Departmental Computer Facilities. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has two general purpose computer labs available at all times to students studying electrical and computer engineering. The EE103 and EE105 computer labs have 25 Sun Unix workstations and 25 PCs with network printers. PC-based software includes PSpice for drawing schematic diagrams and electronic circuit simulation and analysis, Matlab for mathematical programming, Visual C++ and Java for computer programming, and Microsoft Office for writing lab reports and research papers. Unix-based software includes the full suite of software packages from Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys. Using these software packages, students are taught the design, simulation, and testing of VLSI (Very Large Scale Integrated) integrated circuit devices. More specialized instructional labs associated with the digital signal processing (DSP), virtual reality, and computer architecture classes also have dedicated computer lab rooms. A dedicated VLSI computer lab also supports our instruction in VLSI design.
Communication Systems Laboratory. This
laboratory contains equipment for the study of analog, pulse, and
digital modulation methods. Facilities include multimeters, wideband
signal generators, oscilloscopes, and spectrum analyzers. The range of
topics involve communication circuit and system design, using
breadboarded components through the sophisticated subsystem module
interconnection. In addition, computer simulation methods are used to
verify system performance. A graphics-based communication systems
simulator software package is available. System performance can be investigated for amplitude, phase, and frequency modulation techniques,
including pulse position, width, and amplitude data transmission
schemes; binary and M-ary digital modulation and receiver structures; and spectral occupancy versus power constraints.
Computer Architecture Laboratory. This
laboratory consists of experimental stations that provide students with
opportunities to gain experience with the internal workings of a
microcomputer, learn assembly programming for a standard commercial
microprocessor, and learn how to interface input/output memory, serial
I/O, and parallel I/O chips to a standard microprocessor.
Digital Logic Design Laboratory. This
laboratory provides practical experience with the design and hardware
implementation of digital circuits for sophomore students. The
laboratory is based on the understanding of
basic waveforms
to simulate and debug
a circuit that is then implemented in hardware using SSI and MSI ICs.
The experiments cover all the relevant topics about combinational and
sequential logic with circuits of increasing complexity.
Digital Signal Processing Laboratory. This
laboratory is available for undergraduate instruction and special
projects. Microprocessor-based workstations provide flexibility in the
design and analysis of various real-time digital filtering operations.
Experiments in speech and audio signal processing demonstrate digital
methods used in processing analog signals. Other facilities include a
digital image-processing laboratory and a variety of special-purpose
signal processors.
Electronics Laboratory. This
laboratory contains equipment for the study of solid-state devices and
circuits. Experiments involve studies of biasing and low-frequency
operations of discrete solid-state devices, frequency response, and the
effect of feedback on single- and multistage BJT and MOSFET amplifiers.
Further studies include OP-AMP parameters, frequency response, and
OP-AMP linear and nonlinear circuits and systems. The laboratory is
well equipped for a range of student projects in electronic circuit
designs.
Microelectronics Research Laboratory (MERL). MERL
provides students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the
integrated circuit fabrication and semiconductor device processing
techniques in a modern, clean-room environment. Students become
familiar with the photolithography, oxidation, and diffusion processes,
ion implantation, metallization, plasma etching, silicon
micromachining, interconnects, and fabrication of different devices. In
addition, a well-equipped simulation laboratory is used for the
modeling of circuits, devices, and processes related to the
experimental and theoretical aspects of semiconductor technology.
Power Electronics Laboratory. This laboratory provides opportunities for students to gain hands-on experiences with devices and circuits used in power electronics applications. Students become familiar with the practical aspect of various topics including modern power semiconductor devices, power inductor design, thermal management methods, power rectification, and DC/DC converter design.
Solid-State Electronics Laboratory. In
addition to the facilities provided by the microelectronics research
laboratory (MERL), facilities exist for the study of microwave devices;
high-current switching devices; electro-optical modulation;
heterojunction lasers; and electrical characterization of materials, as
well as their use in communications, different solar cells, and related
devices.
The Applied Software Systems Laboratory (TASSL). The primary focus of the
research and education program at TASSL is the development of conceptual and
implementation models based on the theoretical foundations of high
performance (parallel) computing, distributed systems, and networking for
solving real-world problems in science and engineering on very large
distributed systems (e.g., pervasive information and computational Grid).
Research includes the design, development, and deployment of data-structures,
algorithms, programming systems, runtime environments, and software
infrastructures. Broad research areas include pervasive computational ecosystems and information/data-driven science, autonomic grid computing, decentralized content-based middleware, adaptive/asynchronous computation engines, interactive computational collaboratories, proactive and reactive runtime systems, and software engineering for computational infrastructures
and scientific computing. A number of applications
domains include subsurface and seismic modeling, computational fluid
dynamics, numerical relativity, fusion, plasma physics, structural biology,
bio- and medical informatics, and computational finance.
Virtual Reality Laboratory. This
laboratory provides facilities for students to gain hands-on experience
with several virtual reality (VR) specific interfaces, such as stereo
glasses, 3-D trackers, force feedback joysticks, and sensing gloves. It
also trains students in the intricacies of 3-D
graphics and authoring real-time simulation programming.
VLSI Design Laboratory. This
laboratory consists of Sun and Hewlett-Packard engineering workstations, a color
plotter, automatic test equipment for VLSI chip testing, and a laser
printer. Students are able to design integrated circuits and in some
cases may be able to have them fabricated and tested. The laboratory
has the Generator Development Tool industrial chip design software that
supports silicon compilation mixed-level circuit simulation (including
SPICE), automatic chip layout generation from circuit schematics, and
the VHDL hardware description language.
In addition to the
above-mentioned laboratories, students interested in special projects
in electrical and computer engineering may take advantage of the many well-equipped,
faculty-supervised research laboratories, available in such specialties
as robotics, computer graphics, computer database design, speech
processing, image processing, machine vision, and software engineering.
Wireless Information Network Laboratory (WINLAB).
WINLAB is an industry-university collaborative research center that
provides facilities for undergraduate and graduate research in the area
of wireless communications and networking. Experimental resources at
WINLAB include the RF/Modem Lab, Mobile Networking Lab, and Wireless
System-on-chip lab, covering a range of hardware and software
design/prototyping. Current lab equipment includes radio propagation
measurement tools, a DSP/FPGA software radio setup, and the
NSF-sponsored open architecture wireless network testbed (ORBIT). The
center supports undergraduate research on topics such as radio
propagation studies, modem signal processing, wireless local area
networks, and mobile computing applications.
