Graduate Student Guide

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Fall 2015

Note: All Electrical & Computer Engineering graduate students will be expected to read this
guide before consulting academic advisors.
 CONTENTS
Introduction Page 4

Graduate Programs Page 5-6

Certificate Program in Networking & Wireless Comm. Page 7

Electrical Engineering Major Page 8-15

 Degree Requirements:
 M.S. in EE non-thesis option Page 9
 M.S in EE thesis option Page 10
 Ph.D. in EE Page 11

 Policies Regarding the Qualifying Exam Page 12

 Advancement to Candidacy Page 13

 Preliminary Examination Page 14

 Dissertation Defense Page 15

Computer Engineering Major Page 16-25

 Degree Requirements:
 M.S. in CE non-thesis option Page 17-18
 M.S in CE thesis option Page 19-20
 Ph.D. in CE Page 21

 Policies Regarding the Qualifying Exam Page 22

 Advancement to Candidacy Page 23

 Preliminary Examination Page 24

 Dissertation Defense Page 25

Ph.D. Qualifying Exam Syllabi Page 26-30

Teaching/Graduate Assistant/Tuition Information Page 31-33

Curricular Practical Training Page 34

2
Facilities Page 35-36

Faculty Page 37-39

Course Listing Page 40-53

 Outside of Dept. Course List for CE Majors Page 53

3
 INTRODUCTION

This Guide has been written to provide general information to graduate students in the Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering. It is intended to give some assistance and guidance to students
regarding routine and other procedures involved in the pursuit of their program. This Guide is
intended to be an informal one. It supplements, but does not replace, the official University
Graduate Bulletin as a source of information.

The choice of a program to a large degree is the responsibility of the student. The members of the
graduate committee are available for consultation on any point in this Guide that may be unclear to the
student. Students may undertake an independent project under the direction of a faculty member, who
often becomes the student's best source of advice on professional, academic, and financial support
matters. Students should select their research advisor only after a careful canvass among the professors
in their field of interests.

August 2015

4
 GRADUATE PROGRAMS

M.S. AND PH.D. DEGREES

The Department offers graduate programs leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. Degrees in Electrical or
Computer Engineering. Graduate Programs are tailored to the needs of each student so as to provide a
strong analytical background helpful to the study of advanced engineering problems. Ample
opportunities exist for students to initiate independent study and to become involved in active research
programs, both experimental and theoretical.

CHANGE OF MAJOR POLICY

A change of major from Electrical Engineering to Computer Engineering or vice versa will only be
permitted once in a student’s graduate career, (provided the student meets degree requirements and
retains department approval). Students cannot return to their original major once they have completed
the change.

AREAS OF EMPHASIS
Areas of emphasis in current research and instruction are:
(1) Communications & Signal Processing
(2) Computer Engineering
(3) Semiconductor Devices and Quantum Electronics
(4) Circuits and VLSI

Specialties that fall under one or more of the above categories include: VLSI, Image Processing,
Computer Vision, Integrated Circuit Fabrication, Novel Electronic Devices, Digital Communication,
Biomedical Electronics, Computer-Aided Design, Computer Networks, Parallel Processing, Fault-
Tolerant Computing, Microprocessors, Robotics, Network Theory, and Optical Signal Processing and
Fiber Optic Sensors. Theoretical and experimental programs reflecting these areas are currently
underway and students are encouraged to actively participate in these efforts. Outlined below is an
overview of the Department's research areas.

COMMUNICATIONS AND SIGNAL PROCESSING

Subject areas of current interest include mobile, wireless and personal communications; high speed data
and computer communication networks; communications traffic; data compression; coding and
modulation techniques; inter-connection networks and high speed packet switching; digital
communication; detection and estimation; statistical signal processing; spectrum estimation; image
analysis and processing; computer vision.

COMPUTER ENGINEERING
The goal of computer engineering in the ECE department is to provide a balance view of hardware and
software issues. The expertise in the program include parallel and/or high performance computer
architecture, embedded microprocessor system design, fault tolerant computing, design
communications and signal processing, parallel and distributed computing, computer networks,
computer vision, artificial neural networks and software engineering.
5
SEMICONDUCTORS DEVICES, QUANTUM ELECTRONICS
The program of courses and of research pertinent to solid-state electronics, electromagnetics and optics
ranges from a study of the fundamental electronic processes in solids and gases through a description of
the mechanism which yield useful devices to a study of the design simulation, and fabrication of
integrated circuits. The program’s scientific interests center on physics, characterization and
development of optoelectronic devices and systems. Over the past several years, major efforts were
focused on the studies of physics of semiconductor lasers and detectors. Additionally, the department
has a strong experimental effort on the development of coherent optical processors, fiber optic sensors
and integrated fiber optics.

CIRCUITS AND VLSI

The program in the Circuits and VLSI area addresses problems associated to modeling, simulation,
design and fabrication of analog, digital, and mixed-signal integrated circuits. Analog and mixed-
mode integrated circuit (IC) devices have important applications in many fields including avionics,
space technology, and medical technology. The department offers basic and advanced courses cov-
ering the following subjects: integrated circuit technology, device modeling, software tools for cir-
cuit design and simulation, analog circuit design, VLSI circuits, testing of analog and digital ICs,
design automation for analog, digital and mixed-mode circuits, VLSI systems for communications
and signal processing.

RELATIONS WITH INDUSTRY

The Department has joint efforts and close contact with many industrial firms. Areas include: VLSI,
CAD, Controls, Digital Signal Processing, Telecommunications, Fiber Optic Sensors and Engineering
Education.

6
 Certificate Program
in
Networking and Wireless Communications
Networking and wireless communications are key technologies in today’s technological world. Networks such as
the Internet as well as telephone, cable and wireless networks serve to interconnect people and computers in a
ubiquitous and cost effective way. The area of wireless communications in particular has grown rapidly in recent
years and has utilized networking technology to be successful. There is a large industrial base involving network-
ing and wireless communications in terms of equipment and software providers, service providers and end users.
Moreover this technology has made the average consumer’s life more productive, flexible and enjoyable.

The Stony Brook Certificate Program in Networking and Wireless Communications is designed to give matricu-
lated students validated graduate level instruction in this area of much recent interest. The program can be com-
pleted in a reasonable amount of time as it involves only four courses. These are regular Stony Brook graduate
level courses taught by Stony Brook faculty. The SUNY approved certificate program can be tailored to the needs
of the individual student. Courses used for the certificate program can also be used toward the MS or PhD degree
by matriculated students.

Important Note: Admission to the certificate program is limited to students enrolled in either the MS or
PhD programs in the Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Students may receive the certificate if
they have no more than 12 graduate credits in the department as of the start of Fall 2015.

To receive the Stony Brook Certificate in Networking and Wireless Communications, a student must com-
plete FOUR required courses as specified below, with at least a B grade in each course.

At least ONE course from the following:

 ESE 505: Wireless Communications
 ESE 506: Wireless Networking
At least ONE course from the following:
 ESE 532: Theory of Digital Communications
 ESE 546: Networking Algorithms and Analysis
 ESE 548: Local and Wide Area Networks

In addition to the above, if needed, courses may be selected from:

 ESE 503: Stochastic Systems
 ESE 504: Performance Evaluation of Communication and Computer Systems
 ESE 522: Fiber Optic Systems
 ESE 528: Communication Systems
 ESE 531: Detection and Estimation Theory
 ESE 535: Information Theory and Reliable Communication
 ESE 536: Switching and Routing in Parallel and Distributed Systems
 ESE 544: Network Security Engineering
 ESE 547: Digital Signal Processing
 ESE 550: Network Management and Planning
 ESE 552: Interconnection Networks

Students must request the Certificate from Professor Thomas Robertazzi via

7
Email [email protected] once the program is completed.

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

8
 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
I. M.S. in Electrical Engineering NON-THESIS OPTION

Please Note: Full-time M.S. students typically finish the Master’s Degree in three (3) semesters.

Any Non-ESE course will need prior approval given by the Graduate Program Director before a student
can register. (approval form found on ECE website)

(1) At least 30 graduate credits with a cumulative and departmental grade point average of 3.0 or
better. Among these 30 credits, up to six credits may be ESE 597, ESE 599, or ESE 698
PLEASE NOTE: Only 3 credits of ESE 698 may be used in above.

(2) A minimum of eight (8) regular courses. Of these eight, at least seven (7) regular courses must
be taken in the department (see above note about Non-ESE courses). Three of the seven regular
courses must be selected from the following CORE Courses: ESE 502, ESE 503, ESE 511,
ESE 520, ESE 528 OR ESE 532, ESE 545, ESE 554 and ESE 555.

(3) ESE 597, ESE 599, ESE 697, ESE 698 and ESE 699 are not counted as regular courses in (2).
Also our Topics course, ESE 670, can be counted only once as a regular course credit toward
the M.S. degree. Credits for ESE 597 can only be applied toward the electrical engineering
degree if the following requirements are satisfied:

Prior approval from the Graduate Program Director based on the student submitting a proposal and
securing an advisor in the ECE department as well as a contact person at the company involved.
Approval will only be granted if it can be demonstrated that the faculty advisor will be kept in close
touch with work on the project. To this end, practicum not in the local geographic area will be
discouraged.

To obtain satisfactory credit the faculty advisor must verify that a substantial engineering project was
undertaken and completed. This will be based on his close contact during the entire period of the
project with the student and the contact person and upon reviewing a mandatory written report
submitted by the student at the project's completion. The faculty advisor will determine the final grade
for the course.

One credit of ESE 597 is required to fulfill the master’s degree requirements. A maximum of three
credits in ESE 597 may be applied towards the master’s degree in electrical or computer engineering.
CPT will be approved one time and can be taken during the summer or the academic year. Extensions
of CPT will not be granted. ESE 599, ESE 699 and ESE 698 can be used to replace ESE 597 with the
approval of the Graduate Program Director.

A candidate for the master’s degree may petition to transfer a maximum of 12 graduate credits from
another institution towards the master’s degree requirements. Students transferring from non-

9
matriculated status are also limited to a maximum of 12 credits for the master’s degree.

II. M.S. in Electrical Engineering THESIS OPTION – Students must inform the
department if they will do a master’s thesis by the end of their FIRST semester.

Please Note: Full-time M.S. students typically finish the Master’s Degree in three (3) semesters.

Any Non-ESE course will need prior approval given by the Graduate Program Director before a student
can register. (approval form found on ECE website)

(1) At least 30 graduate credits with a cumulative and departmental grade point average of 3.0 or
better. Among these 30 credits, at least six credits of ESE 599, with a maximum of 12 credits total
being taken from ESE 599, ESE 597 or ESE 698.
PLEASE NOTE: Only 3 credits of ESE 698 may be used in above.

(2) Minimum of six (6) regular courses. Of these six, at least five (5) regular courses must be taken
in the department (see above note about Non-ESE courses). Three of the five regular courses must be selected
from the following CORE Courses: ESE 502, ESE 503, ESE 511, ESE 520, ESE 528 OR ESE 532,
ESE 545, ESE 554 and ESE 555.

(3) ESE 597, ESE 599, ESE 697, ESE 698 and ESE 699 are not counted as regular courses in (2).
Also our Topics course, ESE 670, can be counted only once as a regular course credit toward the M.S.
degree. Credits for ESE 597 can only be applied toward the electrical engineering degree if the
following requirements are satisfied:

Prior approval from the Graduate Program Director based on the student submitting a proposal and securing an
advisor in the ECE department as well as a contact person at the company involved. Approval will only be
granted if it can be demonstrated that the faculty advisor will be kept in close touch with work on the project. To
this end, practicum not in the local geographic area will be discouraged.

To obtain satisfactory credit the faculty advisor must verify that a substantial engineering project was undertaken
and completed. This will be based on his close contact during the entire period of the project with the student and
the contact person and upon reviewing a mandatory written report submitted by the student at the project's
completion. The faculty advisor will determine the final grade for the course.

