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Electrical EngineeringHolmes 483 Faculty*Graduate Faculty *A. Kuh, PhD (Chair)—neural networks, communications Cooperating Graduate FacultyM. Iskander, PhD—computational electromagnetics, antennas and wireless
communications Degrees Offered: BS in electrical engineering, MS in electrical engineering, PhD in electrical engineering Mission StatementThe mission of the Department of Electrical Engineering (EE) is to provide quality education, research and service to our constituents. Major goals of the department are:
Education Objectives
OutcomesAll graduates of the electrical engineering program are expected to have:
The Academic ProgramElectrical engineering (EE) is concerned with the basic forms of energy that run our world and the exciting fields of electronics and information technology. Electronics continue to bring forth new breakthroughs in solid-state technology (transistors, integrated circuits, VLSI chips, microprocessors, lasers, optical fibers), which in turn fuel the unprecedented revolution in telecommunications (World Wide Web, wireless, and digital signal processing), computers (neural network, distributed, and intelligent), instrumentation (biomedical, intelligent), and many other areas. The undergraduate and graduate programs focus on three major areas: computers (architecture, algorithms, networking, hardware and software), electro-physics (solid-state devices and sensors, analog and digital circuit design, and microwaves and photonics) and systems (telecommunications, automatic controls, and signal processing). The culmination of the undergraduate program is the capstone design project; this is a significant project that integrates the design content of previous courses while satisfying realistic constraints. Undergraduate StudyDesign Experience StatementA key aspect of electrical engineering education is a significant and meaningful design experience that is integrated throughout the curriculum. The design experience is necessary to prepare students in becoming professionals. At UH Manoa, the electrical engineering curriculum assigns design credits to each course. A student graduating in electrical engineering is required to have a minimum of sixteen design credits with three design credits coming from EE 496, the Capstone Design Project. Students can check their progress in obtaining design credits by checking with their advisor and looking at design credits and the Curriculum Flow Chart. EE 496 places significant design responsibility on the students as they must plan and execute a major design problem. In order to prepare students for EE 496, students must take at least one credit of EE 296, Sophomore Project course and two credits of EE 396, Junior Project course. The project courses help students in getting design experience outside the classroom as they learn engineering concepts in the classroom. The project courses and capstone project give students opportunities to work in teams, develop leadership skills, and work on open ended design projects similar to industrial experience. Bachelor’s DegreeThe BS degree program requires a minimum of 124 credit hours. The departmental requirements consist of 47 credit hours of basic courses and 24 credit hours of technical electives. All electives are subject to the approval of an advisor. Enrollment in EE courses requires a grade of C (not C-) or better in all prerequisite courses. College RequirementsStudents must complete the College Requirement courses for engineering (see “Undergraduate Programs” within the College of Engineering). Departmental RequirementsStudents must complete a total of 71 credit hours including the following:
*Engineering Breadth is satisfied by CEE 270 Applied Mechanics I, ME 311 Thermodynamics, or a CEE, ME, OE, or BE course that is at the 300 level or higher. It may also be satisfied by a physical or biological science course that is at the 300 level or higher and approved by the department’s undergraduate curriculum committee. ProjectsThere is a requirement of EE 296, EE 396, and EE 496, which is the capstone design experience. A minimum of, respectively, 1, 2, and 3 credits are required of each. Technical ElectivesThere is a requirement of a minimum of 24 credits of technical electives. A minimum of 17 credits is in one of the major tracks (computers, electro-physics, systems), which includes all courses in Group I and the remaining courses from Group II. A minimum of 7 additional credits is required from the following list, of which 3 credits must be from outside the major track, and 1 credit must be a laboratory. Computers Track:
Electro-Physics Track:
Systems Track:
A student, along with a faculty member, may propose an alternate track. This alternate track must be (1) equivalent in rigor and breadth to the existing tracks, (2) endorsed by another faculty member, and (3) approved by the department’s undergraduate curriculum committee. Graduate StudyMaster’s DegreeIntended candidates for the MS degree in electrical engineering must present the BS degree in electrical engineering or the equivalent. Plan A (thesis) and Plan B (non-thesis) options are offered. However Plan B is only for Intern Plus Program students. RequirementsPlan A (thesis): This program requires 30 credit hours in approved technical courses including one graduate seminar in electrical engineering or a related field. This plan requires 9 credit hours in EE 700 Thesis Research and a minimum of 12 credit hours in 600-level courses in a major track (computers, electro-physics, or systems), 6 credit hours in 400- or higher-level courses outside of the major track (engineering, mathematics, science), and 3 credit hours of electives in 400- and higher-level courses. A maximum of 6 credit hours in 400 level courses is allowed. Plan B (non-thesis): A minimum of 30-credit hours is required with a grade of B or better (not B-minus). Students will be required to take 12 credits (600 level and above) in their major track, 6 credits (400 level and