Major Sub Disciplines

Communications and Signal Processing

This rapidly growing area deals with the processing and transmission of both analog and digital information. It encompasses such popular and diverse applications as telephone systems, computer networks and the Internet, wireless and satellite communications, radar and sonar, television and video. In broad terms, the challenge is the optimal design and utilization of communication links and networks: how to accommodate as many users as possible, transmitting as much information as possible, with the least possible delay. The solution to this complex problem involves, among other factors, creative allocation of link resources (time, space and frequency bandwidth), intensive processing of information signals (including removal of redundancy, noise filtering, error protection) and efficient routing of information packets. See suggested courses for students interested in Communications and Signal processing

Computer Engineering

Computer chips are enhancing systems that previously were completely mechanical or electromechanical. Today, embedded computer chips are found in such diverse places as antilock brake systems, missile guidance systems, and surgical equipment. They are found in everyday household items such as washing machines, toasters, cordless telephones, and even rechargeable batteries. With the continuing cost reductions of digital hardware this trend can only accelerate; we have already reached the point where computer chips as used in everyday devices far outnumber the computer chips found on every desktop computer in the world. The inclusion of low-power, lightweight microprocessors in devices makes possible applications that were impossible when a computer took up tens of cubic feet of space and consumed kilowatts of electrical power--for example, it is hard to imagine the usefulness of a global positioning system that weighs several hundred pounds. See suggested courses for students interested in Computer Engineering.

Electrophysics

The electrophysics area covers a broad range of subjects and overlaps considerably with a number of the other areas described in this section. Topics generally include all devices with significant (quasi-) static electric or magnetic fields, systems which transport electromagnetic waves over long distances, and any electrical source or other devices where the sizes of the components are the same order of magnitude as the wavelength of the electromagnetic signals handled by the device. High frequency (fast) systems and devices that are fairly large typically fall into the latter category.

Specific devices, which are designed and analyzed by electrophysicists, include lasers, fiber optic devices, antennas and microwave sources. Examples of these devices include microwave ovens, motion detectors, cellular telephones, and CD players. See suggested courses for students interested in Electrophysics.

Microelectronics

The invention of the transistor and the subsequent incorporation of millions, soon billions, of transistors into integrated circuits spawned our information age. Integrated circuits of ever increasing capability and variety have revolutionized almost every area of technology: from computers and communications to automobiles and appliances. Thus, microelectronics, which encompasses the physics of semiconductor devices, and the design, layout, and fabrication of integrated circuits, is fundamental to electrical engineering. See suggested courses for students interested in Microelectronics.

Power Systems

This area encompasses the generation, distribution and control of electric power. Power systems include electromechanical transducers, motors, generators and transformers. Key technical challenges are the stability of power systems, possible new sources of power (e.g., fusion energy) and emerging technologies such as magnetically levitated trains and the use of high-temperature superconductors in electrical machinery. See suggested courses for students interested in Power Systems.

Controls

The area of control systems is concerned with the principles and technical means for controlling the behavior of other systems. From the simple thermostat in a home furnace, the computer controls in a steel mill, to the autopilot in modern jet aircraft and space vehicles, a central tenet of control is measuring the behavior of the system to determine the departure from some desired behavior, and then altering/adjusting the system inputs/controls to bring the actual behavior close to the desired behavior. his fundamental process of FEEDBACK is key to the successful operation of an immense variety of both engineered and natural systems. Effective design of control systems requires optimization of feedback paths as well as other elements, such as sensor characteristics, actuator ranges of operation, and filters for attenuation of noise. The exploitation of computationally demanding algorithms for control using high speed digital signal processing, and the advances in new sensor/actuator technologies continue to stimulate exciting applications of controls that have a major impact on everyday life as in fuel-efficient cars, with safety enhancing anti-lock braking and suspensions. Emerging advances in the creation of intelligent machines (robots in the factory and in service industry, autonomous vehicles) are driven by advances in control science and technology. See suggested courses for students interested in Controls.

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