Letter from the Department Head
Welcome to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities. The first course in electrical engineering at the University of Minnesota was offered in 1887. We have since grown to be one of the leading international programs in electrical and computer engineering education and research. Our distinguished faculty work closely with a diverse group of students who chose to come here to study from throughout Minnesota, the nation, and the world.
The department's mission is to provide an outstanding education in electrical and computer engineering, to maintain international preeminence in the creation and dissemination of knowledge, and to serve both the public and private sectors through the collective experience and expertise of its faculty and students. The department is one of the core engineering programs within the Institute of Technology, which is the University of Minnesota's college of engineering, physical sciences, and mathematics. The unique combination of academic departments and research centers housed within IT, combined with the resources of a large, comprehensive university, provides unparalleled opportunities for cross-disciplinary research and education.
The university is conveniently located in the heart of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. This area is a thriving center of high technology with numerous large and small firms specializing in electronics, computers, telecommunications, magnetic storage, and biomedical devices. Minnesota and the Twin Cities area also provide a wealth of cultural and recreational activities to complement the department's research and educational opportunities.
Graduates of the college, and the ECE department in particular, have long been deeply involved in entrepreneurial activities. A recent survey of IT graduates found more than 4,000 alumni-founded companies that are active today. Worldwide, companies founded by IT alumni currently employ more than half a million people and generate $90 billion in annual revenue. These companies span many fields, including communications, software, electronics, and biotechnology. Students and faculty from the ECE department have served as key sources of scientific and engineering talent, expertise, and innovative ideas for these and many other companies.
The ECE department is housed in a first-class facility with outstanding laboratory, classroom, and office spaces. The building also is home to the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. This proximity has encouraged very close cooperation between the two departments in educational and research activities providing unique opportunities for both students and faculty. The Nanofabrication Center (NFC), which is one of the most sophisticated academic semiconductor and microelectronic research and teaching facilities in the nation, also is located in the building.
With 45 professors, over 700 undergraduate students, and over 400 graduate students, the Department offers a stimulating environment for scholarly work. Our research activities span all areas of electrical and computer engineering, including signal and image processing, communication systems and information theory, VLSI, systems and controls, digital systems and computer architecture, microelectronics, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), nano-electronics, optics and opto-electronics, magnetic storage technology and systems, energy systems and power electronics, and biomedical applications.
The department has a long history of integrating research with teaching, providing extraordinary opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students to become involved with leading-edge research. ECE faculty and students conduct research not only within the department, but also in collaboration with numerous university research centers, including the Army High Performance Computing Research Center, the Characterization Facility, the Digital Technology Center, the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications, the Nanofabrication Center, the Multi-Axial Subassemblage Testing (MAST) System, the Supercomputing Institute, the Center for Transportation Studies, and the Center for Development of Technological Leadership.
Please contact us if you would like more information about studying in our department or if you need help locating a faculty member with a particular expertise. We look forward to hearing from you.
David J. Lilja
Professor and Department Head