above) outside the major track, and 6 credits (600 level and above) as electives. A maximum of 6 credits will be counted towards EE 699. As part of the curriculum, a 600 graduate level seminar course in the major track or related field must be taken. Plan B must be applied for and approved of prior to admission into the program. This is done through the Intern Plus Program of the department and requires industry sponsorship. The final exam includes a research report and a seminar presentation. Doctoral DegreeIntended candidates for the PhD degree in electrical engineering must present the BS degree in electrical engineering or its equivalent. Applicants are encouraged to submit the GRE General Test scores. PhD students are required to achieve a good, broad understanding of electrical engineering fundamentals and a thorough knowledge, up to its present state, in a chosen specialty. Students must perform research in their special field under the guidance of a faculty advisor and present a dissertation that is an original contribution to electrical engineering. The dissertation must be a scholarly presentation suitable for publication. RequirementsPhD students are required to specialize in a major track (computers, electro-physics, or systems) and show competence in a minor track. In addition to the MS course credit requirements, 9 credit hours of 600-level course work in the major track and 3 credit hours of 600-level course work in a minor track are required. All PhD students must also participate in a substantial teaching project and demonstrate competence in teaching. Intended candidates for the PhD degree must take a qualifying examination covering electrical engineering fundamentals. Students must demonstrate superior understanding of these fundamentals and the potential to do research. The qualifying examination will be offered about one month after registration every fall and spring semester. It must be passed during a student’s first three semesters in the PhD program. Students who do not pass after two attempts will be dropped from the PhD program. After passing the qualifying examination, students are advanced to candidacy and must have a doctoral committee appointed within two semesters. The committee should consist of at least five members, one of whom must be in a department other than electrical engineering. After appointment of the committee, students should work out a tentative program of courses that meets with the committee’s approval. Comprehensive ExaminationWhen students have completed most of their course work, they must pass a comprehensive examination before research is undertaken. This consists of an oral examination given by the entire committee; it may be preceded, at the discretion of individual committee members, by an additional oral or written examination. Students who fail may repeat the examination only once, no sooner than three months after the first examination. Once students pass the comprehensive examination, they may proceed with dissertation research. Final ExaminationAt the conclusion of the research, students write a dissertation that must be approved by a majority of the doctoral committee. Finally, students must pass another oral examination covering primarily the dissertation. Hawai‘i Center for Advanced CommunicationsThe Hawai‘i Center for Advanced Communications (HCAC) is a multidisciplinary research center established by the legislature in 2000. Currently, with federal, state and private funding, HCAC continues on its mission to be the leading center for interdisciplinary research in the wireless communication and radar technologies with joint research and educational activities that promote national and international collaboration and partnership with industry. HCAC has a variety of research projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, Office of Naval Research, and major corporations such as Motorola, Raytheon, BAE, and Corning. More recently, $1.4 million dollars was awarded from the State of Hawai‘i (in conjunction with robotics) to support its expanding RET outreach program for middle schools in the State of Hawai‘i. Most of the research areas include propagation modeling and characterization of wireless communication channels, DSP for smart antennas, implementation of multi-antenna elements in CDMA, analysis of interfering MIMO channels, and the development of microwave tunable devices including antennas with beam steering capabilities. HCAC has recently developed four state-of-the-art laboratories that contain a wireless communications testbed, microwave analysis, indoor antenna range for antennas, RF devices fabrication and characterization lab, to support its research activities. The center also has a ground penetrating radar testbed for the detection and discrimination of unexploded ordinances. Hawai`i Space Flight LaboratoryThe Hawai‘i Space Flight Laboratory (HSFL) was established in 2007 as a multidisciplinary research and education activity bringing together individuals from diverse areas to explore, study, and advance the understanding of the space environment. Among HSFL’s goals are to provide the infrastructure for collaborative space and science research, encourage entrepreneurship and industrial relations, and provide students with a rich and exciting education for careers in space science and engineering. Hawai‘i is located in a unique location to become a low-cost gateway to space and positions UH as the only university in the world to have both satellite fabrication capabilities and unique, direct access to orbital space. This will enable many experiments that study the earth’s oceans and continents, as well as test numerous engineering experiments in the hostile environment of space. The HSFL expands the Small-Satellite Program established at the UH Manoa, College of Engineering in 2001 by merging research interests in both the College of Engineering and the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology. EE Courses |
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