Electrical Engineering

Research Areas

  • Neuroengineering
  • Neuromorphic Computing
  • Computing with Brain Circuits
  • Molecular Architecture and the Functional Logic of the Brain of Model Organisms
  • NeuroInformation Processing Machines

Additional Information

  • Professional Experience
    • Co-Director of the Center for Neural Engineering and Computation, 2013-
    • Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Xbind, Inc., 1998-2001
    • Chair of electrical engineering, Columbia University, 1997-1998
    • Professor of electrical engineering, Columbia University, 1988-
    • Associate professor of electrical engineering, Columbia University, 1984–1988
    • Assistant professor of electrical engineering, Columbia University, 1980–1984
  • Professional Affiliations
    • IEEE
    • Society for Neuroscience
  • Honors & Awards
    • Fellow of the IEEE, 1993
    • IFIP/IEEE Dan Stokesberry Memorial Award for Distinguished Technical Contributions to the Growth of the Field of Network Management, 2003

Research Areas

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computational Engineering Science
  • Data Science
  • Imaging
  • Materials
  • Sensing
  • High-dimensional data analysis
  • Signal processing
  • Optimization
  • Computer vision

Additional information

  • Honors & Awards
    • COLT 2012 Best Paper Award (with Spielman, Wang)
    • SPARS 2015 Student Paper Award (for PhD Advisees Ju Sun, Qing Qu)
    • Information and Inference Best Paper Competition, Second Prize (with Ganesh, Min, Ma)
    • 2015 PAMI TC Young Researcher Award

Research Areas

  • Communications
  • Information Theory
  • Signal Processing
  • Smart Electric Energy (Smart Grids)
  • Cybersecurity
  • Quantum Communications
  • Quantum Computing
  • Sensor Systems
  • Sustainable Computing (Green Computing)

Research Areas

  • Photonics
  • Bioelectronics
  • Biomedical Imaging
  • Biomedical Optics
  • Image Processing
  • Women's Health
  • Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Cardiac Electrophysiology

Additional Information

  • Professional Affiliations
    • National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
    • The International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE)
    • Optica (OSA)
  • Honors & Awards
    • Columbia University Provost Teaching Scholar, 2022-2023
    • Columbia University Provost Service Award, 2022
    • SPIE Fellow, 2021
    • Optica Fellow, 2021
    • Election to the College of Fellows for American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2020
    • Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), 2017
    • Rodriguez Family Junior Faculty Development Award, Columbia University SEAS, 2015
    • NSF CAREER Award, 2015
    • NIH DP2 New Innovators, 2014
    • MIT Technology Review: 35 Innovators under 35, 2013
    • Forbes 30 under 30 for Science and Healthcare, 2012
  • Professional Experience
    • Vice Dean of Engagement, Columbia Engineering, July 2023 - present
    • Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, January 2018 - present
    • Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, September 2012 – December 2017
  • Education
    • PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
    • MS, Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
    • BS, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research Areas

  • Security and Privacy
  • Networks and Distributed Systems
  • Cloud Computing
  • Data Privacy
  • Edge Computing
  • Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0
  • Networked and Distributed Systems
  • Wireless, Embedded & Sensor Systems
  • Cybersecurity
  • Sustainable Computing (Green Computing)
  • Communications
  • Networking
  • Smart Electric Energy (Smart Grids)
  • Electric Vehicles
  • Public Policy
  • Multimedia Systems