One credit of ESE 597 is required to fulfill the master’s degree requirements. A maximum of three credits in ESE
597 may be applied towards the master’s degree in electrical or computer engineering. CPT will be approved one
time and can be taken during the summer or the academic year. Extensions of CPT will not be granted. ESE 599,
ESE 699 and ESE 698 can be used to replace ESE 597 with the approval of the Graduate Program Director.

In compliance with Graduate School guidelines, Master’s Thesis students are expected to have two (2) readers
from the department approve their thesis. Students will need to request the signature page from the Graduate
Program Coordinator. (Information and request form found on the ECE website)

A candidate for the master’s degree may petition to transfer a maximum of 12 graduate credits from another
institution towards the master’s degree requirements. Students transferring from non-matriculated status are also
limited to a maximum of 12 credits for master’s degrees.

10
III. Ph.D. DEGREE in Electrical Engineering

(1) Passing a MAJOR area (written) Qualifying Examination.

(2) Completion of three (3) courses in order to fulfill a MINOR area, these courses must be in a
different area than the major.

(3) One year residency (two consecutive semesters of full time graduate study.)

(4) Six regular courses beyond the Master’s degree OR fourteen regular courses above the
Bachelor’s degree PLUS ESE 697 (3 credits) is required once G5 classification status is
attained. The choice of courses must have the prior approval of the designated faculty
academic advisor. The courses ESE 597, ESE 599, ESE 697, ESE 698 and ESE 699 are NOT
counted as regular courses. Courses presented under the title ESE 670 - Topics in Electrical
Engineering, that have different subject matters, and are offered as formal lecture courses, are
considered as regular courses but may not be counted more than once as a regular course for
credit toward the Master’s degree, and not more than twice, in total, for all graduate degrees
awarded by the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering.

(5) The student must satisfy the stipulations of a plan of study, which must be filed with the
Graduate Program Committee within six months after the student passes the qualifying
examination. The study plan, which will include the six regular courses, as required in item 4,
will be developed under the aegis of the designated faculty advisor (who may or may not be the
eventual thesis advisor). Modification of the study plan may be made by the preliminary
examination committee and at any later time by the thesis advisor. An up-to-date plan must
always be placed on file with the Graduate Program Committee each time a modification is
made.

(6) Passing the Preliminary Examination not more than 3 years after passing the Qualifying
Examination. Both a thesis topic and the thesis background area are emphasized. All courses
must be satisfactorily completed prior to taking the Preliminary Exam.

(7) Satisfactory completion of a dissertation (normally in four years after passing the Qualifying
Examination).

11
POLICIES REGARDING THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATION:
Electrical Engineering Major

There is a Major and Minor part to the Qualifying Examination. You must pass both parts for ad-
vancement to candidacy.

The Major (written) Area will be prepared by faculty in that area and will be designed to test a
student’s overall knowledge (from undergraduate and first year graduate courses). It will be a
closed book exam, 3 hours in length and will be given each April.

Topic areas projected for the QE Exam are:

1. Communications and Signal Processing
2. Semiconductor Devices and Quantum Electronics
3. Circuits and VLSI

a) Students must pass one major written exam within two consecutive tries. The two consecu-
tive tries need not be in the same area.

b) A 3.0 GPA is required to register for the exam. If a student whose GPA is less than 3.0 re-
quests to take the exam, a written petition must be given to the Graduate Committee at the
beginning of the semester that the qualifying exams are given. Approval will only be given
in exceptional situations.

c) A student without electrical or computer engineering background may petition the graduate
committee in writing to take a non-traditional major written exam in a novel subject of in-
terest to electrical and computer engineering. Petitions must include a letter of support from
their intended Ph.D. advisor.

The Minor Area adds an extra degree of breadth to the student’s Ph.D. education, and makes pos-
sible interdisciplinary research. The minor nominally consists of receiving a B or better average in
three or more electrical and computer engineering courses. Under extraordinary circumstances,
faculty may suggest possible constellations of courses. Courses taken for the minor area must be
from a different area than the major. A student can satisfy the minor requirement by taking and
passing a second major written exam.

Please Note:
The Ph.D. Qualifying Exam syllabi are made to serve as an aid to students who plan to take the
Ph.D. Qualifying Exam. The individual lists are not meant to be exhaustive. The students are ex-
pected to have a basic understanding of the fundamentals.

12
ADVANCEMENT TO CANDIDACY
Electrical Engineering Major

Students may Advance to Candidacy before completing the Preliminary Examination.

Departmental policy requires that all G3 classified doctoral students Advance to Candidacy within
2.5 years from his/her academic start at Stony Brook University. All G4 classified doctoral stu-
dents are required to Advance to Candidacy within 1.5 years from his/her academic start.

ALL required course work must be satisfactorily completed prior to Advancing to Candidacy.
Course work includes:

 Passing a MAJOR area (written) Qualifying Examination.

 Completion of three (3) courses in order to fulfill a MINOR area, these courses must be in a
different area than the major.

 One year residency (two consecutive semesters of full time graduate study).

 Six regular courses beyond the Master’s degree OR fourteen regular courses above the
Bachelor’s degree. The courses ESE 597, ESE 599, ESE 697, ESE 698 and ESE 699 are
NOT counted as regular courses.

 A grade point average of at least 3.0

The student and his/her research advisor will decide when the student is ready to Advance to Candidacy.
The Graduate Program Director must approve the request before final approval is decided by the Gradu-
ate School.

The student must submit the Request for Advancement to Candidacy to the department at least ONE full
week prior to the start of the semester. If a request is received after the deadline, advancement to candi-
dacy (G5 status) will NOT take effect until the NEXT semester or term. (Request form available on
ECE website)

G5 is the final stage of Ph.D. students. To ensure timely completion and high quality of dissertation, in
general, Ph.D. students should not change their dissertation advisors at G5 status. However, if for some
special reason, a G5 student has to change his/her advisor, it is required that the student spends at
least two more years on the new research for the dissertation with the new advisor. Shorter com-
pletion time is allowed if the old advisor and the new advisor of the student have reached a written
agreement. The formal switching of advisors and the agreement between the old and new advisors (if
any) must be documented at the time of switching by the Graduate Coordinator to be effective.
This policy is in effect in order to ensure the high quality of our Ph.D. program, and the above rule will
be enforced when the Department submits the defense form to the Graduate School.

13
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
Electrical Engineering Major

This is an oral examination. Usually, a student prepares a short written research proposal and
gives a 30-minute presentation. After that the floor is open for questioning.

I. Departmental policy requires that all doctoral students take the Preliminary Oral Examina-
tion within 3 years of passing the Qualifying Examination. ALL required courses (includ-
ing three minor courses) must also be satisfactorily completed.

II. The student and his/her research advisor will together propose an examination committee and a
date and time for the examination. They must obtain prior agreement to serve from each
proposed member. The Graduate Program Director must approve the committee and then
recommend to the Dean of the Graduate School that said committee be appointed.

III. The examining Preliminary Committee shall consist of at least four members, including the
student’s research advisor. If the advisor is from outside of the ECE department, a co-advisor
from the department must be chosen. Of the four, at least two must be full-time faculty
members from the ECE Department and at least one must be from outside the department or
university. If member is from outside of the university, the student must provide a curriculum
vitae.

IV. The student must submit the proposed committee to the department at least THREE full
weeks prior to the proposed examination date.

V. At least five full days prior to the examination date, the student must deliver to each com-
mittee member a readable copy of the following:

1. Formal research proposal – proposal shall include a brief abstract (not to exceed 200
words), a table of contents, and within a standard format of Introduction, Discussion,
etc., an outline of the related state-of-the-art, the specific research goals, methods to
be followed, preliminary results (if any), prospects for success, alternatives if suc-
cess is in doubt, etc. Except where results already obtained are sufficient to justify a
near-final draft of one or more papers to be submitted or of whole chapters in the fi-
nal thesis, the formal proposal should be at least 50 pages.

2. A brief Vita to include name, education, date of admission to ECE graduate program,
date passed Qualifying Exam, area working on. Part-time students and any students
who have interrupted their graduate studies to seek full-time employment must in-
clude their record of employment throughout the period. Any awards, significant
publications, or other professional recognition should also be included.

Students must pass the Preliminary Exam at least ONE year prior to their Defense.

14
DISSERTATION DEFENSE
Electrical Engineering Major

This is an oral examination. An examination committee will consist of at least four members;
three members must be Electrical & Computer Engineering faculty, and at least one member must be
from outside the department. The student must submit to the committee members a copy of his/her
dissertation with sufficient time before the actual defense, to permit careful reading. The defense
consists typically of a 45-minute presentation followed by questions.

Note: At least FIVE weeks prior to the Defense date, the student must electronically submit committee
member names, title of defense, date, time and place of defense, along with an Abstract (350 words or
less) to the department.

Important: A student must be Advanced to Candidacy and pass the Preliminary Exam at least
ONE year prior to the Defense.

15
COMPUTER ENGINEERING

16
 COMPUTER ENGINEERING DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Admission to the M.S. program in Computer Engineering requires the student to have completed a
Bachelor degree in Computer Engineering or Computer Science. Students with a Bachelor degree in
Electrical Engineering could also be admitted if they have taken or will take the following courses or
their equivalent:

 ESE 345: Computer Architecture

 ESE 380: Embedded Microprocessor Systems Design I
 ESE 333: Real-Time Operating Systems

I. M.S. in Computer Engineering NON-THESIS OPTION

Please Note: Full-time M.S. students typically finish the Master’s Degree in three (3) semesters.

Any Non-ESE course (not stated in the C.E. guidelines) will need prior approval given by the Graduate
Program Director before a student can register. (approval form found on ECE website)

The M.S. degree requires at least 30 graduate credits with a cumulative and departmental grade point
average of 3.0 or better.

The courses listed below can only be used once to satisfy the degree requirements:

1. Computer Hardware: One course from the following; ESE/CSE 536 (Switching and Routing
in Parallel and Distributed Systems), ESE 545 (Computer Architecture), ESE 565 (Parallel
Processing Architectures), ESE 566 (Hardware-Software Co-Design of Embedded Systems),
ESE 580 (Microprocessor-Based Systems I), ESE 581 (Microprocessor-Based Systems II)

2. At least three (3) Computer Engineering courses with at least one course from each of the
following three sub-areas:

a. Networking: ESE 505 (Wireless Network), ESE 506 (Wireless Networking and Mobile
Computing), ESE 546 (Networking Algorithms and Analysis), ESE 548 (Local & Wide
Area Networks), ESE 550 (Network Management and Planning)

b. CAD and VLSI: ESE 530 (Computer Aided Design), ESE 549 (Advanced VLSI System
Testing), ESE 555 (Advanced VLSI Circuit Design), ESE 556 (VLSI Physical and Logic
Design Automation), ESE 575 (Advanced VLSI Signal Processing Architecture)

c. Theory: ESE 554 (Computational Models for Computer Engineers),

CSE548/AMS542 (Analysis of Algorithms)

3. At least one Software course: ESE 568 (Computer and Robot Vision), ESE 588 (Pattern
Recognition), CSE 504 (Compiler Design), CSE 506 (Operating Systems), CSE 526 (Principles
of Programming Languages), CSE 533 (Network Programming), CSE 548/AMS542 (Analysis
of Algorithms).
17
 4. At least three additional regular courses (lecture based courses) offered by the ECE department.

5. Up to six credits may be from ESE 597, ESE 599, or ESE 698 (Only 3 credits of ESE 698 may
be used)

ESE 597, ESE 599, ESE 697, ESE 698 and ESE 699 are not counted as regular courses. Also our
Topics course, ESE 670, can be counted only once as a regular course credit toward the M.S. degree.
Credits for ESE 597 can only be applied toward the Computer Engineering degree if the following
requirements are satisfied:

Prior approval from the Graduate Program Director based on the student submitting a proposal and
securing an advisor in the ECE department as well as a contact person at the company involved.
Approval will only be granted if it can be demonstrated that the faculty advisor will be kept in close
touch with work on the project. To this end, practicum not in the local geographic area will be
discouraged.

