Electrical engineers apply the basic sciences of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and materials science to control and transform energy and information in ways that are vital to the operation of modern society. Electrical engineers design huge power-generating systems in dams as well as tiny electronic circuits that keep spacecraft on correct trajectory a billion miles from Earth. They create the electronic components that run computers, television and VCR sets, CD systems, automated factories, improve the transmission of messages by laser light through fiber optics, and work to develop computers that mimic the functions of some biological systems.
AREA OF EMPHASIS AT DELAWARE
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Delaware combines a rigorous and comprehensive undergraduate program with a strong and relatively broad program of research and graduate study. High performance communications is a theme that runs through much of the electrical and computer engineering work at Delaware. The following are examples of efforts within the principal research thrusts of the Department: Communications and Signal Processing. This thrust emphasizes multimedia signal processing, statistical and nonlinear signal processing, wireless and multiple access communications, and wavelet and time-frequency signal analysis. Research areas include nonlinear adaptive signal processing and the development of robust signal processing algorithms for applications in digital imaging and communications. Research is also underway on the processing of digital imagery and video and their communication through wireless computer networks. Novel blind multirate equalization and precoding algorithms are being developed for wireless cellular communications. Novel methods in wavelet and time-frequency signal analysis are currently under development. Also being developed are new methods for image and video digital signatures using invisible digital watermarks. Digital halftone algorithms are being developed for the efficient use of laser and ink-jet printing of digital images. Ongoing work also includes signal processing in tactile and haptic interfaces for virtual reality. Electronic Devices and Materials. This thrust emphasizes photonic and microwave frequency devices, opto-electronic systems, and photovoltaic solar cells. In a photonic system, information is carried by photons of light rather than a current of electrons. Research includes the fabrication and characterization of a new generation of photonic devices made from alloy films of silicon, germanium, and carbon (SiGeC). Efforts are also underway to advance the science and technology of high-quality optically flat surfaces which are required in a variety of very advanced processes and products, notably the lithography of integrated circuits. The Department is a leader in this important new field. Computer Systems Engineering. This thrust emphasizes the operation of high performance networks, computation with analog neural networks, and special purpose computers for image and signal processing applications. Research includes the development of computers that mimic, as best we know, the function of biological systems that perform signal processing and control tasks in living creatures. Circuits made to date have been used to process one-dimension visual data and are able to reliably detect the direction of motion and the speed of the stimuli. Research is also underway to greatly improve the routing and scheduling of high bandwidth networks with minimal internal storage as well as time keeping and synchronization in very wide area computer networks.
