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What is Electrical & Computer Engineering?
byProf. Bitar
6 Blind Men Describing an Elephant
http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m59kgnTbUJ1qfvq9bo2_r1_1280.jpg
So lets try to describe it....
What do you think of when you think of ECE?
How many things did you use today that require electricity to operate?
My Broad Definition of ECE
The art of utilizing electricity and
electromagnetic phenomena to do
useful things...
In the past, it was about...
Electric POWER
• Lighting• Motors
And Communication...1837
1900
Early Radio Technology (circa 1920)
And... Early COMPUTINGENIAC 1946
17,468 Vacuum Tubes 7,200 Crystal Diodes 1,500 Relays 70,000 Resistors 10,000 Capacitors5,000,000 Hand Soldered Joints 30 Tons 1,800 sq ft 150 kilowatts
1947 Revolution! The Transistor
John Bardeen
Walter Brattain
William Shockley
1958 Jack Kilby Invents the Integrated Circuit Texas Instruments
What is so significant about the Transistor and
Integrated Circuits?
Modern Integrated Circuit
Millions (billions) of Transistors on a single die.
So, let’s pick a modern electronic device and
dissect it...
ONE Modern Example...A Cellphone
Q: How many technologi
es are represente
d here?http://r3.whistleout.com.au/public/images/blog/2012/07/samsung_galaxy_s3_review_10.jpg
How many different technologies are utilized
in a cell phone?
Here’s a Partial List Related to ECE Display Technology
LCD Displays Touch Screens LED Backlighting
Battery & Charging Technologies Lithium Ion Efficient AC-DC Power Supplies
Computer Technologies Microprocessor / Microcontroller Memory (Cache / SIM Card) USB Interface
Audio Technology Class-D Audio Amplifiers A-to-D and D-to-A Converters Filter Technology Microphone Technology
Camera Technology CCD Imaging
Sensor Technologies Touch Screen Switches Biosensors
Wireless Technologies RF Antennas / RF Transceivers WiFi / Wireless Routers Blue Tooth (local wireless)
Cellular Network Technology CDMA vs. GSM Cell Towers Base Stations Packet Switching Networks
And each of these areas represents a potentially
different career path within ECE...
Why?
And that’s just ONE product – a Cell Phone...
So how do you choose?
One Approach...
“Pick a problem in the world and dedicate
yourself to solving it... The rest will work itself
out on it’s own.”
Problem
One of My Heros...
“I saw a person in a wheelchair
unable to cross a curbing and I
was disgusted at the injustice of
it.”
~ Dean Kamen ~
First Robotics
Segway / “Luke” Arm
Major Areas of Study at WPI within ECE
Analog Microelectronics Biomedical Engineering Communications & Signal
Analysis Computer Engineering Power Systems Engineering RF Circuits & Microwaves
Major ECE Topics/Industries(provided by IEEE)
Aerospace Biomedical Computing Energy Consumer Elec
tronics
Green Tech Robotics Semiconductor
s Telecom Transportation