To obtain satisfactory credit the faculty advisor must verify that a substantial engineering project was
undertaken and completed. This will be based on his close contact during the entire period of the
project with the student and the contact person and upon reviewing a mandatory written report
submitted by the student at the project's completion. The faculty advisor will determine the final grade
for the course.

One credit of ESE 597 is required to fulfill the master’s degree requirements. A maximum of three
credits in ESE 597 may be applied towards the master’s degree in electrical or computer engineering.
CPT will be approved one time and can be taken during the summer or the academic year. Extensions
of CPT will not be granted. ESE 599, ESE 699 and ESE 698 can be used to replace ESE 597 with the
approval of the Graduate Program Director.

A candidate for the master’s degree may petition to transfer a maximum of 12 graduate credits from
another institution towards the master’s degree requirements. Students transferring from non-
matriculated status are also limited to a maximum of 12 credits for the master’s degree.

18
 II. M.S. in Computer Engineering THESIS OPTION – Students must inform the
department if they will do a master’s thesis by the end of their FIRST semester.

Please Note: Full-time M.S. students typically finish the Master’s Degree in three (3) semesters.

Any Non-ESE course (not stated in the C.E. guidelines) will need prior approval given by the Graduate
Program Director before a student can register. (approval form found on ECE website)

The M.S. degree with thesis option requires at least 30 graduate credits with a cumulative and
departmental grade point average of 3.0 or better. Among these 30 credits, at least six credits of ESE
599, with a maximum of 12 credits total being taken from ESE 597, ESE 599, or ESE 698.
PLEASE NOTE: Only 3 credits of ESE 698 may be used in above.

The courses listed below can only be used once to satisfy the degree requirements:

1. Computer Hardware: One course from the following; ESE/CSE 536 (Switching and Routing
in Parallel and Distributed Systems), ESE 545 (Computer Architecture), ESE 565 (Parallel
Processing Architectures), ESE 566 (Hardware-Software Co-Design of Embedded Systems),
ESE 580 (Microprocessor-Based Systems I), ESE 581 (Microprocessor-Based Systems II)

2. At least three (3) Computer Engineering courses with at least one course from each of the
following three sub-areas:

a. Networking: ESE 505 (Wireless Network), ESE 506 (Wireless Networking and Mobile
Computing), ESE 546 (Computer Communication Networks), ESE 548 (Local & Wide
Area Networks), ESE 550 (Network Management and Planning)

b. CAD and VLSI: ESE 530 (Computer Aided Design), ESE 549 (Advanced VLSI System
Testing), ESE 555 (Advanced VLSI Circuit Design), ESE 556 (VLSI Physical and Logic
Design Automation), ESE 575 (Advanced VLSI Signal Processing Architecture)

c. Theory: ESE 554 (Computational Models for Computer Engineers), CSE 548/AMS542
(Analysis of Algorithms)

3. At least one Software course: ESE 568 (Computer and Robot Vision), ESE 588 (Pattern
Recognition), CSE 504 (Compiler Design), CSE 506 (Operating Systems), CSE 526
(Principles of Programming Languages), CSE 533 (Network Programming),
CSE 548/AMS542 (Analysis of Algorithms)

4. At least one additional regular course (lecture based course) offered by the ECE department.

ESE 597, ESE 599, ESE 697, ESE 698 and ESE 699 are not counted as regular courses.
Also our Topics course, ESE 670, can be counted only once as a regular course credit toward

19
 the M.S. degree. Credits for ESE 597 can only be applied toward the Computer Engineering
degree if the following requirements are satisfied:

Prior approval from the Graduate Program Director based on the student submitting a proposal and
securing an advisor in the ECE department as well as a contact person at the company involved.
Approval will only be granted if it can be demonstrated that the faculty advisor will be kept in close
touch with work on the project. To this end, practicum not in the local geographic area will be
discouraged.

To obtain satisfactory credit the faculty advisor must verify that a substantial engineering project was
undertaken and completed. This will be based on his close contact during the entire period of the
project with the student and the contact person and upon reviewing a mandatory written report
submitted by the student at the project's completion. The faculty advisor will determine the final grade
for the course.

One credit of ESE 597 is required to fulfill the master’s degree requirements. A maximum of three
credits in ESE 597 may be applied towards the master’s degree in electrical or computer engineering.
CPT will be approved one time and can be taken during the summer or the academic year. Extensions
of CPT will not be granted. ESE 599, ESE 699 and ESE 698 can be used to replace ESE 597 with the
approval of the Graduate Program Director.

In compliance with Graduate School guidelines, Master’s Thesis students are expected to have two (2)
readers from the department approve their thesis. Students will need to request the signature page from
the Graduate Program Coordinator. (Information and request form found on the ECE website)

A candidate for the master’s degree may petition to transfer a maximum of 12 graduate credits from
another institution towards the master’s degree requirements. Students transferring from non
matriculated status are also limited to a maximum of 12 credits for master’s degrees.

20
III. Ph.D. DEGREE in Computer Engineering

(1) Passing a MAJOR area (written) Qualifying Examination in Computer Engineering,

Communications & Signal Processing, or Circuits and VLSI.

(2) Completion of three (3) courses in order to fulfill a MINOR area, these courses must be in a
different area than the major.

(3) One year residency (two consecutive semesters of full time graduate study.)

(4) Six regular courses beyond the Master’s degree OR fourteen regular courses above the
Bachelor’s degree PLUS ESE 697 (3 credits) is required once G5 classification status is
attained. The choice of courses must have the prior approval of the designated faculty
academic advisor. The courses ESE 597, ESE 599, ESE 697, ESE 698 and ESE 699 are NOT
counted as regular courses. Courses presented under the title ESE 670 - Topics in Electrical
Engineering & Computer Engineering, that have different subject matters, and are offered as
formal lecture courses, are considered as regular courses but may not be counted more than
once as a regular course for credit toward the Master’s degree, and not more than twice, in total,
for all graduate degrees awarded by the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

(5) The student must satisfy the stipulations of a plan of study, which must be filed with the
Graduate Program Committee within six months after the student passes the qualifying
examination. The study plan, which will include the six regular courses, as required in item 4,
will be developed under the aegis of the designated faculty advisor (who may or may not be the
eventual thesis advisor). Modification of the study plan may be made by the preliminary
examination committee and at any later time by the thesis advisor. An up-to-date plan must
always be placed on file with the Graduate Program Committee each time a modification is
made.

(6) Passing the Preliminary Examination not more than 3 years after passing the Qualifying
Examination. Both a thesis topic and the thesis background area are emphasized. The thesis
topic must be approved by the preliminary exam committee as appropriate for computer
engineering. All courses must be satisfactorily completed prior to taking the Preliminary Exam.

(7) Satisfactory completion of a dissertation (normally in four years after passing the Qualifying
Examination).

21
POLICIES REGARDING THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATION:
Computer Engineering Major

There is a Major and Minor part to the Qualifying Examination. You must pass both parts for
advancement to candidacy.

The Major (written) Area will be prepared by faculty in the computer engineering area and will be
designed to test a student’s overall knowledge (from undergraduate and first year graduate courses).
It will be a closed book exam, 3 hours in length and will be given each April.

Topic areas projected for the QE Exam are:

1. Communications and Signal Processing
2. Computer Engineering
3. Circuits and VLSI

a) Students must pass one major written exam within two consecutive tries. The two consecu-
tive tries need not be in the same area.

b) A 3.0 GPA is required to register for the exam. If a student whose GPA is less than 3.0 re-
quests to take the exam, a written petition must be given to the Graduate Committee at the
beginning of the semester that the qualifying exams are given. Approval will only be given
in exceptional situations.

c) A student without electrical or computer engineering background may petition the graduate
committee in writing to take a non-traditional major written exam in a novel subject of in-
terest to electrical and computer engineering. Petitions must include a letter of support from
their intended Ph.D. advisor.

The Minor Area adds an extra degree of breadth to the student’s Ph.D. education, and makes pos-
sible interdisciplinary research. The minor nominally consists of receiving a B or better average in
three or more electrical and computer engineering courses. Faculty will suggest possible constella-
tions of courses. Courses taken for the minor area must be from a different area than the major. A
student can satisfy the minor requirement by taking and passing a second major written ex-
am.

Please Note:
The Ph.D. Qualifying Exam syllabi are made to serve as an aid to students who plan to take the
Ph.D. Qualifying Exam. The individual lists are not meant to be exhaustive. The students are ex-
pected to have a basic understanding of the fundamentals.

22
ADVANCEMENT TO CANDIDACY
Computer Engineering Major

Students may Advance to Candidacy before completing the Preliminary Examination.

Departmental policy requires that all G3 classified doctoral students Advance to Candidacy within
2.5 years from his/her academic start at Stony Brook University. All G4 classified doctoral stu-
dents are required to Advance to Candidacy within 1.5 years from his/her academic start.

ALL required course work must be satisfactorily completed prior to Advancing to Candidacy.
Course work includes:

 Passing a MAJOR area (written) Qualifying Examination in Computer Engineering,

Communications & Signal Processing, or Circuits and VLSI.

 Completion of three (3) courses in order to fulfill a MINOR area, these courses must be in a
different area than the major.

 One year residency (two consecutive semesters of full time graduate study).

 Six regular courses beyond the Master’s degree OR fourteen regular courses above the
Bachelor’s degree. The courses ESE 597, ESE 599, ESE 697, ESE 698 and ESE 699 are
NOT counted as regular courses.

 A grade point average of at least 3.0

The student and his/her research advisor will decide when the student is ready to Advance to Candidacy.
The Graduate Program Director must approve the request before final approval is decided by the Gradu-
ate School.

The student must submit the Request for Advancement to Candidacy to the department at least ONE full
week prior to the start of the semester. If a request is received after the deadline, advancement to candi-
dacy (G5 status) will NOT take effect until the NEXT semester or term. (Request form available on
ECE website)

G5 is the final stage of Ph.D. students. To ensure timely completion and high quality of dissertation, in
general, Ph.D. students should not change their dissertation advisors at G5 status. However, if for some
special reason, a G5 student has to change his/her advisor, it is required that the student spends at
least two more years on the new research for the dissertation with the new advisor. Shorter com-
pletion time is allowed if the old advisor and the new advisor of the student have reached a written
agreement. The formal switching of advisors and the agreement between the old and new advisors (if
any) must be documented at the time of switching by the Graduate Coordinator to be effective.
This policy is in effect in order to ensure the high quality of our Ph.D. program, and the above rule will
be enforced when the Department submits the defense form to the Graduate School.

23
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
Computer Engineering Major

This is an oral examination. Usually, a student prepares a short written research proposal and
gives a 30-minute presentation. After that the floor is open for questioning.

I. Departmental policy requires that all doctoral students take the Preliminary Oral Examina-
tion within 3 years of passing the Qualifying Examination. ALL required courses (includ-
ing three minor courses) must also be satisfactorily completed.

II. The student and his/her research advisor will together propose an examination committee, and a
date and time for the examination. They must obtain prior agreement to serve from each
proposed member. The Graduate Program Director must approve the committee and then
recommend to the Dean of the Graduate School that said committee be appointed.

III. The examining Preliminary Committee shall consist of at least four members, including the
student’s research advisor. If the advisor is from outside of the ECE department, a co-advisor
from the department must be chosen. Of the four, at least two must be full-time faculty
members from the ECE Department and at least one must be from outside the department or
university. If member is from outside of the university, the student must provide a curriculum
vitae.

IV. The student must submit the proposed committee to the department at least THREE full
weeks prior to the proposed examination date.

V. At least five full days prior to the examination date, the student must deliver to each com-
mittee member a readable copy of the following:

1. Formal research proposal – proposal shall include a brief abstract (not to exceed 200
words), a table of contents, and within a standard format of Introduction, Discussion,
etc., an outline of the related state-of-the-art, the specific research goals, methods to
be followed, preliminary results (if any), prospects for success, alternatives if suc-
cess is in doubt, etc. Except where results already obtained are sufficient to justify a
near-final draft of one or more papers to be submitted or of whole chapters in the fi-
nal thesis, the formal proposal should be at least 50 pages.

