/workstations in eight labs
at the three campuses. All systems are networked. The School of IT&E is
currently wired with a 100 Mbs network, with some older labs still at 10 Mbs and
migrating to 100 Mbs. The on-site expertise of the ECRM staff has been a
tremendous help in keeping the computer capability available and providing
assistance in upgrading both School of IT&E and Departmental computational
capabilities. Regular and extended open-lab hours, limited by the availability of,
and funding for, appropriate lab administrators, are maintained to the maximum
extent feasible to allow easy student access to the capabilities provided by these
school-level labs. Maintenance, and limited upgrading, is accomplished via
School of IT&E general budget resources. Major upgrades, replacements or
expansions are funded by Equipment Trust Fund resources/allocations from the
University. Over twenty five other computer or computer supported labs are
operated by the Departments within the School of IT&E. These labs have
capabilities ranging from X-terminals to Intel Hypercubes and Next machines.
• Departmental Computer Resources
The ECE Department has a substantial and current computer infrastructure that
supports both the educational and the research mission on the Department. All
the personal computers in the Department have been recently upgraded to Pentium
II and Pentium III with clock speeds 400 MHz and higher. These machines run
under Windows 95, 98, NT and some under Linux. All are Y2K compatible. In
addition, the Department has a SUN Enterprise 450 server, a number of SUN
Ultra 5 and Ultra 10 machines, several older upgraded SUN Sparc machines, an
SGI Origin 200 server and 15 SGI O2 and Indy workstations in a Signal
Processing lab. The Department supports its own Unix System Administrator.
General computer support, both hardware and software, is accomplished by the
ECE Department Laboratory Supervisor and a number of student assistants,
funded out of the Departmental operations budget.
The Department shares other significant computing resources with the rest of he
School of IT&E. For example the Department is a heavy user of the two
X-windows labs equipped with 40 NCD Explora servers 450 and NCD HMX
X-terminals, supported by a network of several SUN Ultra servers at the School
level.
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Modern Engineering Tools
The faculty believe, and industry expresses a preference, that students should
develop competence with modern engineering tools in use in industry. As such all
students learn and develop competence in:
C++
CS 112, 211, 310, ECE 447
MATLAB
ECE 201, 220, 410 (elective)
VHDL
ECE 331, 332, 445, 447, 449
SPICE/PSPICE ECE 280, 333, 334, 431, and ECE 433, 435 (electives)
7. Institutional Support and Financial Resources
The primary financial resource for department operations is provided by the
Educational & General Fund (E&G) of the university. At this level, budget
allocations begin with the previous year’s base budget. Schools submit budget
proposals requesting additional funds based on items such as new initiatives,
program changes or enrollment expansion. Within the school, each department
receives a minimum operating budget for OTPS (other than personnel services)
and support staff. This is supplemented by an additional proportional amount that
is a function of the number of full-time faculty, program enrollment and course
FTE. Expenses for school-wide functions, publications, and other items are often
partially or fully supported by the school’s central OTPS budget. In addition,
departments and faculty within those departments also earn a percentage of
indirect cost recovery based on research expenditures generated by faculty. The
distribution to the faculty who generated the indirect cost recovery is 10.5% of the
total earned by the university. In addition, the department portion of indirect cost
recovery is 7% unless the faculty member is affiliated with one of the school’s
centers. In the latter case, the 7% is returned to the center.
Within the department, the processes used for budgeting for the program fall into
two categories – distribution of allocated funds and requests for additional/new
funds. The routine, allocated, funds (described above) are distributed at the
discretion of the chair for (1) “fixed expenses” office support – supplies, copies,
phones; (2) office and lab personnel support – student assistants; (3) teaching
support – software, books or graders for faculty; (4) limited professional
development/travel. Requests for funds above the routine, allocated, funds can be
initiated by individual faculty or by committee. The proposal – a new initiative, a
request for matching funds, an explanation/demonstration of increased enrollment
needs, extraordinary travel, instructor or administrative support, - is submitted to
the Chair. The Chair makes the initial decision as to whether the Department can
support the request. The Chair assists the submitter to document and substantiate
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the request and forwards it to the Dean either as a special request during the year
or in conjunction with the annual School budget preparation/submission.
