Electrical Engineering

Electrical engineering is a new program at Miami and will be offered in the School of Engineering and Applied Science starting fall 2003.

Electrical engineering encompasses analysis, design, synthesis, and maintenance of products, services, and systems that touch nearly every aspect of our daily lives.

Electrical engineers need to understand and apply mathematics, science, and engineering science to research concepts and modeling methods. They design products or systems for optimum function and performance. They implement the design using efficient and cost-effective means. They simulate and test working conditions and their impact on systems. And they synthesize elements in order to obtain the optimum design of a specific product.

The electrical engineer of the 21st century must be able to think critically in broad contexts because problems in contemporary society are not only technical but also social and economic in nature. To provide a broad education, this program provides an in-depth electrical engineering education with courses in the liberal arts, sciences, mathematics, computer science and engineering, economics, and written and oral communication skills. The program also provides the student with many opportunities to work in teams to solve engineering and design problems.

Distinctive Features at Miami

Miami is the only Ohio public university offering an electrical engineering program where the focus is on undergraduate education.

Students have the opportunity to double-major in computer engineering and electrical engineering with one semester of additional course work.

Our strongly student-oriented faculty are involved in research and have directed award-winning electrical engineering-related student projects including

• Undergraduate Summer Scholars award for Neural Network
• Development for Space Weather Forecasting
• Undergraduate Research Award for Incoherent Radar Studies of the Earth’s Upper Atmosphere
• Robotics International Team One Gold Award for Self Controlled Robots

Your Program of Study

The new electrical engineering program emphasizes a solid engineering background education as well as exposure to current technology and applications and mastering of problem-solving skills. Courses include:

Science, engineering science, and mathematics courses are fundamental to electrical engineering. Physics, chemistry, engineering mechanics, thermodynamics, and mathematics and statistics courses help to prepare students for in-depth study of electrical engineering subjects.

Electrical engineering courses give students in-depth study in the analysis methods, design approaches, state-of-art technology, and current understanding of various fields within the electrical engineering discipline. Areas of study include electric circuits, computer-aided experimentations, electronics, digital systems design, signals and systems, communications systems, control systems, and digital signal processing.

Computer science and engineering courses help students learn modern computing technologies to assist electrical engineering problem solving. Computers and computer networks are important tools for all branches of modern electrical engineering disciplines. Students will study contemporary programming languages and software engineering methodologies, data structures, and computer networks and data communications courses.

Senior capstone course is a yearlong experience in which seniors select and complete a project under the mentorship of a faculty member. Students work in teams, select and define an electrical engineering problem, conduct research, design and implement a method, model, approach, or a product, evaluate the solutions, and present the work.

Past capstone projects with a significant electrical engineering component include

• Designing a remote control system for operating household appliances by a physically disabled person
• Integrating an automatic storage and retrieval system in a flexible manufacturing cell
• Controlling an automated guided vehicle over the internet

Laboratories and Computing Facilities

The electrical engineering program will use laboratory facilities in the Department of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Computer Science and Systems Analysis.

These facilities will provide student laboratory experience in electric circuits, analog and digital electronics, traditional and computer-based instruments, control systems, real-time and simulated experimentations, computer programming, robotics, and computer-integrated virtual manufacturing.

Student Organizations

Miami offers a wealth of student professional and honorary organizations. Student chapters of national technical societies exist for all of our majors. Participating in these organizations allow students to develop leadership skills, interact with professionals in their field, and take part in educational activities that have significance beyond the campus.

These include the following:

• Society of Manufacturing Engineers
• Society of Plastics Engineers
• Society of Women Engineers
• Student National Technical Association
• Women in Math, Science, and Engineering

Work Experience

Students can participate in our co-op and summer internship programs. These programs allow students to gain practical work experience in areas related to electrical engineering or have applications of electrical engineering.

Co-op students alternate periods of school with periods of employment and typically complete the degree in five years.

Interns have a single work assignment and usually complete the degree in four years.

Students can also participate in research projects sponsored by faculty or work as laboratory assistants for the department. The research projects give students more in-depth academic experience and help them preparing for graduate studies. Laboratory assistance allows students to gain more hand-on experiences and trouble-shooting skills.

After You Graduate

Graduates will have the opportunity to work in a variety of professional fields. They vary from research to design, from development to manufacturing, from production to service. Electrical engineers may also choose to combine their technical education with other responsibilities to work in many other fields such as management, business, law, medicine, and politics.

The demand for graduates in electrical engineering is expected to grow by 26 percent over the next six years, second in the growth of engineering positions only to computer engineers.

Graduates will also be prepared to continue their education at the graduate level in electrical engineering and allied fields such as biomedical engineering, computer science, and aerospace engineering.

For More Information

For general information about Miami University, please contact:

Office of Admission
301 S. Campus Ave.
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056-3434
513-529-2531 (v/t)
www.muohio.edu/requestinfo

For specific information on the Electrical Engineering major, please contact:

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
260 Engineering Building
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-0740
www.eas.muohio.edu/ece