2. A brief Vita to include name, education, date of admission to ECE graduate program,
date passed Qualifying Exam, area working on. Part-time students and any students
who have interrupted their graduate studies to seek full-time employment must in-
clude their record of employment throughout the period. Any awards, significant
publications, or other professional recognition should also be included.

Students must pass the Preliminary Exam at least ONE year prior to their Defense.

24
DISSERTATION DEFENSE
Computer Engineering Major

This is an oral examination. An examination committee will consist of at least four members;
three members must be Electrical & Computer Engineering faculty, and at least one member must be
from outside the department. The student must submit to the committee members a copy of his/her
dissertation with sufficient time before the actual defense, to permit careful reading. The defense
consists typically of a 45-minute presentation followed by questions.

Note: At least FIVE weeks prior to the Defense date, the student must electronically submit committee
member names, title of defense, date, time and place of defense, along with an Abstract (350 words or
less) to the department.

Important: A student must be Advanced to Candidacy and pass the Preliminary Exam at least
ONE year prior to the Defense.

25
 Ph.D. Qualifying Exam Syllabus
Please Note: The following syllabi are made to serve as an aid to students who plan to take the
Ph.D. Qualifying Exam. The individual lists are not meant to be exhaustive. The students are
expected to have a basic understanding of the fundamentals

Communications and Signal Processing

Major Area Topics:

Signal and Systems

Signals, spectra, time and bandwidth properties. Shannon sampling theorem. Fourier series, trans-
forms, and applications to signal and system analysis.

Probability and Stochastic Processes

Probability concepts, random variables, vectors, and processes. Statistical description of random
processes, autocorrelation and cross-correlation function. Basic probability models in communica-
tions and signal processing.

Basic Communications Concepts

Basic analog and digital communication schemes. Noise in communication systems. PCM, base-
band transmission schemes. Basics of information theory. Uncertainty, information, and entropy.
Channel capacity. Relationship between signaling speed, bandwidth, power, and reliability. Contin-
uous- and discrete-time queueing systems.

Digital Signal Processing

Sampling and reconstruction of signals. DTFT and Z-transforms. FIR and IIR filter design. Signal
flow graphs and filter structures. DFT and FFT. Interpolation, decimation, and oversampling.

Image Processing
Mathematical preliminaries. Multidimensional transforms for images spatial frequency content of
images via multi-dimensional FFT's. Sampling and quantization. Image enhancement and color.
Image Compression. Standard operations of image enhancement: (a) convolutional smoothing and
sharpening, and similar operations in Fourier domain and (b) median window filter. Image restora-
tion: inverse filtering, Weiner filtering. Least squares restoration in discrete domain. Reconstruction
from Projections - especially Filtered Backprojection Method.

Reference Books:
 G. R. Grimmet and D. R. Stirzaker, Probability and Random Processes, Oxford Science
Publication, 1998.
 R. C. Gonzalez and R. E. Woods, Digital Image Processing, Adison-Wesley, 1992.
 S Haykin, Communication Systems, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2001.
26
  C.T. Chen, Digital Signal Processing, Oxford Univ. Press, 2001 .
 C.T. Chen, Systems and Signal Analysis, Oxford Univ. Press, 1994.
 Papoulis, Probability, Random Variables, and Stochastic Processes, McGraw Hill, 1991.
 J. G. Proakis and M. Salehi, Communication System Engineering, Pentice-Hall, 2002.
 T. Robertazzi, Computer Networks and Systems: Queueing Theory and Performance Eval-
uations, 2nd ed., Springer-Verlag, 2000.
 Rosenfeld and A. C. Kak, Digital Picture Processing, Vol. 1, Academic Press, 1982

Minor Area Courses for Communications & Signal Processing:

ESE 532 Theory of Digital Communications OR ESE 528 Communications Systems

ESE 547 Digital Signal Processing
ESE 558 Digital Image Processing I

27
Ph.D. Qualifying Exam Syllabus

Computer Engineering
Major Area Topics:

Discrete Mathematics
Permutations and Combinations; Relations and Functions; Graphs and Trees; Boolean algebra;
Algebraic Structures.

Digital Systems
Digital concepts and number systems; Boolean switching algebra; Principles of combina-
tional logic; Analysis and design of combinational logic; flip-flops, simple counters and reg-
isters; introduction to sequential circuits; sequential circuit design; asynchronous sequential
circuits.

Computer Architecture
Computer Abstractions and Technology; The role of Performance; Instructions: Language of
the machine; Arithmetic for Computers; the Processor:Datapath and Control; Enhancing
performance with Pipelining; Large and Fast: Exploiting Memory Hierarchy; Interfacing
Processors and Peripherals.

Software
Programming Principles; Arrays and Stacks; Queues; Recursion; Lists; Searching; Sorting;
Hashing; Binary Trees; Trees; Graphs.

Reference Books:
 C.L. Liu, “Elements of Discrete Mathematics”, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1985.
 John Yarbrough, "Digital Logic - Applications and Design", PWS Publishing Company, 1997.
 M. Morris Mano, "Logic and Computer Design Fundamentals", Prentice Hall, 2001.
 D.A. Patterson and J. L. Hennessy, “Computer Organization and Design”, Morgan Kauf-
mann Publishers, Inc, 1998.
 Robert L. Kruse, Alexander Ryba, “Datastructures and Program Design in C++”, Prentice-
Hall, 1999. ISBN 0-13-768995-0
 Robertazzi, Computer Networks & Systems: Queueing Theory & Performance Evaluations,
2nd edition, Springer-Verlag, 2000

Minor Area Courses for Computer Engineering:

Choose three from the following six choices:

ESE 501 System Specification and Modeling

ESE 506 Wireless Network
ESE 536 Switching and Routing in Parallel and Distributed Systems
ESE 545 Computer Architecture
ESE 546 Analysis & Synthesis of Computer Comm. Networks OR ESE 548 Local & Wide Area Networks
ESE 554 Computational Models for Computer Engineers
28
Ph.D. Qualifying Exam Syllabus

Semiconductor Devices and Quantum Electronics

Major Area Topics:

Energy bands in semiconductors

a) Energy dependence on wave vector
b) Effective masses of electrons and holes
Mechanisms of conductivity in semiconductors
a) Doping in semiconductors
b) Carrier statistics in semiconductors
c) Scattering mechanisms
Carrier drift and diffusion
Recombination-generation phenomena in semiconductors
Photoconductivity and luminescence phenomena
Semiconductor quantum wells
Energy spectra of carriers in quantum wells
Semiconductor heterostructures
p-n junction and operating principles of semiconductor diodes
Operating principles of bipolar transistors. Device band diagram
Operating principles of FET
Design and operating principles of MOSFET
p-n junction as light detectors
a) Solar Cells
b) Photodiodes
Light emitting diodes: band diagram and operating principles
Semiconductor lasers: band diagram and operating principles

Reference Books:
 Robert Pierret, “Semiconductor Device Fundamentals” Addison-Wesley, 1996
 Michael Shur, “Introduction to Electronic Devices” John Wiley&Sons, 1995
 Govind P. Agrawal, Niloy K. Dutta, “Semiconductor Lasers", Van Nostrand Reinhold, New
York, 1993

Minor Area Courses for Semiconductor Devices & Quantum Electronics:

Choose three from the following five courses:

ESE 511 Solid State Electronics

ESE 512 Bipolar Junction & Heterojunction Elec. Dev.
ESE 514 MOS Transistor Modeling
ESE 515 Quantum Electronics I
ESE 519 Semiconductor Lasers and Photodectors

29
Ph.D. Qualifying Exam Syllabus

Circuits and VLSI

Major Area Topics:

The following are the topics for the Circuits and VLSI section of the PhD qualifying exam.
Modeling and operation of bipolar junction transistors and MOS field effect transistors
Static and dynamic MOS gates
Design of sequential logic circuits
Layout of integrated circuits
Interconnects and parasitics
Timing issues in digital circuits
Basic building blocks in analog integrated circuits (single-transistor stages, differential amplifi-
ers, current mirrors, output stages).
Op-amp structures and applications of op-amps
Frequency response of analog circuits
Feedback, stability, compensation

Reference Books:
 A.S. Sedra and K.C. Smith, Microelectronic Circuits, Oxford University Press, 1998.
 P.R. Gray, P.J. Hurst, S.H. Lewis, and R.G. Meyer, Analysis and Design of Analog Integrat-
ed Circuits, 4th Edition, John Wiley, 2000.
 Jan M. Rabaey, Digital Integrated Circuits: A Design Perspective, Prentice-Hall, 1996.
 N. Weste and K. Eshraghian, Principles of CMOS VLSI Design: A Systems Perspective, 2nd
Edition, Addison-Wesley, 1993.

Minor Area Courses for Circuits & VLSI:

Choose three from the following four courses:

ESE 501 System Specification and Modeling

ESE 516 Integrated Electronic Devices and Circuits – Part I
ESE 555 VLSI Circuit Design
ESE 556 VLSI Physical and Logic Level Design Automation

30
 POLICIES REGARDING RA/TA/GA SUPPORT AND TUITION
SCHORLARSHIP/TEACHING ASSISTANT DUTIES AND
EVALUATION
1. Full-time graduate students are eligible for research assistant (RA) positions. Individual faculty
should be contacted on the availability of RA positions.

2. State lines - Teaching Assistantships (TA) and Graduate Assistantships (GA) - are used by the
Department to help fulfill its undergraduate academic mission and at the same time to support
graduate students, who are making satisfactory progress towards a Ph.D. degree.

3. Tuition scholarship may be awarded to an RA/TA/GA if the department budget permits. Preference
will be given to Ph.D. students. If a student does not pass the Preliminary Oral Examination within
3 years of passing the Qualifying Exam, the student may not receive the tuition scholarship.

Note: In order to receive a Graduate School Tuition Scholarship as a G5 student, the

student must have been fully supported as a TA/GA/RA with a department tuition
scholarship for the academic year prior to advancing to candidacy. Otherwise the student will
be liable for his/her own tuition costs.

4. Because of the limited TA positions, the awarding of a TA will be according to the following
guidelines:

State (TA) support is limited to four years, which includes periods when a student is only partially supported
during MS or Ph.D.

Except for new incoming supported students, state support will generally be limited to 1/2 TA, with the priority
given to eligible students awarded at least 1/2 RA by their faculty advisor.

To be eligible for second-year support, the student must have passed the Major Area of the Qualifying
Examination and must have a GPA of at least 3.0. The student must also have a research advisor in the Electrical
& Computer Engineering Department. To be eligible in subsequent years, the student must be making
satisfactory progress in taking the courses for the Minor Area. Additionally, the student must have a grade of ‘S’
on all previous research courses and assistantship assignments.

The remaining TA lines will be allocated on a competitive basis, based on the academic merit of the candidate.
The guiding principle for the Committee will be the need to ensure continuity and completion of a successful
Ph.D. project, as well as to help the new faculty to establish their research program.

5. Academic dishonesty or failure to meet assigned TA or GA responsibilities may result in loss of

any support from the program.

Each semester, all Teaching Assistants must be on campus and in contact with the faculty member of the course
to which he/she has been assigned by the FIRST day of classes. If a TA does not meet this requirement, they will
be subject to having their stipend and tuition scholarship rescinded.

31
 TEACHING ASSISTANT DUTIES AND EVALUATION

All TAs are expected to behave professionally and take their teaching responsibilities seriously.

