Mar 28, 2024  
2014-2015 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2014-2015 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science


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http://www.eecs.utk.edu/

Leon M. Tolbert, Head
Syed Kamrul Islam, Undergraduate Liaison, Associate Head

Professors
Abidi, M., PhD – Tennessee
Berry, M.W., PhD – Illinois
Birdwell, J.D., PhD – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Blalock, B.J., PhD – Georgia Tech
Bomar, B.W. (UTSI), PhD – Tennessee
Dean, M., PhD – Stanford
Dongarra, J.J., PhD – New Mexico
Fathy, A., PhD – Polytechnic Institute of New York
Gregor, J., PhD – Aalborg (Denmark)
Huang, J., PhD – Ohio State
Islam, S.K., PhD – Connecticut
Langston, M.A., PhD – Texas A&M
Liu, Y. PhD – Ohio State
Parker, L.E., PhD – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peterson, G.D., DSc – Washington (St. Louis)
Plank, J.S., PhD – Princeton
Pujol, S.A., (UTSI), PhD – Vanderbilt
Qi, H., PhD – North Carolina State
Roberts, M.J., PhD – Tennessee
Tolbert, L.M., PhD, PE – Georgia Tech
Tomsovic, K., PhD – Washington
Vander Zanden, B.T., PhD – Cornell
Wang, F., PhD – Southern California

Associate Professors
Arel, I., PhD – Ben-Gurion (Israel)
Banks, D.C., PhD – North Carolina
Beck, M., PhD – Cornell
Djouadi, S.M., PhD – McGill (Canada)
Gu, G., PhD – Princeton
Li, F., PhD, PE – Virginia Tech
Li, H., PhD – Princeton
MacLennan, B.J., PhD – Purdue
Smith, L.M. (UTSI), PhD – Tennessee
Vose, M.D., PhD – Texas
Wu, J., PhD – Notre Dame

Assistant Professors
Cao, Q., PhD – Illinois
Costinett, D., PhD – Colorado
Day, J., PhD – Pittsburgh
Gao, W., PhD – Penn State
Holleman, J., PhD – Washington
McFarlane, N., PhD – Maryland (College Park)
Sun, J., PhD – Florida
Sun, K., PhD – Tsinghua (China)

Emeriti Faculty
Bouldin, D.W., PhD – Vanderbilt
Gonzalez, R.C., PhD – Florida
Green, W.L., PhD – Texas A&M
Lawler, J.S., PhD – Michigan State
Pace, M.O., PhD – Georgia Tech
Thomason, M.G., PhD – Duke
Ward, R.C., PhD – Virginia

The goals of the three Bachelor of Science programs, computer engineering, computer science, and electrical engineering, are to prepare students for entry into the profession; to instill in  students the capabilities required by the discipline, the recognition of the need to enhance the discipline, and the desire for life-long learning; and to equip students with a general knowledge of technical and non-technical disciplines so that they are prepared for further study in other fields including professional and graduate education.

The Bachelor of Science programs are based on a series of integrated courses. Students advance through a program in a sequential manner guided by prerequisite and corequisite courses in the showcase curricula. These integrated sequentially-developed programs are highlighted by the systematic inclusion of the design process introduced in the second year.

Program Educational Objectives

Computer Engineering

  • Graduates who enter professional practice will demonstrate progression toward positions of technical responsibility or managerial leadership in their discipline.
  • Graduates who pursue full-time graduate or advanced professional study will successfully complete their programs of study in their discipline.
  • Graduates will meet their own and societal needs that are consistent with the goals of life-long learning, professional ethics, and leadership.

Computer Science

  • Graduates who enter professional practice will demonstrate progression toward positions of technical responsibility or managerial leadership in their discipline.
  • Graduates who pursue full-time graduate or advanced professional study will successfully complete their programs of study in their discipline.
  • Graduates will meet their own and societal needs that are consistent with the goals of life-long learning, professional ethics, and leadership.

Electrical Engineering

  • Graduates who enter professional practice will demonstrate progression toward positions of technical responsibility or managerial leadership in their discipline.
  • Graduates who pursue full-time graduate or advanced professional study will successfully complete their programs of study in their discipline.
  • Graduates will meet their own and societal needs that are consistent with the goals of life-long learning, professional  ethics, and leadership.

Program Outcomes

Student Outcomes for Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering Majors

The computer engineering and electrical engineering programs enable students to achieve, by the time of graduation:

(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering;
(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data;
(c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability;
(d) an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams;
(e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems;
(f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility;
(g) an ability to communicate effectively;
(h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context;
(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning;
(j) a knowledge of contemporary issues;
(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice; and
(l) knowledge of probability and statistics including applications, discrete math, and an understanding of advanced mathematics in the areas of differential equations, numerical analysis, linear algebra, and calculus.

The computer engineering and electrical engineering programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org and are under continuous assessment and improvement based on ABET’s Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs. The advisory committee to the department, which is made up of persons from industry, government, higher education students, recent graduates, and faculty, provides constituent input for setting program educational objectives and outcomes and establishing the requisite assessment modes for the program.

