Electrical Engineering
1312 S. W. Mudd, MC 4712,
212-854-3105
www.ee.columbia.edu
Contemporary electrical engineering is a broad discipline that encompasses a
wide range of activities. A common theme is the use of electrical and electromagnetic
signals for the generation, transmission, processing, storage, conversion, and control
of information and energy. An equally important aspect is the human interface and the
role of individuals as the sources and recipients of information. The rates at which
information is transmitted today range from megabits per second to gigabits per second
and in some cases, as high as terabits per second. The range of frequencies over which
these processes are studied extends from direct current (i.e., zero frequency), to
microwave and optical frequencies.
The need for increasingly faster
and more sophisticated methods of handling information poses a major challenge to the
electrical engineer. New materials, devices, systems, and network concepts are needed to
build the advanced communications and information handling systems of the future.
Previous innovations in electrical engineering have had a dramatic impact on the way in
which we work and live: the transistor, integrated circuits, computers, radio and
television, satellite transmission systems, lasers, fiber optic transmission systems,
and medical electronics.
The faculty of the Electrical Engineering Department at Columbia University is dedicated to the continued development of further innovations through its program of academic instruction and research. Our undergraduate academic program in electrical engineering is designed to prepare the student for a career in industry or business by providing her or him with a thorough foundation of the fundamental concepts and analytical tools of contemporary electrical engineering. A wide range of elective courses permits the student to emphasize specific disciplines such as telecommunications, microelectronics, digital systems, or photonics. Undergraduates have an opportunity to learn firsthand about current research activities by participating in a program of undergraduate research projects with the faculty.
A master’s level program in
electrical engineering permits the graduate student to further specialize her/his
knowledge and skills within a wide range of disciplines. For those who are interested in
pursuing a career in teaching or research, our Ph.D. program offers the opportunity to
conduct research under faculty super-vision at the leading edge of technology and
applied science. Research seminars are offered in a wide range of areas, including
telecommunications, very large scale integrated circuits, photonics, and
microelectronics.
The Electrical Engineering
Department, along with the Computer Science Department, also offers B.S. and M.S.
programs in computer engineering. Details on those programs can be found in the Computer
Engineering section in this bulletin.
Graduate Research Activities
The research interests of the
faculty encompass a number of rapidly growing areas, vital to the development of future
technology, that will affect almost every aspect of society: communications and
information processing; solid-state devices; ultrafast optics and photonics;
microelectronic circuits, integrated systems and computer-aided design; systems biology;
and electromagnetics and plasmas. Details on all of these areas can be found at
www.ee.columbia.edu/research.
Communications research focuses on
wireless communication, multimedia networking, real-time Internet, lightwave (fiber
optic) communication networks, optical signal processing and switching, service
architectures, network management and control, the processing of image and video
information, and media engineering. Current studies include wireless and mobile
computing environments, broadband kernels, object-oriented network management, real-time
monitoring and control, lightwave network architectures, lightweight protocol design,
resource allocation and networking games, real-time Internet services, future
all-digital HDTV systems, coding and modulation.
Solid-state device research is
conducted in the Columbia Microelectronics Sciences Laboratories. This is an
interdisciplinary facility, involving aspects of electrical engineering and applied
physics. It includes the study of semiconductor physics and devices, optical
electronics, and quantum optics. The emphasis is on laser processing and diagnostics for
submicron electronics, fabrication of compound semiconductor optoelectronic devices by
molecular beam epitaxy, physics of superlattices and quantum wells, and interface
devices such as Schottky barriers, MOS transistors, heterojunctions, and bipolar
transistors. Another area of activity is the physics and chemistry of microelectronics
packaging.
Research in photonics includes
development of semi conductor light sources such as LEDs and injection lasers,
fabrication and analysis of quantum confined structures, photo conductors, pin diodes,
avalanche photodiodes, optical interconnects, and quantum optics. A major effort is the
picosecond optoelectronics program, focusing on the development of new devices and their
applications to high-speed optoelectronic measurement systems, photonic switching, and
optical logic. In addition, research is being performed in detection techniques for
optical communications and radar. Members of the photonics group play a leading role in
a multi-university consortium: The National Center for Integrated Photonics Technology.
Integrated systems research
involves the analysis and design of analog, digital, and mixed-signal microelectronic
circuits and systems. These include novel signal processors and related systems, data
converters, radio frequency circuits, low noise and low power circuits, and fully
integrated analog filters that share the same chip with digital logic. VLSI
architectures for parallel computation, packet switching, and signal processing are also
under investigation. Computer-aided design research involves the development of
techniques for the analysis and design of large-scale integrated circuits and systems.
Electromagnetics research ranges
from the classical domains of microwave generation and transmission and wave propagation
in various media to modern applications involving lasers, optical fibers, plasmas, and
solid-state devices. Problems relevant to controlled thermo-nuclear fusion are under
investigation.
Laboratory Facilities
Every phase of current research
activities is fully supported and carried out in one of more than a dozen well-equipped
research laboratories run by the Depart-ment. Specifically, laboratory research is
conducted in the following laboratories: Multimedia Networking Laboratory, Lightwave
Communications Laboratory, Systems Laboratory, Image and Advanced Television Laboratory,
Laser Processing Laboratory, Molecular Beam Epitaxy Laboratory, Surface Analysis
Laboratory, Microelectronics Fabrication Laboratory, Device Measurement Laboratory,
Ultrafast Optoelectronics Laboratory, Columbia Integrated Systems Laboratory (CISL),
Lightwave Communications Laboratory, Photonics Laboratory, Plasma Physics Laboratory (in
conjunction with the Department of Applied Physics).
Laboratory instruction is provided
in the Introduction to Electrical Engineering Laboratory, Marcellus-Hartley Electronics
Laboratory, Microprocessor Laboratory, Microwave Laboratory, Optical Electronics
Laboratory, Solid-State Laboratory, and VLSI Design Laboratory.