All TAs must be on campus and in contact with the faculty member of their TA Assignment by the
first day of classes or they are subject to having their stipend and tuition scholarship rescinded.
 A full-time TA is expected to work up to 20 hours a week. However, it is understood that
this load is not distributed evenly during the semester. In the first few weeks, the load is
usually much less than 20 hours. The load tends to increase towards the semesters end.
 If it becomes apparent that the average load constantly exceeds 20 hours per week, the stu-
dent should discuss the problem with the supervisor.
 A TA must be familiar with the concepts and course material. TAs must prepare designated
material and understand and assist with the everyday operation of the course. TAs are re-
quired to attend the lectures, unless excused by their supervisor.
 A TA must understand and follow course standards set by the supervisor.
 A TA must be reliable. Perfect attendance is expected in classes, assigned recitation, labora-
tory and help sessions, office hours, TA meetings, and proctoring. If a TA can't meet a re-
sponsibility, they must inform their supervisor and where appropriate, must find a substitute
acceptable to their supervisor.
 A TA must be prepared for all recitations, labs, meetings, etc.
 A TA must treat all students with courtesy regardless of gender, race, ethnic background,
etc.
 A TA must not initiate or maintain inappropriate relationships with students. These include
romantic, sexual, or financial. The University prohibits such abuses of power.
 A TA must have proficiency in English sufficient for communication with students.
 A TA must grade consistently and fairly, according to the course standards determined by
the course instructor.
 At the end of each semester, a TA must assist the supervisor as long as necessary to help the
supervisor with grading exams, labs, and other assignments.
 A TA must complete grading and other assigned duties promptly based upon the standards
and guidelines set by their supervisor.
 A TA must take the designated graduate teaching assistant training classes.

If a TA fails to satisfy any of the above responsibilities, their supervisor will meet with them to rec-
tify any problems. If problems persist, the TA must meet with the Director of Graduate Studies and
further actions may be taken.
32
TA Evaluation: TA’s will be evaluated each semester by the supervisor as follows:
 Excellent, well-above expectations
 Very good
 Good, meets expectations
 Below expectations
 Unsatisfactory, well-below expectations

Teaching Assistants who perform below expectations may see their support terminated in the fol-
lowing semester.

33
 CURRICULAR PRACTICAL TRAINING
CPT must be in the student’s major area of study and MUST count towards completion of the degree
requirements. The master’s degree requires 30 credits. Students must plan their CPT credits along with their
other course credits accordingly.

Master’s students are required to take ONE credit of CPT to fulfill the
master’s degree requirements. CPT can be taken only ONE time.
Students can take CPT during the academic year OR the summer. In
exceptional circumstances, the Graduate Program Director can
approve a replacement for this requirement by substituting one credit of
ESE 599, ESE 699 or ESE 698.

ESE Department Requirements for CPT Approval

 Students should consult with an International Student Adviser to confirm that

they are eligible for CPT. If eligible, please submit the following to the Gradu-
ate Program Coordinator at least two weeks prior to the start of the intern-
ship:

 CPT Application instructions and application are located on

the Visa & Immigration Services website. (AccessVIS)

 Letter of Offer from the internship supervisor to the department, which

states the start & end dates of the internship, hours per week, and spe-
cific CPT job duties. This letter must be on original company letter-
head.

 E-Mail the Graduate Program Coordinator, stating how the CPT is inte-
gral to your program of study.

Registration Requirement
Students must register for ESE 597 (variable credit). ESE 597 is a non-regular course.
Register under your advisor’s section number. If you do not have an advisor, you
should register under the section number of the Graduate Program Director.

Requirements Upon Completion of CPT

The internship supervisor must inform the student’s advisor or Graduate Program Direc-
tor via e-mail that the student has satisfactorily fulfilled the CPT requirements.

Student must submit a CPT report (1-2 pages) to their advisor or the Graduate Program
Director PRIOR to the beginning of the next semester. A grade of “S” or “U” will then be
34
 assigned.

FACILITIES

The department operates laboratories for both teaching and research:

The Advanced IC Design & Simulation Laboratory contains equipment and computing facilities for
the design, simulation, and characterization of analog, digital and mixed-signal integrated circuits. The
lab is equipped with several SUN workstations and PCs, and assorted electronic measurement
equipment.

The Communications, Signal Processing, Speech, and Vision (CSPV) Laboratory has several SUN
workstations and desktop computers with specialized software for research in telecommunications
networks and signal processing. The computers are networked to departmental computing facilities
allowing access to shared campus resources and the Internet.

The Computer-Aided Design Laboratory provides a network of 386 based workstations. Advanced
computer-aided design software for analog and digital systems design is available on these
workstations.

The Computer Vision Laboratory has state-of-the-art equipment for experimental research in three-
dimensional machine vision. The facilities include desktop computers, imaging hardware, and print-
ers.

The Digital Signal Processing Research Laboratory is involved in digital signal processing
architectures and hardware and software research. The laboratory is presently active in the
development of algorithms to be implemented on a variety of signal processing chips.

The Fluorescence Detection Lab is involved in the design, development, implementation and testing
of various DNA sequencing instruments. Research areas include laser induced fluorescence detection,
single photon counting techniques, fast data acquisition and transfer, design and development of analog
and digital integrated circuits, signal processing, capillary electrophoresis phenomena and DNA
sequencing.

The Graduate Computing Laboratory has 12 Windows 2000 Professional based Windows PC’s,
equipped with Microsoft Office XP, Microsoft Visual Studio, X-Windows for Unix connectivity,
Adobe Acrobat reader, Ghost script and Ghost view. There is an HP LaserJet 5Si/MX printer. The lab
is also equipped with 8 Sun Blade 100 machines. These machines run Sun Solaris 8 operating systems
and are connected to the departmental Unix servers. Industry standard packages such as Cadence tools,
Synopsys, Hspice and Matlab are available from the application servers.

The High Performance Computing and Networking Research Laboratory is equipped to conduct
research in the broad area of networking and parallel/distributed computing with emphasis on
wireless/mobile networks, cloud computing, data center networks, optical networks, high-speed
networks, interconnection networks and multicast communication. The laboratory has 1 Dell
PowerEdge 1800 computing server, 8 Dell OptiPlex GX620 MT workstations, 2 Sun Ultra 60
35
Workstations with dual processors, and 4 Sun Ultra 10 Workstations.

The Medical Image Processing Laboratory, located in the medical school, is involved in research in image
reconstruction methods and image analysis with applications to medical imaging. It is equipped with a SUN
SPARC l0, SPARC 2, HP730 workstations and a full complement of peripherals.

The Optical Signal Processing and Fiber Optic Sensors Laboratory is equipped to perform research
in the broad area of optoelectronics. Some of the current research projects include development of fiber
optic systems for real time process control in adverse environments, integrated fiber optics, fiber optic
sensors and coherent optical processing.

The Parallel and Neural Processing Laboratory conducts research in various parallel and neural
network applications. Current research projects include Natural Adaptive Critic control, pattern
recognitions and Bayesian Neural Networks. It is equipped with Pentium PCs and Synapse3 parallel
neural network processing boards.

The Petaflops Design Laboratory is a research facility equipped with two SUN workstations, several
PC’s with Linex, and a 16-process Beowulf-type cluster. All computes are connected by Fast 100
Mb/sec Ethernet LAN.

The Semiconductor Optoelectronics Laboratory – possesses the infrastructure for wafer processing,
testing and sophisticated characterization of optoelectronics devices. Processing facilities are based on
a “Class 100” clean room with Darl Suss aligner, Temescal metal film deposition system and other
equipment required for modern semiconductor wafer processing. Wafer testing can be performed by
low and high temperature probe-stations. Characterization of devices after processing includes
electrical, optical and spectral measurements. Electrical and optical measurements can be carried out
within a wide frequency range from CW to 22GHz. Semiconductor laser near and far field emission
patterns can be studied in a wide spectral range from visible to mid-infrared. Spectral analysis of
radiation is performed with high resolution and sensitivity using grating and two Fourier transform
spectrometers in combination with state-of-the-art detector systems. Time resolved luminescence
experiments are available with ns resolution. The laboratory is equipped with 150fs Nd-glass mode
locked laser for optical pumping as well as other pump sources including a high energy Q-switched Nd
solid-state laser. New experimental methods of studying semiconductor laser parameters, developed in
the Laboratory, include direct heterobarrier leakage current measurements as well as gain, loss and
alpha-factor measurements in broad area and single mode lasers.

36
 FACULTY
Faculty with research interest in computer engineering are underlined.

Belenky, Gregory, Distinguished Professor

Optoelectronic devices and systems. semiconductor devices, physics and technology.

Bugallo, Monica, Associate Professor

Statistical signal processing and its applications to multi-user communications, smart antenna systems,
target tracking and vehicle positioning and navigation.

Dhadwal, Harbans, Associate Professor

Fiber optic sensors; optical signal processing; photon correlation spectroscopy; inverse problems.

Djuric, Petar, Professor

Signal analysis, modeling and processing; Monte Carlo methods; wireless communications and sensor networks.

Doboli, Alex, Professor

VLSI CAD with emphasis on hardware/software co-design, mixed-signal synthesis.

Donetski, Dmitri, Associate Professor

Design and technology of optoelectronic devices and systems including photovoltaic and photo-
conductive detectors, diode lasers and diode laser arrays.

Dorojevets, Mikhail, Associate Professor

Parallel computer architecture; high-performance systems design.

Eisaman, Matthew, Assistant Professor

Photovoltaic devices, especially light trapping, nanostructures for improved solar cell efficiency, and
spatial variations at the nanoscale.

Gindi, Gene, Associate Professor

Medical image processing and analysis with an emphasis on statistical methods.

Gorfinkel, Vera, Associate Professor

Semiconductor devices, including microwave and optoelectronics.

Hong, Sangjin, Professor

Low-power VLSI design of multimedia wireless communications and digital signal processing sys-
tems, including SOC design methodology and optimization.

Kamoua, Ridha, Associate Professor, Undergraduate Program Director

Solid-state devices & circuits; microwave devices and integrated circuits.

Lin, Shan, Assistant Professor

Cyber physical systems, networked information systems, wireless networks, sensing & control systems.

37
 Luryi, Serge, Distinguished Professor, Chairperson
High speed solid-state electronic and photonic devices, physics and technology.

Milder, Peter, Assistant Professor

Digital hardware design, generation, and optimization focusing on signal processing, computer vi-
sion, and related domains; design for FPGA..

Parekh, Jayant P., Professor

Microwave acoustics; microwave magnetics; microwave electronics; microcomputer applications.

Robertazzi, Thomas G., Professor

Computer networking, parallel processing, grid computing, scheduling, performance evaluation and E-
commerce technology.

Salman, Emre, Assistant Professor

Nanoscale integrated circuit design, emerging technologies for future electronic systems, highly
heterogeneous integrated systems, digital and mixed-signal circuits.

Short, Kenneth L., Professor

Digital system design; embedded microprocessor systems; instrumentation.

Shterengas, Leon, Associate Professor

High power and high speed light emitters, carrier dynamics in nanostructures, molecular beam
epitaxy of semiconductor nanostructures.

Stanacevic, Milutin M., Associate Professor

Analog and mixed-signal VLSI circuits and systems, autonomous adaptive microsystems,
real-time source localization and separation, micropower implantable biomedical instrumentation
and telemetry.

Subbarao, Murali,, Professor

Computer vision; image processing.

Suchalkin, Sergey, Assistant Professor

Design and development of optoelectronic devices. Far- and Mid-infrared spectroscopy of solids. Physics of
semiconductors and nanostructures.

Tang, K. Wendy, Associate Professor

Parallel and distributed processing; massively parallel systems; computer architecture, neural networks.

Wang, Xin, Associate Professor

Mobile and ubiquitous computing, wireless networking and systems.

Westerfeld, David, Assistant Professor

Design and characterization of high-performance mid-infrared semiconductor light sources (LEDs
and lasers).

38
Yang, Yuanyuan, Professor, Graduate Program Director
Wireless and mobile networks, cloud computing, data center networks, optical networks, high speed
networks, interconnection networks, multicast communication and parallel and distributed computing
and systems.

Ye, Fan, Assistant Professor

Mobile computing/sensing systems and applications, indoor localization and floor plan reconstruction,
Internet- of-Things and sensor networks.

Zhao, Yue, Assistant Professor

Smart energy systems, renewable energy integration, electricity market, infrastructure security, sensing and signal
processing, optimization theory, information theory, communication networks.

39
 COURSE LISTING
ESE 501 System Specification and Modeling
A comprehensive introduction to the field of System-on-Chip design. Introduces basic concepts of digital
system modeling and simulation methodologies. Various types of hardware description language (HDL) will
be studied, including Verilog, VHDL and System C. Topics include top-down and bottom-up design meth-
odology, specification language syntax and semantics, RTL, behavioral and system-level modeling, and IP
core development. Included are three projects on hardware modeling and simulation. Fall, 3 credits, grading
ABCF.

