Research Areas in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department faculty members are loosely grouped into ten areas:
Biomedical Engineering
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Biomedical engineering is concerned with the development and manufacture
of prostheses, medical devices, diagnostic devices, drugs, and other
therapies. It is more concerned with biological, safety, and regulatory
issues than other disciplines in engineering. Our faculty are
currently doing research in bioelectromagnetics which involves the
use of electromagnetic fields to probe biological functions, MRI, and
other diagnostic tools.
Communications and Signal Processing
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Communication engineering and information theory are concerned with
the efficient representation and reliable transmission and/or storage
of information. Communications engineers develop digital audio,
pattern recognition, speech processing and recognition, audio and
image compression, medical imaging, digital filtering, and more.
Computer Engineering
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A computer engineer is an electrical engineer with a focus on digital
logic systems and less emphasis on radio frequency or power electronics.
From a computer science perspective, a computer engineer is a software
architect with a focus on the interaction between software programs
and the underlying hardware components.
Dynamics and Controls
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Control techniques are used whenever some quantity, such as speed,
temperature, or force must be made to behave in some desirable way
over time. Currently, faculty in our dynamics and controls group are working on
diverse problems such as developing controllers for aircraft, spacecraft,
information storage systems, human-interfaces, manufacturing processes,
and power systems.
Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves
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This specialty area is concerned with the use of the electromagnetic
spectrum. In particular, our faculty focus on current commercial and
military needs such as active circuits, antennas for communications and
radar, theoretical and numerical techniques for analysis of high-frequency
circuits and antennas, and artificial electromagnetic materials.
Nanostructures and Devices
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Solid-state devices forms the basis of integrated circuits which have
a variety of electronic, optoelectronic, and magnetic applications.
the research in this field is concerned with design, fabrication, and
characterization of novel materials and devices with sub-micron
feature sizes. Their potential applications include very high-speed
devices, optical sources and detectors, optoelectronic components and
all-optical devices. The design and fabrication of devices and
integrated circuits are inextricably related to device physics,
solid-state materials, and sophisticated processing techniques.
Optics and Photonics
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This area emphasizes the design, fabrication, and characterization of
materials, devices and systems for the generation, transmission,
amplification, detection, and processing of light signals. These are
enabling and pervasive technologies applied in such fields as
communications, sensing, biomedical instrumentation, consumer electronics,
and defense.
Power Electronics and Renewable Energy Systems
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Power electronics is the technology associated with the efficient conversion,
control, and conditioning of electronic power by static means from its
available input form into the desired electrical output form. In
contrast to electronic systems concerned with transmission and processing
of signals and data, in power electronics substantial amounts of
electrical energy are processed.
Remote Sensing
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Remote sensing research focuses on the measurement and interpretation
of atmospheric properties from the troposphere through the mesosphere.
The primary instrumental systems are ground-based radars, operating at
frequencies from 2 MHz through 900 MHz and beyond. Studies cover all
aspects of remote sensing systems, from radio frequency design through
data acquisition, signal and data processing, and interpretation of the
physical phenomena. In general, a systems engineering approach to the
problems is used, requiring students to be adept at more than one narrow
area of expertise.
VLSI/CAD
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Very Large Scale Integration is a term applied to most modern integrated
circuits which comprise from hundreds to thousands to millions of
individual components. Research in this area works toward developing
new algorithms and design methodologies to efficiently design VLSI
integrated circuits.
The Department hosts three centers for research and education:
- The Colorado Center for Information Storage
- The Colorado Power Electronics Center and the
- Optoelectronics Computing Center.