Institutional support and financial resources are required for faculty; staff;
teaching assistants; equipment and equipment support; and space, facilities and
facilities support. While the program is adequately supported in each of these
areas, there are strains and concerns related to each of them.
Faculty, Staff and Teaching Assistants
The computer engineering program is new but appears to be growing rapidly (31
computer engineering majors in Fall 1998, 122 in Fall 1999 and [as of this date]
110 new computer engineering students for Fall 2000). Some of the electrical
engineering program enrollment is shifting to computer engineering, but the
overall total of electrical engineering plus computer engineering enrollment is
increasing. This leads to a shift in faculty workload of the Electrical and
Computer Engineering Department faculty toward computer engineering support
and to a potential need for additional faculty to support the increased total
enrollment and to support the need to teach new courses or to teach existing
courses more often. This workload shift is presently accommodated by existing
faculty teaching in support of the computer engineering program and by School of
Information Technology and Engineering support for adjunct faculty when
needed. While the Computer Science Department already supports a very large
number of undergraduate computer science students, the growth of the computer
engineering program will put some additional strain on the entry level computer
science classes, and definite strain on some upper level courses. Class sizes may
increase – undesirable. Additional sections of some courses may be needed –
additional faculty will then be needed. When appropriate, as supported by high
enrollment, additional faculty will be requested.
As the total student enrollment in programs within the Electrical and Computer
Engineering department increases (due not only to the new BS in computer
engineering, but also the new MS in computer engineering and the new PhD in
Electrical and Computer Engineering) additional administrative and, most
definitely, technical staff will be needed. Close monitoring of the growth of the
number and sophistication of the Computation and Simulation labs, the
increasingly sophisticated equipment needed to support a strong electrical
engineering program - from the integrated circuit fabrication level to the
communications systems and networking level, and the combination of the aging
of, and the increased use of, the equipment in the Test and Measurement labs will
be needed to determine when additional personnel, such as an additional
technician for the ECE Department test and measurement labs, additional teaching
assistants to support VHDL and MATLAB based labs, technical assistants to help
the Laboratory Manager setup, maintain and repair test and measurement and
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computer equipment, and laboratory assistants for open-lab periods, may be
needed.
As enrollment increases, the number of laboratory sections and recitation sections
will increase, resulting in a need for an increased number of computer engineering
knowledgeable teaching assistants. Teaching assistant support is provided by the
School of Information Technology and Engineering and has been based on class
enrollments. While financial support has been adequate, there have been a
number of problems getting teaching assistants with the specific knowledge (i.e.
VHSIC Hardware Description language (VHDL) and MATLAB) needed for
particular computer engineering labs and recitations.
Equipment and Equipment Support
There are presently no critical shortages in the laboratory equipment and the
equipment is maintained in good condition. As additional funding is available,
items of highest priority include additional spectrum analyzers and additional
digitizing oscilloscopes to enhance our offerings in the computer communications
area.
The plan to ensure that the laboratory equipment is kept current and in good
condition involves three important aspects: inventory, maintenance (in-house and
commercial), and budget (for upgrading and replacing existing equipment and for
providing equipment for new experiments and laboratories). The responsibility
for the inventory and maintenance of the ECE laboratory equipment has been
delegated to a full-time Instructional Laboratories Manager who reports to the
Department Chair. The Lab Manager works directly with laboratory instructors,
faculty, and staff to solve equipment problems and needs.
Funding for instructional laboratories come from several sources:
• New building funds (the most recent in 1991)
• Equipment Trust Fund (ETF) of the Commonwealth of Virginia
• Virginia Microelectronics Consortium (VMEC)
• National Science foundation
• Departmental operational budget
• Departmental administrative finds from overhead on research grants
It is notable that, due to initiatives of ECE faculty, we have successfully obtained
educational grants from the National Science Foundation three times, from their
Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Program (ILI, now Course,
Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement –CCIL). These grants, of approximately
$60,000 each, were matched by the University, thus providing approximately
$120,000 of new lab equipment expenditure each time. These grants were crucial
factors in the development of the following labs.
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• Simulation and Computation Lab (established in 1991)
• Signal Processing Lab (1995)
• FPGA Design and Testing Lab (1999)
New-building funds and the Equipment Trust Fund have been our regular sources
of funding since 1985, and the School of IT&E allocation of the Equipment Trust
Fund continues to be a regular source of funding. Requests are made through the
Department to the appropriate IT&E committee.