Student Outcomes for Computer Science Majors

The computer science program enables students to achieve, by the time of graduation:

(a) an ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to the discipline;
(b) an ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements appropriate to its solution;
(c) an ability to design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based system, process, component, or program to meet desired needs;
(d) an ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal;
(e) an understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues and responsibilities;
(f) an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences;
(g) an ability to analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and society;
(h) recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing professional development;
(i) an ability to use current techniques, skills, and tools necessary for computing practice;
(j) an ability to apply mathematical foundations, algorithmic principles, and computer science theory in the modeling and design of computer-based systems in a way that demonstrates comprehension of the tradeoffs involved in design choices; and
(k) an ability to apply design and development principles in the construction of software systems of varying complexity.

The computer science program is under continuous assessment and improvement based on ABET’s Criteria established by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org. The advisory committee to the department, which is made up of persons from industry, government, higher education students, recent graduates, and faculty, provides constituent input for setting program educational objectives and outcomes and establishing the requisite assessment modes for the program.

General

The courses of study for the Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering are structured to provide a foundation in both the basic sciences and the specialized areas of the respective disciplines. The programs also have sufficient general education electives to enhance the cultural growth of the student and develop professionals with a strong social awareness. The faculty seeks to keep classes small enough to allow effective interaction with students.

The selection of general education elective courses is left to each student but must be made in accordance with established university policy.

To be eligible for the Bachelor of Science degree, a student must earn at least 30 hours of upper-division courses in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Several sophomore- and junior-level courses are taught at least twice per year. Senior-level courses are normally offered in either the fall or spring semester. Courses for which a senior course is a prerequisite will be normally offered in the spring semester with the prerequisite senior course being offered in the fall semester. This scheduling arrangement allows for flexibility since the student may elect the normal four-year schedule, an accelerated schedule, or choose to participate in the cooperative engineering program.

The department maintains a number of laboratory facilities to support the undergraduate teaching program. The laboratories are devoted specifically to circuits and systems, communications, computer networks, digital systems, electronics, image processing, electric machines, and power electronics and drives. Multiple Linux and Windows computer laboratories are available to students within the department.

The department requires at least a C in every computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, and mathematics course used for the undergraduate degrees. Students taking ECE 201  must also have a C or better in EF 152  or EF 158 .

uTrack Requirements (for students entering Fall 2013 or later)

Universal Tracking (uTrack) is an academic monitoring system designed to help students stay on track for timely graduation. In order to remain on track, students must complete the minimum requirements for each tracking semester known as milestones. Milestones may include successful completion of specified courses and/or attainment of a minimum GPA. uTrack requirements only affect full-time, degree-seeking students who first entered Fall 2013 or later. uTrack does not apply to transfer students who enter prior to Fall 2015.

Progression Requirements

Progression of departmental undergraduate students to the upper-division programs of the department is competitive and is based on the space available in the department. Factors considered in the decision include overall grade point average, grades earned in courses required in the lower division curricula of the department and College of Engineering, and seriousness of purpose and interest in departmental programs as exemplified by regular and orderly progress through the prescribed curriculum without abuse of withdrawal and course repeat privileges.

Students who take ECE 202  will be evaluated during the semester they are registered for it. Transfer students for whom ECE 202  transfer credit is given may take 9 semester hours in departmental courses before progression evaluation. All students, whether or not they transfer in, who are not accepted into the upper-division program of the department will be put in either a temporary probationary status or a non-progressed status and will not be permitted to register for any upper division courses within the department.

5-Year BS/MS Non-Thesis Program

The department offers a 5 year BS-MS program for qualified students. The primary component of the program is that qualified students may take up to 6 hours of approved graduate courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Tennessee. This program is designed for students attending the University of Tennessee for their Master of Science degree because other universities may not accept these courses for graduate credit since they were used to satisfy requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree. Significant components of the program are: 

  • Students must have an overall GPA of at least 3.4 to be admitted to the program. Conditional admission may be granted after completing 64 hours of required course work while full admission is granted after completing 96 hours of required course work with a minimum overall GPA of 3.4.
  • Students must at least have conditional admission before taking graduate courses for both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. All courses taken for graduate credit must be approved by the departmental chair of the program. Students admitted to the program must request permission from the Graduate School to take approved courses for graduate credit. 
  • Students admitted to the program must also follow the normal procedure for admission to the Graduate School. Admission of students into this program must be approved by the department and the Graduate School. Students will not be eligible for graduate assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate-level students in the Graduate School.

Honors Concentrations  

Students who wish to pursue the honors electrical engineering concentration, honors computer engineering concentration, and honors computer science concentration will normally be part of the Chancellor’s Honors Program.

Candidates for the honors electrical engineering concentration and the honors computer engineering concentration must complete the first year courses for honors concentration in the engineering majors. Candidates for the honors computer science concentration must meet the first year requirements for the Chancellor’s Honors Program.

In addition to satisfying the requirements described above, candidates for these three honors concentrations must also satisfy the following requirements.

 

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