Electrical and Computer Engineering

1
Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Charles R. Kime
• Associate Chair for
• Undergraduate Activities
• Department of Electrical
• and Computer Engineering
• University of Wisconsin - Madison

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Overview

• What is electrical and computer engineering?
• What do electrical engineers and computer
  engineers do?
• What are traits and educational requirements?
• What re the opportunities, s and -s?
• What are the programs of study at UW?

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What Is Electrical Engineering?

• What is engineering? - problem-solving with the
  goal of creating practical solutions, typically
  technical products or systems.
• What is electrical? - information and energy
• Electrical engineering - engineering of
  components and systems that convey and transform
  information and energy
• Examples of components and systems - transistors,
  integrated circuits, motors, computers, robots,
  cellular phones, antennas, and fiber optic cables

4
What Is Computer Engineering?

• What is engineering? - problem-solving with the
  goal of creating practical solutions, typically
  technical products or systems.
• What is a computer? - a combination of software
  and hardware capable of performing useful tasks.
• Computer Engineering - engineering of hardware,
  software and combinations thereof to perform
  useful tasks
• Examples of hardware/software - PCs,
  workstations, servers, embedded computers,
  computer-aided design software, audio software

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What Do Electrical and Computer Engineers Do?

• Job Function Examples
• Design - work with others to design a new
  integrated circuit or software for a GPS receiver
  
• Production - assist in managing an integrated
  circuit fab
• Field Engineering - work with a customer to
  develop an application-specific integrated
  circuit for an anesthesia supply monitoring
  system
• Technical Sales - work with a customer to select
  instrumentation to be purchased for a laboratory
• Technical Marketing - develop a marketing plan
  for a new instrument for locating hardware
  problems in networks

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What Do Electrical and Computer Engineers Do?

• A Day in the Life of an Integrated Circuit
  Designer
• 730 AM Arrive at cubicle and log in to
  workstation
• Read and answer e-mail
• Finish the design for a controller using a
  hardware description language (HDL)
• Attend an hour-long meeting to discuss changes in
  the interface of the controller to other parts of
  the same chip
• Go for a run and then to lunch
• Read and answer e-mail
• Write a set of test inputs to verify the HDL of
  the controller
• Meet with another team member to discuss a design
  problem
• Begin controller simulation to verify correctness
  of design
• 630 PM Log out and go home.

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What Are Traits and Educational Requirements?

• Traits
• Strong in mathematics (and physics)
• Good problem solver
• Attentive to detail
• Persistent
• Patient
• Good communicator
• Team player

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What Are Traits and Educational Requirements?

• Educational requirements
• B. S. degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer
  Engineering or Computer Sciences for entry to
  profession
• M. S. degree for more interesting jobs and
  potential for advancement
• M. S. in Business can be useful for higher-level
  management or entrepreneurship
• Ph. D. for research or college career

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What Are Traits and Educational Requirements?

• Educational requirements
• B. S. degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer
  Engineering or Computer Sciences for entry to
  profession
• M. S. degree for more interesting jobs and
  potential for advancement
• M. S. in Business can be useful for higher-level
  management or entrepreneurship
• Ph. D. for research or college career

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What Are the Opportunities?

• Current Starting Salaries
• B. S. limited experience - 50,500
• M. S. limited experience - 60,800
• Ph. D. limited experience - 80,000
• Bonuses and stock options
• Advancement Opportunities
• Advancement in industrial jobs based on
  team/individual performance
• Excellent opportunities to advance
• Many engineers in management roles

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What Are the Opportunities?

• Openings in US 1996-2006
• Electrical Engineering - 197,000
• Computer Engineering - 250,000
• 250 Companies visited Engr. Career Services last
  year looking for new electrical/computer
  engineers

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What Are the Opportunities?

• Demand Projections
• US Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Openings in US 1996-2006
• Electrical Engineering - 197,000
• Computer Engineering - 250,000
• 250 Companies visited Engr. Career Services last
  year looking for new electrical/computer
  engineers
• Representative Hires
• Intel, Hewlett-Packard, GM, IBM, Motorola,
  Qualcomm, Plexus, GE Medical

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What Are the Pluses?

• Selection of broad spectrum of industries
• Opportunity to create
• Excitement of producing a useful, working product
• Ability to be entrepreneur or independently
  employed
• Generally respected and (to some) awesome
• Reasonable flexibility in location selection

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What Are the Minuses?

• Hours worked often fairly long
• Work at times tedious
• Job security variable
• Career may peak early
• Stress levels at times high
• Viewed as a nerd
• Some of best opportunities in high cost-of-living
  locations

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What Are the Programs of Study at UW?

• How are EE, CMPE, and CS Related?
• EE and CMPE Programs Common Characteristics
• Areas of Study in EE
• Areas of Study in CMPE
• How do I decide between EE and CMPE?

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How are EE, CMPE CS Related?
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EE and CMPE Programs Similarities and Differences

• Similarities
• Many common courses required
• Similar liberal studies requirements
• Similar number of credits
• Differences
• EE focuses on course work within department
  focusing on hardware
• CMPE includes more coursework from Computer
  Sciences focusing on a hardware/software balance

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Areas of Study in EE

• Biomedical Engineering
• pacemaker, intensive care unit monitor, hearing
  aid, speech recognition, MRI
• (contrast with separate degree program in BME)
• Communications Signal Processing
• radio, television, radar, telephone, satellite
  transmission
• Control Systems
• robotics, feedback control of engines,
  refrigerators, disk drives, aircraft, trains,
  production lines

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Areas of Study in EE

• Electric Machines Power Electronics
• electric motors, power supplies, power breakers,
  hybrid electric cars
• Electronic Devices, Microelectronics Integrated
  Circuits
• fabrication of integrated circuits, sensors,
  microelectromechanical systems
• Electromagnetic Fields Wave Propagating Systems
• antennas, global navigation, fiber optical
  communication, satellite communication

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Areas of Study in EE

• Photonics
• lasers, fiber optics, optical communication
• Plasmas Controlled Fusion
• nuclear fusion energy, machine tool hardening,
  integrated circuit manufacturing
• Power Systems
• electric generators, power transmission lines,
  transmission system control

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Areas of Study in CMPE

• VLSI Systems Design
• microprocessors, digital signal processing
  chips, cellular telephone chips, computers,
  computer peripherals, application-specific board
  designs
• Embedded Systems
• digital cameras, digital games, digital
  instruments, automobile electronics, aircraft
  electronics, product line automation

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Areas of Study in CMPE

• Networks and Communication
• routers, bridges, switches, base stations,
  cellular telephones, internet network services
• Electronic Design Automation
• simulation software, synthesis software, circuit
  analysis software, integrated circuit layout
  software
• Electrical Engineering Applications Software
• design of software for solving electrical
  engineering problems good path to MS in
  Computational Sciences.

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How Do I Decide between EE and CMPE?

• What areas am I interested in - EE areas or a
  CMPE areas?
• Which topics/courses do I excel in and enjoy?
• Which degree program is most marketable?
• Do I have geographic preferences for jobs?

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How Do I Decide between EE and CMPE?

• What if I make the wrong decision?
• Transfer between the programs is not difficult
• In the transfer process, you may lose some
  credits toward your degree, but not many
• Due to more limited capacity, admission standards
  for CMPE will become higher
• For further information on program details
• Go to the ECE Department Homepage