The Controls Laboratory course, ECE 429, received a major equipment upgrade
with a $10,000 allocation from the Equipment Trust Fund in 1997. This allowed
us to replace seriously outdated, non-maintainable, equipment with a modern
unified experimental system.
Following its establishment in 1996, the Signal Processing Lab underwent a major
equipment upgrade financed by the University in 1998.
Recently the Virginia Microelectronics Education Consortium (VMEC) has been
a major source of funding for new educational labs. VMEC is a partnership of
Virginia engineering colleges, Virginia Community College System and industry
semiconductor device manufacturers. VMEC resources are provided by the
industry partners and the State of Virginia. New labs totally or partially funded by
$365,000 from VMEC within the past year include:
Semiconductor Device Fabrication Lab. $170,000 from VMEC in 1999 for a
full range of device fabrication and test equipment, including lithography,
oxidation and diffusion, metalization and testing. The University provided
space and facilities improvements.
FPGA Design and Test Lab. $123,675 total, composed of $64,000 matching
funds from VMEC to accompany a $59, 675 NSF grant in 1999. This lab is
furnished with high performance workstations permitting design and test of
complex systems and to integrate design and simulation using VHDL with
system actualization and test via programmed FPGAs.
ASIC Design Automation and Test Lab. $131,000 allocated by VMEC in
1999-2000. This lab is in progress.
Maintenance for the measurement and test laboratories' equipment is financed
from departmental operating funds and is performed on an "as needed" basis.
Calibrations are always performed in conjunction with maintenance and at
intermediate times if needed. The equipment in the new Semiconductor Device
Fabrication Lab is under acquisition warrantee. If on-site technical expertise is
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not available when the warrantee expires, it is expected that extensions to the
warrantee will be used for maintenance purposes.
The responsibility for general purpose computer labs, such as used to support the
required Computer Science courses CS 112 and CS 211 rests with the School of
Information Technology and the University. As such this support is addressed in
Appendix II.
Engineering computing facilities fall under the purview of either the ECE
Department or the School of Information Technology and Engineering. Updates
or replacement of ITE equipment is the responsibility of the School of IT&E
Computer Committee with significant input from the faculty members of the
departments that use the facilities, including Electrical and Computer
Engineering. Major departmental equipment upgrades are supported by the
School of IT&E. Each of the departments of the School of IT&E submits
equipment requirements to the Committee. The requests are prioritized by the
Committee and sent to the departments for review and concurrence. Past
experience indicates that this is a consensus process with each of the departments
achieving the minimally necessary support required for the instructional programs.
Computer facilities maintenance is provided by the University Computing and
Information Service (UCIS), the School of Information Technology and
Engineering, Departmental technical support personnel and acquisition warrantee.
This has worked out well and equipment down time is minimal.
Space
The existing rooms and equipment facilities are generally adequate to handle the
needed sections of labs for our present enrollment and, with careful scheduling,
some minimal enrollment growth. However, with enrollment growth and the
resulting increased numbers of lab sections required, the amount of time available
for the important open-lab periods will decrease. This open lab time offers the
engineering students the opportunity to augment their regularly scheduled lab
times for completing experiments, for expanding on the experiments on their own
or to pursue individual efforts, independent of classes or required/assigned
projects.
The one area where additional space could be effectively used now is the
office/work area for the Electrical and Computer Engineering laboratories
manager/specialist. The laboratories manager/specialist uses the office to sell
parts and kits, check out materials, assign teaching assistant office hours and
spaces, issue keys to offices, store inventory, issue and receive company bid
responses and purchase records, and handle other administrative duties. A major
portion of the room provides storage for all of the electronic components which
are used for repair and in the laboratory kits. These parts are also sold
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individually as replacement parts or for projects. A workbench, large desk,
drafting table, and several mobile tables are used in kitting, temporary storage,
and repair work. Another function of the room is to house a technical reference
library of catalogs, data books, instruction manuals, and selected technical
magazines. These are used by students, faculty, and staff. Finally, every other
available spot is filled with spare parts, replacement trainers, surplus equipment,
packaging materials, one-of-a-kind items, etc., for lack of any store room. There
is definitely a need for additional space for equipment (new, incoming; donations;
under repair; being held awaiting disposal) and parts.