Additional information

  • Professional Experience
    • Broadband Advisor, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), 2022-
    • Technology Fellow, Senator R. Wyden, 2019-2020
    • Chief Technology Officer, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), January 2017– 2019
    • Senior Advisor for Technology, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), September 2016–December 2016.
    • Technology Advisor, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), September 2014–August 2016.
    • Chief Technology Officer, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), January 2012– August 2014.
    • Engineering Fellow, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Sept. 2010–May 2011.
    • Professor (tenured), Dept. of Computer Science and Dept. of Electrical Engineering (joint appointment), Columbia University. August 1996–.
    • Department Vice Chair, 2002– 2003;
    • Department Chair, 2004–2009.
    • Researcher & Deputy Department Head, GMD Fokus (now Fraunhofer), Berlin, Germany. March 1994 - July 1996.
    • Lecturer at Technical University Berlin. Consultant, 1994-1996
    • Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, January 1992 – June 1992.
    • Research Assistant, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, July 1988 – September 1992.
    • Research Assistant, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, January 1988 – July 1988.
    • Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, September 1987 – July 1988.
  • Professional Affiliations
    • IEEE
    • Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
  • Honors & Awards
    • ACM SIGCOMM Award for Lifetime Contributions, 2022
    • Honorary Doctorate, University of Oulu, Finland (June 2022)
    • IEEE CQR (Communication Quality and Reliability) Chairman’s Award 2019
    • IEEE Infocom 2018 Test of Time Paper Award for “An Analysis of the Skype Peer-to- Peer Internet Telephony Protocol” (with Salman Baset)
    • IEEE Internet award, 2016
    • ACM Fellow, 2015
    • WCNC 2015, “Intelligent Content Delivery over Wireless via SDN”, best paper award.
    • IEEE Communications Society Internet Technical Committee Distinguished Service Award, 2014
    • Internet Hall of Fame, 2013
    • GREE 2013 best paper award (“Wimax in the classroom: Designing a cellular networking hands-on lab”)
    • 2011 Internet2 IDEA Award winner for ”Do You See What I See” tool (Kyung Hwa Kim, PhD Student)
    • Region 1 William Terry Award for Lifetime Distinguished Service to IEEE Region 1 (2010)
    • IPTComm 2010 best paper award (“Reliability and Relay Selection in Peer-to-Peer Communication Systems”)
    • IMSAA-08 3rd best paper award for A New SIP Event Package For Group Membership Management in Advanced Communications
    • VDE ITG Preis 2008 for Ubiquitous Device Personalization and Use: The Next Generation of IP Multimedia Communications
    • CATT lifetime innovation award (Brooklyn Polytech University) (2007)
    • Sputnik Innovator Award (2005)
    • IEEE Fellow (2005)
    • IEEE ComSoc Technical Committee on Computer Communications (TCCC) Outstanding Service Award 2005
    • Internet Telephony 2004 Product of the Year
    • Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Science and Technology (2004)
    • VON Pioneer Award, 2000
    • IEEE Communication Society Lecturer, 1997
    • Nominated for ACM Best Dissertation award
    • University of Massachusetts Graduate School Fellowship, 1990-1991
    • University Summer Research Fellowship, 1987
    • University Summer Research Fellowship, 1985
    • German Fulbright Scholarship, 1984
    • President Electrical Engineering Graduate Student Association, 1985-1986.
    • Graduate Outstanding Service award, 1986
    • German National Scholarship Foundation (“Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes”)
    • Regional finalist German Young Scientists Competition (Jugend forscht)
  • Education
    • PhD, Electrical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
    • MS, Electrical Engineering, University of Cincinnati
    • BS, Electrical Engineering and Economics, TU Darmstadt (Germany)

Why Earn your PhD in Electrical Engineering at Columbia?

Columbia gives you a rigorous Ivy League education in the heart of a vibrant global city for unmatched opportunities and impact.

As a student, you’ll benefit from:

  • New York City
    Join top talent in one of the world’s most exciting and influential cities. Students choose Columbia Engineering over MIT, Berkeley, and others because of the New York City ecosystem of research and enterprise that can’t be found anywhere else. 
     
  • Diverse Multidisciplinary Research Opportunities
    Solving humanity’s most difficult challenges requires input from many disciplines. Join experts from other fields in research institutions like Columbia Nano Initiative, Data Science Institute, and the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. 
     
  • World-Class Faculty
    Join a department of accomplished scholars and passionate instructors engaged in cutting-edge research in areas like nanoscale photonics for extreme data transfer efficiency, next-generation electrical energy infrastructure, and brain-computer interfaces. 
     
  • Columbia University
    With a PhD from Columbia, you’ll join one of the world’s most international, accomplished networks of researchers and alumni. Your Ivy League credential will open doors wherever you go and the relationships you build here will accelerate your career. 

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