The study of electrical and computer engineering has been primarily responsible for the information technology revolution that society is experiencing. The development of large-scale integrated circuits has led to the development of computers and networks of ever-increasing capabilities. Computers greatly influence the methods used by engineers for designing and problem solving.
The curriculum of the electrical and computer engineering and computer engineering majors is multifaceted. It provides a broad foundation in mathematics, physics, and computer science and a traditional background in circuit analysis and electronics.
Several exciting areas of concentration are available, including photonics and nanomaterials, modern electronics, embedded computing, cyber-physical systems, signal and data processing and medical systems. Students receive an education that prepares them for diverse careers in industry and government and for postgraduate education.
Undergraduate Honors Program. With faculty approval, junior and senior students may be accepted into the Honors Program. To achieve honors status, the student must:
- achieve and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5.
- complete 3 hours of undergraduate research (EECE 3860, 3861 or CS 3860, 3861) with final written report.
- complete 6 hours of EECE program elective credit from the following list:
- up to 3 additional hours of undergraduate research (EECE 3860, 3861 or CS 3860, 3861), or
- Design Domain Expertise courses beyond the one course required by the program, or
- 5000-level EECE or CS courses.
The diploma designation is Honors in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Facilities. Electrical and computer engineering supports undergraduate laboratories emphasizing the principal areas of the disciplines: analog and digital electronics, microcomputers, microprocessors, microelectronics, and instrumentation. In addition, several specialized facilities are available for graduate research: the advanced carbon nanotechnology and diamond labs, the Institute for Software Integrated Systems, the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics, the Medical Image Process- ing Laboratory, the Center for Intelligent Systems and Robotics Laboratories, the Embedded Computer Systems Laboratory, and biomedical, biosensing, and photonics laboratories.
The work in electrical and computer engineering is supported by a variety of computers and networks, including the high-performance computing facilities of the Advanced Computing Center for Research and Education. Vanderbilt is one of the founding partners in the Internet II initiative.