Facilities and Facilities Support
The university has been quite supportive of maintenance and upgrading of
existing facilities - from routine maintenance and painting to preserve the
professional learning and lab environment, to specialized electrical and plumbing
support of the new Semiconductor Device Fabrication Lab. Available space,
while adequate for present faculty, is marginal for some of the present laboratory
needs of the program, and will have to be increased the program grows and
additional faculty and additional sections of laboratories are needed.
Faculty Professional Development
Opportunities for faculty professional development are created in a number of
ways. Within the university, for example, faculty may apply for faculty study-
leave awards. These awards allow faculty to choose either a one-semester release
from teaching duties, or a half-time appointment for two semesters. For 2000-
2001, more than eight faculty in the school will participate in this program.
Within the school, faculty are encouraged to apply for school-funded grants to
support research activity and to hire graduate research assistants. Summer salary
support is available to all junior faculty or for those assigned to work on special
projects or initiatives.
The university offers direct professional development via the Department of
Instructional Improvement and Instructional Technologies (DoIIIT). DoIIIT is an
umbrella organization under the Vice President for Information Technology
serving students, faculty and staff. For faculty, DoIIIT provides resources and
support for instructional improvement, providing support via technology training,
software workshops, electronic classrooms, and support for design and
implementation of instructional modules, courses and programs. One-on-one
training is available and classes are offered at convenient times.
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8. Program Criteria
Breadth across the range of computer engineering topics is achieved by requiring
29 hours of foundation and core courses in:
• Computer Hardware: ECE 331, ECE 332, ECE 445
• Computer Software: CS 112, CS 211, CS 265
• Electronics: ECE 280, ECE 333, ECE 334, ECE 431
Depth in computer engineering topics is achieved by requiring 27 hours of upper-
level required and elective courses to include:
• Eight hours of required upper level hardware/systems oriented lecture, lab and
project courses: ECE 442, ECE 447, ECE 449 and ECE 462 or CS 455.
• Six hours of required software courses: CS 310, CS 471
• Nine hours of computer engineering oriented electives. Concentration tracks
have been established by the Computer Engineering faculty. Students can
define individualized concentration tracks with the approval of the Computer
Engineering faculty. These electives are to be taken from appropriate
computer engineering, electrical engineering and computer science courses.
• One additional hour of an advanced engineering lab
Probability and statistics are taught in the three hour course, STAT 344,
Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists I. Student competence in
this area is shown via accomplishments in ECE 460, ECE 410 and ECE 463.
Differential and integral calculus is taught in MATH 113, MATH 114, MATH
213 and MATH 214 (14 credits total). Student competence is shown in computer
engineering courses throughout the curriculum.
Basic science for this program involves a strong background in physics. This is
taught in PHYS 160, PHYS 260, PHYS 261 and PHYS 262 (10 hours of lecture,
1 hour of lab). Student competence is shown in computer engineering courses
throughout the curriculum, particularly ECE 280, ECE 331, ECE 333 and ECE
431.
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Engineering sciences necessary to analyze and design complex electrical and
electronic devices, software, and systems containing hardware and software
components are taught throughout the curriculum. While numerous courses that
contribute to the ability to work with hardware and systems are found among the
required ECE courses, some specific courses that are used to demonstrate student
knowledge in the area of software include CS 112, CS 211 and CS 31, as well as
the capstone course, ECE 447.
Advanced mathematics topics include differential equations, linear algebra and
complex variables.
Differential equations are taught in MATH 214 and applied in ECE 220 and
ECE 280.
Linear algebra is taught in MATH 203 and applied specifically in ECE 201,
ECE 220 and ECE 280, and is used throughout the computer engineering
curriculum.
Complex variables are taught in MATH 114, MATH 213, MATH 203 and
ECE 201 and are applied in the introductory courses ECE 220 and ECE 280
for use in phasor, Fourier and Laplace analysis, as well as throughout the
computer engineering curriculum.
Discrete mathematics is taught in MATH 125 and applied in ECE 331 and ECE
332, and in selected CS technical electives.
9. Cooperative Education Criteria
There is no cooperative work element as part of the professional component for
this program.
10. General Advanced-Level Program
No accreditation of an advanced-level program is being sought.