ESE 502 Linear Systems- CORE COURSE

Development of transfer matrices and state-space equations from the concepts of linearity, time-invariance,
causlity and lumpedness. Op-amp circuit implementations. Solutions and equivalent state equations. companion
and modal forms. Stability and Lyapunov equations. controllability, observability, and their applications in
minimal realization, state feedback and state estimators. Coprime fraction of transfer functions and their designs
in pole-placement and model matching. Both the continuous-time and discrete-time systems will be studied. Fall,
3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 503 Stochastic Systems – CORE COURSE

Basic probability concepts and application. Probabilistic bounds, characteristic functions and multivariate
distributions. Central limit theorem, normal random variables. Stochastic processes in communications, control
and other signal processing systems. Stationarity, ergodicity, correlation functions, spectral densities and
transmission properties. Optimum linear filtering, estimation and prediction. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 504 Performance Evaluation of Communication and Computer Systems

Advanced queuing models and algorithms for communication and computer systems. Mean value analysis
and convolution algorithm. Transient analysis and M/G/1 queue. Models for traffic characterization in
broadband integrated networks. Buffer sizing calculations. Bursty and self-similar traffic. Prerequisite: ESE
503 or permission of instructor. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 505 Wireless Communications

This course covers first year graduate level material in the area of wireless communications: wireless chan-
nels, overview of digital communications and signal processing for wireless communications, voice and data
applications, design basics for wireless modems, analysis of system issues like resource management and
handoff, cellular and wireless LAN systems. Fall and Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 506 Wireless Network

This course will examine the area of wireless and mobile computing, looking at the unique network protocol
challenges and opportunities presented by wireless communications and host or router mobility. The course
will give a brief overview of fundamental concepts in mobile wireless systems and mobile computing, it will
then cover system and standards issues including second generation circuit switches and third generation
packet switched networks, wireless LANs, mobile IP, ad-hoc networks, sensor networks, as well as issues
associated with small handheld portable devices and new applications that can exploit mobility and location
information. This is followed by several topical studies around recent research publications in mobile com-
puting and wireless networking field. This course will make the system architecture and applications acces-
sible to the electrical engineer. Prerequisite: ESE 505 and ESE 546 or ESE 548 or permission of instructor.
Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

40
ESE 507 Advanced Digital System Design & Generation
This course focuses on languages, tools, and abstractions for design and implementation of digital systems.
Course material is divided roughly into three categories: Limitations and constraints on modern digital sys-
tems; Hardware design abstractions, languages, and tools (including the SystemVerilog hardware description
language); and new architectures and paradigms for digital design. Coursework will be primarily project and
assignment based; there will also be reading and discussion of published papers in these areas. Students
should have experience with hardware description languages (VHDL, Verilog, or SystemVerilog,) and soft-
ware (C, C++ or Java). Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 508 Analytical Foundations of Systems Theory

An exposition of the basic analytical tools for graduate study in systems, circuits, control, and signal
processing. Sets and mappings, finite- dimensional linear spaces, metric spaces, Banach spaces, Hilbert
spaces. The theory will be developed and exemplified in the context of systems applications such as
nonlinear circuits, infinite networks, feedback control, signal restoration via projections, and optimal
signal modeling. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 509 Modern Energy Technologies

This course will cover a broad array of technologies that are essential to the modern energy industry,
specifically focusing on the most contemporary topics and “hot” areas of research, development, and
deployment. Students will gain a quantitative understanding of selected energy generation technologies,
energy storage technologies, and pollution control technologies. For each of these topics, we will cover
the physical principle of operation, as well as the economics and environmental impact. Fall, 3 credits,
grading ABCF.

ESE 510 Electronic Circuits – This course is only for students in the
Optoelectromechanical Systems Eng. program
and cannot be used to fulfill any ESE degree
requirement.

This is a course in the design and analysis of analog circuits, both discrete and integrated. The first part
of the course presents basic topics related to circuit analysis: laws, theorems, circuit elements, and
transforms. Fundamental semiconductor devices are introduced next. A number of aspects of circuit
design beginning with basic device operation through the design of large analog functional blocks
including amplifiers, oscillators, and filters are discussed. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 511 Solid-State Electronics – CORE COURSE

A study of the electron and hole processes in solids leading to the analysis and design of solid-state
electronic devices. Solutions to the Schrodinger representation of quantum effects, perturbation
techniques. Simple band structure, effective mass theorem. Derivation and application of the Boltzman
transport theory. Electrical and thermal conductivities of metals and of semiconductors, Hall effect,
thermal effects, and their application to electronic devices. Properties of semiconductors and the
theories underlying the characteristics of semiconductor devices. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 512 Bipolar Junction and Heterojunction Electronic Devices

A study of fundamental properties of homojunction and heterojunction semiconductor devices. Derivation
41
of the characteristic equations for p-n junction diodes, for the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) and for the
heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT); the device parameters for low- and high-frequency operation, the
effects on the device characteristics of fabrication methods and of structural arrangements. The
development of the large-signal and small-signal equivalent circuits for the p-n diode and the BJT and HBT
devices, with emphasis on models used in prevalent computer-aided analysis routines (e.g., SPICE).
Considerations for the devices in integrated-circuit applications. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 513 Introduction to Photovoltaics

Introduction to the basic concepts of photovoltaic solar energy conversion, including: 1. The solar resource
in the context of global energy demand; 2. The operating principles and theoretical limits of photovoltaic
devices; 3. Device fabrication, architecture, and primary challenges and practical limitations for the major
technologies and materials used for photovoltaic devices. Students will gain knowledge of: the device
physics of solar cells, the operating principles of the major commercial photovoltaics, and a basic
understanding of the role of photovoltaics in the context of the global energy system. Pre/co –requisites
ESE 231. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 514 MOS Transistor Modeling

An overview of the metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor and its models for circuit analysis. The
course is modular in structure. In a common first part, CMOS fabrication, device structure and operation are
introduced. Starting from basic concepts of electrostatics, MOS field-effect transistor operation is presented
in an intuitive fashion, and no advanced background in solid-state theory is required. Analytical models of
increasing complexity and their SPICE implementations are discussed. The second part of the course allows
students to focus on their field of preference: Device physics; Digital circuits; Analog circuits. The course
includes a project in one of these subtopics. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 515 Quantum Electronics I

Physics of microwave and optical lasers. Topics include introduction to laser concepts; quantum theory;
classical radiation theory; resonance phenomena in two-level systems: Block equations - Kramers Kronig
relation, density matrix; rate equation and amplification; CO2 lasers; discharge lasers; semiconductor lasers.
Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 516, 517 Integrated Electronic Devices and Circuits I and II

Theory and applications: elements of semiconductor electronics, methods of fabrication, bipolar junction
transistors, FET, MOS transistors, diodes, capacitors and resistors. Design techniques for linear digital
integrated electronic components and circuits. Discussion of computer-aided design. MSI and LSI. Fall,
Spring, 3 credits each semester, grading ABCF.

ESE 518 Advanced Design of Low-Noise and Low-Power Analog Circuits

Design of advanced low-noise and low-power analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for radiation sensors.
Students will learn state-of-the-art circuit techniques for low-noise and low-power amplification and processing
of signals from sensors. Examples of circuits are low-noise amplifiers, filters, peak detectors and discriminators.
Applications range from medical, to security, safety, industrial measurements and physics research. As a course
project, students will develop part of a front-end circuit from transistor level to physical layout using industry-
standard CAD tools, and will participate in the experimental characterization of those or similar circuits. At the
end of the course the student will own a solid background and the basic instruments to design low-noise and low-
power amplifiers and processing circuits. Fall, 3 Credits, grading ABCF.

42
ESE 519 Semiconductor Lasers and Photodectors
The course provides an introduction to performance, testing and fabrication techniques for semiconductor lasers
and photodetectors. The topics include fundamentals of laser and detector operation, devices band diagram,
device characteristics, and testing techniques for analog and digital edge emitting and surface emitting lasers,
avalanche and PIN photodetectors. Special attention is given to the design and working characteristics of
transmitters and pumping lasers for telecommunication networks. Prerequisite: BS in Physical sciences or
Electrical or Computer Engineering. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF

ESE 520 Applied Electromagnetics – CORE COURSE

Wave phenomena and their importance in electromagnetic engineering. Harmonic waves. Phase and
group velocities. Dispersive and nondispersive propagation. Transmission lines. Maxwell Equations.
Uniform plane waves. Poynting theorems, waveguides, resonators. Scattering matrix theory.
Introduction to antenna theory. Electrostatics and magnetostatics as special cases of Maxwell
equations. Prerequisite: Bachelor’s degree in Physical Sciences. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 521 Applied Optics

This course teaches students the fundamental techniques necessary for analyzing and designing op-
tical systems. Topics include matrix methods for ray optics, fundamentals of wave optics, beam
optics, Fourier optics and electromagnetic optics. The latter part of the course will deal with optical
activity in anisotropic media and include polarization and crystal optics, electro-optics and acousto-
optics. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 522 Fiber Optic Systems

This course covers the essential components of a modern optical fiber communication system.
Following a brief review of optical sources and characterization of optical fiber waveguides the
remainder of the course examines the design of digital fiber optic links, single wavelength fiber-optic
networks and wavelength division multiplexing. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 524 Microwave Acoustics

Continuum acoustic field equations. Wave equation, boundary conditions and Poynting vector. Waves
in isotropic elastic media: Plane-wave modes, reflection and refraction phenomena, bulk-acoustic-wave
(BAW) waveguides, surface acoustic waves (SAW's). Plane and guided waves in piezoelectric media.
BAW transduction and applications: delay-line and resonator structures, the Mason equivalent circuit,
monolithic crystal filters, IM CON dispersive delay lines, acoustic microscopes, SAW transduction and
applications: the interdigital transducer, band-pass filters, dispersive filters, convolvers, tapped delay
lines, resonators. Prerequisite: ESE 319. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 525 Modern Sensors

Sensors are devices that convert physical values into electrical signals. This course will provide
practical information on diversified subjects related to the operation principles, design and use of
various sensors. Established and novel sensor technologies as well as problems of interfacing various
sensors with electronics are discussed. Objectives of the course are; Operation principles of sensors.
Practical implementation of the sensors for scientific, industrial and consumer application. Useful and
noise signals generated by sensors. Design of the sensor system. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 526 Silicon Technology for VLSI

43
This course introduces the basic technologies employed to fabricate advanced integrated circuits.
These include epitaxy, diffusion, oxidation, chemical vapor deposition, ion implantation lithography
and etching. The significance of the variation of these steps is discussed with respect to its effect on
device performance. The electrical and the geometric design rules are examined together with the
integration of these fabrication techniques to reveal the relationship between circuit design and the
fabrication process. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 527 Circuit Theory and Applications

Foundations of design procedures for electric circuits. Fundamental concepts, graph theory, network
equations, network functions, state equations, network synthesis, scattering parameters, nonlinear
circuits. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 528 Communication Systems – CORE COURSE

This course provides a general overview of communication theory and addresses fundamental
concepts in this field. After a review of signals and systems representations, various continuous and
digital modulation schemes are analyzed. Spread spectrum systems and their application to multiuser
communications are also addressed. Advanced communication systems are described and general
concepts of wide and local area networks are introduced. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 529 Electrical Network Theory

Linear and nonlinear electrical networks; graph theory; determination of operating points; transient
estimation; interconnection networks; numerical methods; parameter extraction; infinite and transfinite
networks; discrete potential theory; random walks on networks. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 530 Computer-Aided Design

The course presents techniques for analyzing linear and nonlinear dynamic electronic circuits using the
computer. Some of the topics covered include network graph theory, generalized tableau and hybrid
analysis, companion modeling, Newton’s method in n-dimensions, numerical integration, sensitivity
analysis, and optimization. Prerequisite: B.S. in electrical engineering. Spring, 3 credits, grading
ABCF.

