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Electrical Engineering

Holmes 483
2540 Dole Street
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-7586
Fax: (808) 956-3427
Email: eeoffice@hawaii.edu
Web: www.ee.hawaii.edu

Faculty

*Graduate Faculty

*A. Kuh, PhD (Chair)—signal processing, machine learning, energy
*G. Arslan, PhD—distributed systems, Markov decision problems, nonlinear and robust control, game theory, learning and adaptive control
*O. Boric-Lubecke, PhD—RFIC's for wireless communications, millimeter-wave and microwave devices, circuits and systems and biomedical applications
*P. E. Crouch, PhD (Dean)—nonlinear systems and control
*T. P. Dobry, PhD—digital systems, computers
*Y. Dong, PhD—computer networks and network security, distributed systems, computer architecture
M. Fripp, PhD—power systems, smart grids, renewable energy
*N. T. Gaarder, PhD—communication theory, information theory
*D Garmire, PhD—M/NEMS, CAD for M/NEMS, computer vision, computational biology
*A. Host-Madsen, PhD—communications signal processing, CDMA communications, multi-user communications, equalization
*M. Iskander, PhD (Director of HCAC)—computational electromagnetics, antennas and wireless communications
*A. Kavcic, PhD—communications, signal processing, information theory, magnetic recording
*V. M. Lubecke, PhD—MEMS, microwave/terahertz radio, remote sensing technology and biomedical applications
*L. Macchiarulo, PhD—computer aided design for very large scale integrated circuits, physical design, throughput optimization, on chip interconnect analysis and design
*V. Malhotra, PhD—physical electronics, solid-state devices
*A. Ohta, PhD—devices, MEMS, biomedical microdevices, microfluidics
*T. R. Reed, PhD—signal and image processing, computer vision
*N. Santhanam, PhD—communications, signal processing, information theory, source coding
*G. H. Sasaki, PhD—computer communication networks, performance evaluation, optimization algorithms
*W. A. Shiroma, PhD—electromagnetic theory, microwaves
*V. L. Syrmos, PhD—linear system theory, control theory
*J. R. Yee, PhD—computer communications networks, network optimization, stochastic models
*Z. Yun, PhD (Associate Director of HCAC)—wireless channel modeling, antennas and propagation
*X. Zhou, PhD—embedded systems computer architecture, hardware/software co-design and reconfigurable computing

Adjunct Faculty

Cooperating Graduate Faculty

Degrees Offered:BS in electrical engineering, BS in computer engineering, MS in electrical engineering, PhD in electrical engineering

Mission Statement

The 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:

1. Educate a new generation of electrical engineers to meet the challenges of the future;
2. Create, develop, and disseminate new knowledge;
3. Promote a sense of scholarship, leadership, and service among our graduates; and
4. Contribute to the development of diversity within the profession through the education of women, indigenous, and other minority students.
   

Educational Objectives

1. Electrical engineering and computer engineering graduates should be engaged in the practice of electrical and computer engineering in industry, education, and public service.
2. Graduates should contribute to the technological and economic development of Hawai'i, the U.S., and beyond.
3. Graduates should be prepared for admission to top graduate programs.
4. Graduates should be motivated toward and engaged in continuous professional development, through individual effort and advanced professional education.
5. Graduates should provide technical leadership, with an understanding of the broader ethical and societal impact of technological developments, and the importance of diversity in the workforce.
   

Outcomes

All graduates of the electrical engineering and computer engineering programs are expected to have:

1. Knowledge of probability and statistics, including examples relevant to electrical engineering (program criteria). Knowledge of mathematics through differential and integral calculus, basic sciences, and engineering sciences necessary to analyze and design complex devices and systems containing hardware and software. Knowledge of advanced mathematics, including differential equations (program criteria).
2. Demonstrated an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to interpret data.
3. Demonstrated an ability to design a system or component that meets desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability.
4. Demonstrated an ability to function in a multi-disciplinary team.
5. Demonstrated an ability to identify, formulate, and solve electrical engineering problems.
6. Understanding of professional and ethical responsibility.
7. Demonstrated an ability to communicate effectively (written and oral).
8. Demonstrated an understanding of the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context.
9. Recognition of the need for life-long learning.
10. Demonstrated a knowledge of contemporary issues.
11. Demonstrated an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern tools necessary for engineering practice.

The Academic Program

Electrical engineering (EE) and computer engineering are concerned with the exciting fields of electronics, computers, information technology, and 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, 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 Study

Design Experience Statement

A key aspect of electrical engineering and computer 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 and computer engineering curricula assign design credits to each course. A student graduating in electrical engineering or computer 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 of Science Degrees

The bachelor of science degree program in electrical engineering requires a minimum of 123 credit hours. The bachelor of science degree program in computer engineering requires a minimum of 122 credit hours. The departmental requirements consist of 48 credit hours of basic courses. The electrical engineering program requires 24 credit hours of technical electives. The computer engineering program requires an additional 18 credit hours of basic courses, and 6 credit hours of technical electives.

All electives are subject to the approval of an advisor. Enrollment in EE courses requires a grade of C- or better in all prerequisite courses.

