School of Engineering - Electrical Engineering Department

Joel Falk, PhD, Chair

Web site: http://ee.pitt.edu/grad/index.htm

The Department of Electrical Engineering offers a program of graduate study and research for master's and doctoral degree students whose career choice is oriented towards basic or applied research in industry, government, or academic institutions. Course work and faculty/student
research in the graduate electrical engineering programs are concentrated within the following six focus areas:

Computer Engineering

Graduate course work in this area includes: computer architecture, microprocessor systems, VLSI design, design automation for VLSI, software engineering, computer networks, and automata theory. Faculty/student research includes projects in algorithm development, digital implementation of real-time systems, multiprocessor systems, parallel computer architectures, computer-aided engineering, optical computing, VLSI architectures, computer-aided design for VLSI, microprocessor systems, homogeneous and heterogeneous architectures, parallel performance modeling and analysis, cluster computing, and computer and communication networks. Department laboratories that support this research are the Optical Computing Systems Laboratory, Pittsburgh Integrated Circuits Analysis (PICA) Laboratory, the Pitt Parallel Computer Laboratory, the Network Communications Laboratory, the Jurenko Computer Architecture Laboratory, and the Swanson Embedded Computing and Interfacing Laboratory.

Control

Graduate courses offered in this area include linear and nonlinear system theory, optimal control theory, computer control, optimization methods, and optimal stochastic systems. Faculty/student research in this area includes control system theory with emphasis on control of artificial organs, real-time computer control of power systems, and statistical process control.

Electronics

Graduate courses are offered in the following topics: quantum electronics, semiconductor optics and devices, high-speed electronics devices, semiconductor lasers, monolithic integrated circuits, and fundamentals of semiconductor and quantum electronic devices. Current research projects are in microelectronics, semiconductor device modeling, computer-aided design, analog circuit design, linear and nonlinear optical devices, solid state lasers, high speed electro-optic modulators, electro-optical field sensors, phase conjugation, optoelectronic integrated devices, low dimensional structures, resonant tunneling, quantum well infrared detectors, semiconductor materials and devices, optoelectronic devices, integrated optics. Some of this research is supported by the Laser Laboratory and the Opto-electronics Laboratory.

Image Processing/Computer Vision

Graduate courses are offered in digital image processing, topological algorithms for image processing, pattern recognition, and computer vision. Research is being conducted on the following topics: computer vision, topological algorithms and architectures, digital topology, pattern recognition, biomedical image processing, applications of wavelet transform, magnetic resonance imaging, imagery construction, and computation in medical imaging. Research in this area is supported by the Laboratory for Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition.

Power

Graduate courses in this area include power systems analysis, power systems transients and high-voltage design, power systems steady state control, power systems control and stability. Current research projects in this area are in electrical transients in power systems, pulse power components and systems, and real-time computer control of power systems.

Signal Processing/Communications

Graduate courses are offered in stochastic processes, digital signal processing, statistical signal processing, modern spectral estimation, time-frequency signal analysis, digital speech processing, digital communications, and information theory. Current research projects in this area are in motion analysis to relate body movements to pain, knowledge-based signal processing, statistical signal processing, multidimensional system theory, digital processing of speech signals, spectral estimation, neural networks, stochastic signal processing as applied to communications, image coding, optical processing, nonstationary signal processing, time-frequency distributions, biomedical signal analysis, machine fault monitoring, acquisition and analysis of electrical and magnetic data from the central nervous system, array signal processing, and geophysical applications. The Applied Signal and System Analysis Laboratory supports research in this area.

Graduate Student Support

The Department of Electrical Engineering offers graduate student support in a variety of ways. Many full-time students are supported by graduate research assistantships or teaching assistantships. There are also several fellowships available for highly qualified graduate students.

Joint Electrical Engineering-Mathematics Master of Science Program

This is a program in which a student earns a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Mathematics at the same time. Details are available from the graduate program coordinator of electrical engineering.

Graduate Regulations in Electrical Engineering

In addition to the general regulations of the School of Engineering, the electrical engineering department has the following requirements for its degrees.

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering

The Master of Science degree has both research and professional tracks. The research track provides the student the opportunity to work on a thesis (applied or basic in nature) under the close supervision of a faculty advisor. The minimum requirements for the research track are 24 credits of graduate course work and preparation and defense of a thesis on a topic in the student's primary area of interest. For the professional option, the minimum requirement is 30 credits of graduate course work.

Course selection for either the research or the professional tracks is developed by the student in consultation with the student's advisor and following guidelines set by the department. The course plan may include courses in and outside of the Department of Electrical Engineering. A list of courses is available to MS students and can be found on the graduate Web site at http://ee.pitt.edu/grad/index.htm .

In addition to the graduate electrical engineering courses shown in the next section, MS students may take at most two of the following electrical engineering senior electives (the content of the 2000-level courses can be found in the undergraduate curriculum section under the corresponding 1000-level number):

EE 2160 Embedded Computer System Design

EE 2185 Computer System Interfacing

EE 2192 Introduction to VLSI Design

EE 2232 Introduction to Lasers and Optical Electronics

EE 2236 Electronic Design with Integrated Circuits

EE 2238 Digital Electronics

EE 2580 Biomedical Applications of Signal Processing

EE 2680 Biomedical Applications of Control

EE 2769 Power Systems Analysis 1

Doctor of Philosophy

A student showing unusual proficiency in graduate course work and independent research will be recommended for doctoral study. The objective of the PhD program is to attain a high degree of competence in one major field, as well as some understanding of a minor or cognate field. A minimum of 72 credits beyond the BS degree is required, including 18 credits of dissertation work. In addition to the general regulations, the department has specific requirements as described below:

PhD Preliminary Examination

This is an oral and written presentation on a subject mutually agreed upon by the student and the advisor in the field of the student's interest. The examination is to demonstrate the student's initiative and ability to do independent work.

Program Conference

During the first term of registration in the PhD program, the student must meet with a faculty committee and present a tentative program of study for its approval. The committee consists of the student's faculty advisor, who chairs the committee, and two other faculty members from the department.

PhD Comprehensive Examination

The purpose of this examination is to determine the student's competence in his or her major field of study and in a minor or cognate field. It consists of a six-hour written examination on four courses and is administered on the first Friday in October (Fall term) and on the first Friday in February (Spring term).

PhD Proposal Examination

In this examination, the student presents and defends a proposal for dissertation work to a doctoral committee consisting of at least five members, four of whom must be graduate faculty, with one from outside the electrical engineering department.

PhD Final Oral Examination

In this examination administered by the doctoral committee, the student defends the validity of the dissertation and the contributions that are made in the work. Results from the dissertation must be submitted to a refereed journal for publication.

Graduate Electrical Engineering Courses