ESE 531 Detection & Estimation Theory

Hypothesis testing and parameter estimation. Series representation of random processes. Detection and
estimation of known signals in white and non-white Gaussian noise. Detection of signals with unknown
parameters. Prerequisite: ESE 503 or permission of instructor. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 532 Theory of Digital Communication - CORE COURSE

Optimum receivers, efficient signaling, comparison classes of signal schemes. Channel capacity
theorem, bounds on optimum system performance, encoding for error reduction, and the fading
channel. Source coding and some coding algorithms. Prerequisite: ESE 503 or permission of
instructor. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 533 Convex Optimization and Engineering Applications

Introduction to convex optimization and its applications; Convex sets, function, and basics of
44
convex analysis; Linear and quadratic programs, second-order cone and semidefinite programming,
geometric programming. Duality theory and optimality conditions; Unconstrained minimization
methods; Interior-point methods; Non-differentiable problems; Decomposition methods.
Applications in engineering fields including statistical signal processing, communications,
networking, energy systems, circuit design, and machine learning. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF

ESE 535 Information Theory and Reliable Communications

Measures of information: entropy, relative entropy and mutual information. The asymptotic
equipartition property. Lossless source coding: Kraft inequality and the source coding theorem.
Introduction to error correcting codes. Continuous and waveform channels. Rate-distortion theory.
Prerequisite: ESE 503 or equivalent or permission of instructor. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 536/CSE 626 Switching and Routing in Parallel and Distributed Systems (cross listed)
This course covers various switching and routing issues in parallel and distributed systems.
Topics include message switching techniques, design of interconnection networks, permutation,
multicast and all-to-all routing in various networks, non-blocking and re-arrangeable capability
analysis and performance modeling. Prerequisites: ESE 503 and 545 or CSE 502 and 547, or
permission of the instructor. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 537 Mobile Sensing Systems & Applications

This is a graduate course focusing on recent advances and developments in mobile sensing systems and
their applications, especially those leveraging modern mobile devices and embedded sensors. Topics
include: conventional mote-class sensor networks, participatory sensing leveraging mobile devices,
intelligent hardware and Internet-of-Things, location sensing, future information centric networking,
and applications in smart homes, buildings, transportation, environment and health/fitness. Students
need to read latest literature and write reviews, work on research problems and develop solutions,
present their work and write formal reports. The practice of the basic research skills are major
components. The course intends to be self-sufficient and prior experiences in programming, mobile
devices and embedded systems is a plus. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 538 Nanoelectronics

The major goals and objectives are to provide graduate students with knowledge and understanding of
physical background and applications of nanoelectronics. The course will cover electrical and optical
properties of materials and nanostructures, fabrication of nanostructures, nanoelectronic devices
including resonant-tunneling devices, transistors, and single-electron transfer devices , as well as
applications of nanotechnologies in molecular biology and medicine. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF

ESE 540 Reliability Theory

Theory of reliability engineering. Mathematical and statistical means of evaluating the reliability of
systems of components. Analytical models for systems analysis, lifetime distributions, repairable
systems, warranties, preventive maintenance and inspection. Software reliability and fault tolerant
computer systems. Prerequisite: ESE 503 or permission of instructor. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 541 Digital System Design - This course is only for students in the
Optoelectromechanical Systems Eng. program

45
 and cannot be used to fulfill any ESE degree
requirement.

This course provides an introduction to digital and computer systems. The course follows a top-down approach
to presenting design of computer systems, from the architectural-level to the gate-level. VHDL language is used
to illustrate the discussed issues. Topics include design hierarchy and top-down design, introduction to hardware
description languages, computer-aided design and digital synthesis, basic building blocks like adders,
comparators, multipliers, latches, flip-flops, registers etc., static and dynamic random access memory, data and
control buses, fundamental techniques for combinational circuit analysis and design, sequential circuit design
procedures, and programmable logic devices. Testing of digital designs is addressed throughout the course. A
mini project will complement the course. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 542/MEC 525 Product Design Concept Development and Optimization (cross listed)
This course will concentrate on the design concept development of the product development cycle, from the
creative phase of solution development to preliminary concept evaluation and selection. The course will then
cover methods for mathematical modeling, computer simulation and optimization. The concept development
component of the course will also cover intellectual property and patent issues. The course will not concentrate
on the development of any particular class of products, but the focus will be mainly on mechanical and
electromechanical devices and systems. As part of the course, each participant will select an appropriate project
to practice the application of the material covered in the course and prepare a final report. Prerequisite:
Undergraduate electrical or mechanical engineering and/or science training. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 543 Mobile Cloud Computing

Introduction to the basic concepts of mobile cloud computing, including: 1. The mobile computing technology
used in modern smart phones; 2. The cloud computing technologies used in existing data centers; 3. The synergy
of mobile and cloud computing and its applications; 4. Programming on smart phone utilizing data center
services. Students will gain knowledge of: the fundamental principles, the major technologies that support mobile
cloud computing, the current challenges and primary areas of research within the field, and a basic understanding
of the role of mobile cloud computing in the context of the everyday living. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 544 Network Security Engineering

An introduction to computer network and telecommunication network security engineering. Special emphasis on
building security into hardware working with software. Topics include encryption, public key cryptography,
authentication, intrusion detection, digital rights management, firewalls, trusted computing, encrypted computing,
intruders and virus. Some projects. Prerequisite or co-requisite: ESE 546 OR ESE 548 Fall, alternate years,
grading ABCF

ESE 545 Computer Architecture – CORE COURSE

The course covers uniprocessor and pipelined vector processors. Topics include: hierarchical organization of a
computer system; processor design; control design; memory organization and virtual memory; I/O systems;
balancing subsystem bandwidths; RISC processors; principles of designing pipelined processors; vector
processing on pipelines; examples of pipelined processors. The course involves a system design project using
VHDL. Prerequisite: ESE 218 or equivalent. Spring, 4 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 546 Networking Algorithms and Analysis

An introduction to algorithms and analysis for computer and telecommunication networks. Continuous time and
discete time single queue analysis. Algorithms for public key cryptography, routing, protocol verification,
46
multiple access, error, codes, data compression, search. Prerequisite: ESE 503 or permission of instructor. Fall,
3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 547 Digital Signal Processing

A basic graduate course in Digital Signal Processing. Sampling and reconstruction of Signals. Review of Z-
Transform theory. Signal flow-graphs. Design of FUR and IIR filters. Discrete and fast Fourier transforms.
Introduction to adaptive signal processing. Implementation considerations. Prerequisites: Senior level course in
signals and systems. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 548 Local & Wide Area Networking

Extended coverage of specific network protocols. Protocols covered include IEEE 802 Local area
network protocols, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET),
metropolitan area network protocols, backbone packet switching protocols and transport control
protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), network security, web server design and grid computing.
Prerequisite: ESE 546 or permission of instructor. As needed in industry. 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 549 Advanced VLSI System Testing

This course is designed to acquaint students with fault diagnosis of logic circuits. Both combinatorial
and sequential circuits are considered. Concepts of faults and fault models are presented. Emphasis is
given to test generation, test selection, fault detection, fault location, fault location within a module and
fault correction. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 550 Network Management and Planning

This course provides an introduction to telecommunications and computer network management and
planning. Network management is concerned with the operation of networks while network planning is
concerned with the proper evolution of network installations over time. Network management topics
include meeting service requirements, management operations, management interoperability and
specific architectures such as Telecommunications Management Network (TMS), and Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP). Network planning topics include planning problem modeling,
topological planning design, heuristic and formal solution techniques. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 551 Switching Theory and Sequential Machines

Survey of classical analysis and synthesis of combination and sequential switching circuits, followed by
related topics of current interest such as error diagnosis and fail soft circuits, use of large-scale
integration, logic arrays, automated local design. Prerequisite: ESE 218 or equivalent. Fall, 3 credits,
grading ABCF.

ESE 552 Interconnection Networks

Formation and analysis of interconnect processing elements in parallel computing organization. Topics
include: SIMD/MIMD computers, multiprocessors, multicomputers, density, symmetry, representations,
and routing algorithms. Topologies being discussed include: Benes, Omega, Banyan, mesh, hypercube,
cube-connected cycles, generalized chordal rings, chordal rings, DeBruijn, Moebius graphs, Cayley graphs
and Borel Cayley graphs. Prerequisite: ESE 545 or equivalent. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 553 A/D and D/A Integrated Data Converters

This is an advanced course on analog integrated circuit design aspects for data converters. Topics include:
continuous and discrete-time signals and systems; sampling theorem; ideal A/D and D/A converters;
47
specifications and testing of data converters; basic building blocks in data converters: current sources and mirrors,
differential gain stages, voltage references, S/H circuits, comparators:
Nyquist D/A and A/D converters: principles of data conversion and circuit design techniques; over sampling data
converters: low-pass and band-pass delta-sigma modulators, decimation and interpolation for delta-sigma data
converters. The attending students must be acquainted with principles of transistor operation, function of simple
analysis. Familiarity with SPICE is required. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 554 Computational Models for Computer Engineers – CORE COURSE

This course covers mathematical techniques and models used in the solution of computer engineering
problems. The course heavily emphasizes computer engineering application. Topics covered include
set theory, relations, functions, graph theory and graph algorithms, computational complexity, ordering
relations, lattices, Boolean algebras, combinations and algebraic structures. Fall, 3 credits, grading
ABCF.

ESE 555 Advanced VLSI Circuit Design – CORE COURSE

Techniques of VLSI circuit design in the MOS technology are presented. Topics include MOS
transistor theory, CMOS processing technology, MOS digital circuit analysis and design and various
CMOS circuit design techniques. Digital systems are designed and simulated throughout the course
using an assortment of VLSI design tools. Prerequisite: BS in Electrical Engineering or Computer
Science. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 556 VLSI Physical and Logic Design Automation

Upon completion of this course, the students will be able to develop state-of-the-art CAD tools and
algorithms for VLSI logic and physical design. Tools will address design tasks such as floor plan-
ning, module placement and signal routing. Also, automated optimization of combinational and
sequential circuits will be contemplated. Prerequisite: BS in Computer Engineering/Science or
Electrical Engineering. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 557 Digital Signal Processing II: Advanced Topics

A number of different topics in digital signal processing will be covered, depending on class and
current research interest. Areas to be covered will include the following: parametric signal modeling,
spectral estimation, multirate processing, advanced FFT and convolution algorithms, adaptive signal
processing, multidimensional signal processing for inverse problems. Students will be expected to read
and present current research literature. Prerequisite: ESE 547 or permission of instructor. Spring, 3
credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 558 Digital Image Processing I

Covers digital image fundamentals, mathematical preliminaries of two-dimensional systems, image
transforms, human perception, color basics, sampling and quantization, compression techniques, image
enhancement, image restoration, image reconstruction from projections, and binary image processing.
Prerequisite: BS in engineering or physical or mathematical sciences. Spring. 3 credits, grading
ABCF.

ESE 559 Digital Image Processing II

The course material will proceed directly from DIP-I starting with image reconstruction from projections.
After the basic projection theorems are developed, computerized axial tomography techniques will be

48
examined in detail including forward and inverse random transformations, convolution, back projection and
Fourier reconstruction: nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography will be
similarly covered. Surer resolution concepts will be developed and applied to a variety of remote sensing
applications as well as digital image coding for efficient transmission of digital TV imagery. Prerequisite:
ESE 558. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 560 Optical Information Processing

The course is designed to give the student a firm background of the fundamentals of optical information
processing techniques. It is assumed that the student is familiar with complex algebra and is conversant with
the principles of linear system theory and Fourier transformation. The body of the course is concerned with
the scalar treatment of diffraction and its application to the study of optical imaging techniques and coherent
and incoherent optical processors. Prerequisite: Bachelor's degree in Physical Sciences. Spring, 3 credits,
grading ABCF.