College Requirements

Students must complete the college requirement courses for engineering (see “Undergraduate Programs” within the College of Engineering).

Departmental Requirements

Electrical engineering and computer engineering students must complete the following 48 credit hours of courses:

• EE 160 Programming for Engineers (4)
• EE 211 Basic Circuit Analysis I (4)
• EE 213 Basic Circuit Analysis II (4)
• EE 260 Introduction to Digital Design (4)
• EE 315 Signal and Systems Analysis (3)
• EE 323/323L Microelectronic Circuits I/Lab (3/1)
• EE 324 Physical Electronics (3)
• EE 342 EE Probability and Statistics (3)
• EE 371 Engineering Electromagnetics I (3)
• EE 495 Ethics in Electrical Engineering (1)
• PHYS 274 General Physics III (3)
• Engineering Breadth* (3)
• MATH 307 Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (3)
• Projects (6)

*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.

Projects

There is a requirement of EE 296, 396, and 496, which is the capstone design experience. A minimum of, respectively, 1, 2, and 3 credits are required of each.

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

There is a requirement of a minimum of 24 credit hours of technical electives.

Technical Electives

A minimum of 17 credits is in one of the major tracks (electro-physics and 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.

Electro-Physics Track:

• Group I: EE 326/326L, 327, 372/372L
• Group II: EE 328/328L, 422/422L, 423, 425, 426, 427, 473, 474, 475, 477
  

Systems Track:

• Group I: EE 341/341L, 351/351L, 415
• Group II: EE 344, 416, 417, 442, 446, 449, 452, 453

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.

For information on a Bachelor Degree Program Sheet, go to www.manoa.hawaii.edu/ovcaa/programsheets/.

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering

Computer engineering students must complete the following 24 credit hours of courses:

• ICS 141 Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science I (3)
• EE 205 Object-Oriented Programming (3)
• EE 361/361L Digital Systems and Computer Design/Lab (3/1)
• EE 367/367L Computer Data Structures and Algorithms/Lab (3/1)
• EE 468 Introduction to Operating Systems (3)
• Technical Electives (7)
  

The set of courses EE 160, 205, 367, and 367L may be substituted with the set of courses ICS 111, 211, and 212.

Technical Electives

A minimum of 7 credit hours of technical electives is required, including one lab, from the following list of EE and ICS courses. One TE may be any other EE course at the 300 level or higher.

• EE 344 Network I (or ICS 451)
• EE 366 CMOS VLSI Design
• EE 449 Computer Communication Networks (or ICS 451)
• EE 461 Computer Architecture (or ICS 431)
• EE 467 Object-oriented Software Engineering
• EE 468 Introduction to Operating Systems
• EE 469 Wireless Data Networks
• EE 491 Special Topics in Electrical Engineering (E, F, G)
• ICS 311 Algorithms
• ICS 313 Programming Language Theory
• ICS 321 Data Storage and Retrieval
• ICS 414 Software Engineering II
• ICS 415 Introduction to Programming for the Web
• ICS 421 Database Systems
• ICS 424 Application Frameworks
• ICS 425 Computer Security and Ethics
• ICS 426 Computer System Security
• ICS 432 Concurrent and High-Performance Programming
• ICS 441 Theory of Computation
• ICS 442 Analytical Models and Methods
• ICS 461 Artificial Intelligence
• ICS 464 Human Computer Interaction I
• ICS 465 Introduction to Hypermedia
• ICS 466 Design for Mobile Devices
• ICS 469 Cognitive Science
• ICS 481 Introduction to Computer Graphics
  

Note that ICS courses from the list may have prerequisite courses that are not part of the computer engineering curriculum. These courses used as technical electives will lead to more credit hours to complete the program.

For information on a Bachelor Degree Program Sheet, go to www.manoa.hawaii.edu/ovcaa/programsheets/.

Graduate Study

Master’s Degree

Intended 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.

Requirements

Plan 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 at least 12 credits (600 level and above) in their major track, at least 6 credits (400 level and above) outside the major track, and 6 credits (600 level and above) as university-wide electives that are related to the student's major track of study. A maximum of 6 credits will be counted towards EE 699. As part of the curriculum, attendance at 12 departmental or college seminars, or the equivalent is required. The final exam includes a written report and a seminar presentation (based on independent reading or research).

Doctoral Degree

Intended 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.

Requirements

PhD 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.

Qualifying Examination

Intended candidates for the PhD degree register for three credits of a directed reading course under their advisor's direction during their first semester in the PhD program. During the first week of the following semester, the candidate takes an oral qualifying examination that tests the candidate's research potential and knowledge of pertinent fundamentals. Four graduate faculty members form the examining committee: one member of the committee is chosen by the candidate; the graduate committee selects the final two committee members. At least one of the committee members must not be from the student's major track of specialization. The majority of the committee must pass the intended candidate; else, the candidate repeats the exam during the first week of his third semester in the program. A candidate who does not pass the qualifying exam at the beginning of the third semester is 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 Examination

When 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 Examination

At 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 Space Flight Laboratory

The 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 Manoa 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 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