ESE 563 Fundamentals of Robotics I

This course covers: homogenous transformations of coordinates; kinematic and dynamic equations of robots
with their associated solutions; control and programming of robots. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 565 Parallel Processing Architectures

The course provides a comprehensive introduction to parallel processing. Topics include; types of
parallelism, classification of parallel computers; functional organizations, interconnection networks, memory
organizations, control methods, parallel programming, parallel algorithms, performance enhancement
techniques and design examples for SIMD array processors, loosely coupled multiprocessors, tightly
coupled multiprocessors will be discussed; a brief overview of dataflow and reduction machines will also be
given. Prerequisite: ESE 545 or equivalent. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 566 Hardware-Software Co-Design of Embedded Systems

This course will present state-of-the-art concepts and techniques for design of embedded systems consisting
of hardware and software components. Discussed topics include system specification, architectures for
embedded systems performance modeling and evaluation, system synthesis, and validation. The course is
complemented by three mini-projects focused on designing and implementing various co-design methods.
Prerequisite: ESE 545, ESE 554 and ESE 333.
Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 568 Computer and Robot Vision

Principles and applications of computer and robot vision are covered. Primary emphasis is on techniques
and algorithms for three-dimensional machine vision. The topics include image sensing of three-
dimensional scenes, a review of two-dimensional techniques, image segmentation, stereo vision, optical
flow, time-varying image analysis, shape-from-shading, texture, depth-from- defocus matching, object
recognition, shape representation, interpretation of line drawings, and representation and analysis of 3D
range data. The course includes programming projects on industrial applications of robot vision.
Prerequisite: BS in Engineering or Physical or Mathematical Sciences. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 570 Bioelectronics

Origin of bioelectric events; ion transport in cells, membrane potentials; neural action potentials and
muscular activity, cortical and cardiac potentials. Detection and measurement of bioelectric signals;
49
impedance measurements used to detect endocrine activity, perspiration and blood flow; impedance
cardiography, vector cardiography; characteristics of transducers and tissue interface; special
requirements for the amplification of transducer signals. Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 571 – Introduction to Auto ID Technologies

Introductory course is first in a series of Auto ID systems, technologies and applications. The course
covers theory and applications of important data-capture technologies, namely, barcodes, biometrics
and RFID. Topics to be covered include: architecture of data-capture/Auto ID systems, barcodes:
overview of 1-D and 2-D barcodes and other LOS technologies; biometrics: fingerprints, iris-scan,
voice recognition and smart cards; radio frequency identification (RFID): fundamentals, near-field vs.
far-field, UHF read range estimation, reader sensitivity limits, tag singulation and multiple access
protocols, standards, privacy and security issues in RFID, real time location systems (RTLS), and
wireless sensor networks.

ESE 575 Advanced VLSI Signal Processing Architecture

This course is concerned with advanced aspects of VLSI architecture in digital signal processing and
wireless communications. The first phase of the course covers the derivation of both data
transformation and control sequencing from a behavioral description of an algorithm. The next phase
reviews the general purpose and dedicated processor for signal processing algorithms. This course
focuses on low-complexity high-performance algorithm development and evaluation, system
architecture modeling, power-performance tradeoff analysis. The emphasis is on the development of
application-specific VLSI architectures for current and future generation of wireless digital
communication systems. An experimental/research project is required. Prerequisite: ESE 355 or
equivalent. ESE 305 or ESE 337 or equivalent. ESE 306 or ESE 340 or equivalent. ESE 380 or
equivalent. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 580, 581 Microprocessor-Based Systems, Engineering I and II

This course is a study of methodologies and techniques for the engineering design of microprocessor-
based systems. Emphasis is placed on the design of reliable industrial quality systems. Diagnostic
features are included in these designs. Steps in the design cycle are considered. Specifically,
requirement definitions, systematic design implementation, testing, debugging, documentation and
maintenance are covered. Laboratory demonstrations of design techniques are included in this course.
The students also obtain laboratory experience in the use of microprocessors, the development of
systems, circuit emulation and the use of signature and logic analyzers. Fall, Spring, 4 credits, each
semester, grading ABCF.

ESE 585 Nanoscale Integrated Circuit Design

This course describes high performance and low power integrated circuit (IC) design issues for
advanced nanoscale technologies. After a brief review of VLSI design methodologies and current IC
trends, fundamental challenges related to the conventional CMOS technologies are described. The shift
from logic-centric to interconnect-centric design is emphasized. Primary aspects of an interconnect-
centric design flow are described in four phases: (1) general characteristics of on-chip interconnects, (2)
on-chip interconnects for data signals, (3) on-chip power generation and distribution, and (4) on-chip
clock generation and distribution. Existing design challenges faced by IC industry are investigated for
each phase. Tradeoffs among various design criteria such as speed-power-noise-area are highlighted. In
the last phase of the courses, several post-CMOS devices, emerging circuit styles, and architectures are
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briefly discussed. At the end of the course, the students will have a thorough understanding of the
primary circuit and physical level design challenges with application to industrial IC design.
Prerequisite: ESE 555 or ESE 330 and ESE 355. Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 588 Pattern Recognition

Basic concepts of pattern recognition techniques are introduced, including statistical pattern
recognition, syntactic pattern recognition and graph matching. Topics on Bayes decision theory,
parametric and nonparametric techniques, clustering techniques, formal languages, parsing algorithms
and graph matching algorithms are covered. Prerequisite: Stochastic Processes and Data Structures.
Spring, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 591 Industrial Project in OEMS Engineering

Students must carry out a detailed design of an industrial project in Optoelectromechanical Systems
engineering. A comprehensive technical report of the project and an oral presentation are required.
Fall, 3 credits, grading ABCF.

ESE 597 Practicum in Engineering (Internship) Non-Regular Course

This course is for part-time and full-time students who will be on Curricular Practical Training (CPT).
CPT is defined as training that is an integral part of an established curriculum. Participation is in private
corporations, public agencies or non-profit institutions. Students will be required to have a faculty co-
ordinator as well as a contact in the outside organization, to participate with them in regular consulta-
tions on their project and to submit a final report to both. Registration must have the prior approval of
the Graduate Program Director. This course can only be taken once by master‘s students and the credits
must count towards the degree completion. Summer only, variable credit (1-3). Grading, S/U.

ESE 599 Research (for students in the Master’s program) Non-Regular Course
Fall and Spring, variable and repetitive credit, Grading S,U.

ESE 610 Seminar in Solid-State Electronics

Current research in solid-state devices and circuits and computer-aided network design. Fall and
Spring, 3 credits, grading.

ESE 670 Topics in Electrical Sciences

Varying topics selected from current research topics. This course is designed to give the necessary
flexibility to students and faculty to introduce new material into the curriculum before it has attracted
sufficient interest to be made part of the regular course material. Topics include: a) Biomedical Engineering;
b) Circuit Theory; c) Controls; d) Electronics Circuits; e) Digital Systems and Electronics; f) Switching
Theory and Sequential Machines; g) Digital Signal Processing; h) Digital communications; i) Computer
Architecture; j) Networks; k) Systems Theory; l) Solid State Electronics; m) Integrated Electronics; n)
Quantum Electronics and Lasers; o) Communication Theory; p) Wave Propagation; q) Integrated Optics; r)
Optical Communications and Information Processing; s) Instrumentation; t) VLSI Computer Design and
Processing. Fall and Spring, variable and repetitive credit.
ESE 691 Seminar in Electrical Engineering
This course is designed to expose students to the broadest possible range of the current activities in electrical
engineering. Speakers from both on and off campus discuss topics of current interest in electrical
engineering. Fall and Spring, 1 credit, repetitive, grading S,U

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ESE 697 Ph.D. Practicum in Teaching – * 3 credits required for Ph.D. degree - Non-Regular Course
This course provides hands-on experience in classroom teaching. Other activities may include preparation
and supervision of laboratory experiments, exams, homework assignments, and projects.
Final report that summarizes the activities and provides a description of the gained experience and a list of
recommendations is required. 3 credits, grading ABCF.
*Prerequisite: G5 status and Permission of Graduate Program Director. Students must inform the department
TWO weeks prior to the beginning of each semester, if they plan on taking ESE 697. The graduate program
director will then assign you to a course.

ESE 698 Practicum in Teaching Non-Regular Course

This course enables graduate students to gain experience in teaching and interacting with students en-
rolled in an electrical and computer engineering courses. Students enrolled in ESE 698 are expected to
perform various teaching duties required by the course instructor, such as attending lectures, providing
office hours, holding review/recitation sessions, assisting in lab sections, grading, etc. Fall, Spring and
Summer, variable and repetitive, grading ABCF.

ESE 699 Dissertation (Research on Campus) Non-Regular Course

Students should register for this if the major portion of their research will take place on Stony
Brook University campus, Cold Spring Harbor or Brookhaven National Lab.
Fall and Spring, variable and repetitive credit, grading S,U.

ESE 700 Dissertation Research (Off Campus – Domestic) Non-Regular Course

Students should register for this when a major portion of their research will take place off-campus but in the
United States and/or U.S. provinces (please note that Brookhaven National Labs and Cold Spring Harbor are
considered on-campus). All international students who register for ESE 700 must enroll in one of the
graduate student employee insurance plans and should be advised by an International Advisor. Fall and
Spring, variable and repetitive credit, grading S,U.

ESE 701 Dissertation Research (Off Campus – INTERNATIONAL) Non-Regular Course

Students should register for this when a major portion of their research will take place outside of the United
States and/or U.S. provinces. In these cases, domestic students have the option of the health plan and may
also enroll in MEDEX. Fall and Spring, variable and repetitive credit, grading S,U.

International students should note the following:

 International students who are in their home country are NOT covered by the mandatory health plan
and must contact the Insurance Office for the insurance charge to be removed.

 International students who are not in their home country ARE charged for the mandatory health
insurance. If they are to be covered by another insurance plan, they must file a waiver by the
second week of classes. The charge will only be removed if the other plan is deemed
comparable.

 All international students must receive clearance from an International Advisor.

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ESE 800 Full-Time Summer Research
0 Credits, S/U grading

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OUTSIDE OF DEPARTMENT: COURSE LISTING
Please Note: The following are courses from outside of the ECE department that may be used by
Computer Engineering majors (as stated by guidelines) toward achieving their degree.

CSE 504 Compiler Design

Advanced topics in compilation, including memory management, dataflow analysis, code optimization, just-
in-time compilation, and selected topics from compilation of object-oriented and declarative languages. Pre-
requisite: CSE 304 and CSE 307. Spring, 3 credits.

CSE 506 Operating Systems

This course is an in-depth study of important concepts and techniques found in modern computer operating
systems. An undergraduate course in operating systems is a prerequisite. The course focuses on in-depth
study of such important issues as virtual memory, filesystems, networking, and multiprocessor support, with
an eye to recent directions in these areas. Textbook readings are supplemented, where appropriate, by papers
from the research literature. An important part of the course is the case study of an actual operating system.
Students study the source code for this operating system, and do programming exercises and projects that
involve modifying the operating system and measuring its performance. Prerequisite: CSE 306. Spring, 3
credits.

CSE 526 Principles of Programming Languages

Programming language concepts and design, with emphasis on abstraction mechanisms. Topics include: lan-
guage paradigms (procedural, object-oriented, functional and logic), language concepts (values, bindings,
types, modules), and foundations (lambda calculus, denotational semantics). Examples will be drawn from
several representative languages, such as C, Java, Standard ML and Prolog. Prerequisite: CSE 307. Spring, 3
credits.

CSE 533 Network Programming

Socket and client-server programming, remote procedure calls, data compression standards and techniques,
real-time protocols (e.g: audio chat, etc,) security and cryptography (specifically, application layer security
issues (e.g., authentication), web-related programming (CGI, Java/Java Script, HTTP, etc.,) network man-
agement (SNMP-based management, dynamic/CORBA-based management). Prerequisite: CSE 306 and CSE
310. Fall and Spring, 3 credits.

CSE 548/AMS542 Analysis of Algorithms

Techniques for designing efficient algorithms, including choice of data structures, recursion, branch and
bound, divide and conquer, and dynamic programming. Complexity analysis of searching, sorting, ma-
trix multiplication, and graph algorithms. Standard NP-complete problems and polynomial transfor-
mation techniques. Prerequisite: CSE 373. Fall, 3 credits.

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