Courses
The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.
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ENG EC 440: Introduction to Operating Systems
Operating system concepts and design objectives. Concurrent processes, process synchronization, and deadlocks. Resource management including virtual memory, CPU scheduling, and secondary storage. File structures, input/output, and distributed systems. Case studies of popular operating systems. -
ENG EC 441: Introduction to Computer Networking
Computer networks, focusing on the Internet. Application protocols (Web, E- mail), basics of socket programming, major Internet protocols (TCP and IP), fundamental aspects of routing and reliable data transfer over networks, medium access protocols, wired and wireless Local Area Networks (LANs) technologies. Hands-on laboratory modules on client-server programming, Internet experiments, and protocol implementation. Includes lab. -
ENG EC 444: Smart and Connected Systems
Hands-on introductory course to cyber-physical and IoT systems. Microcontrollers: integrated development environments (ISEs), architecture, and I/O interfaces. Hardware interfacing of systems: formal design and specifications, real-time OS, programming, and control. IoT systems: smart phones, wireless personal area networks (WPANs), IP gateways, mobile cloud computing, reliability, security, and privacy. Course culminates with a team project. -
ENG EC 447: Software Design
Object-oriented software design for desktop applications with a graphical user interface. C# and Microsoft .NET programming assignments. Provides a solid foundation in modern programming for engineering and other applications. -
ENG EC 450: Microprocessors
This course focuses on the interface between the digital world and the physical world. Hardware and software design methodology for embedded microcomputers. Open laboratory and projects and considerable hands-on work. Architecture, hardware, I/O, interrupts, memory organization and decoding. Uses the TI MSP430 family microcontrollers. Peripheral devices including general digital I/O, timers, analog to digital converters, and synchronous serial interfaces SPI and I2C. The course stresses the dependency of hardware and software design on project identification, rationale, and goals. Includes lab. -
ENG EC 451: Directed Study
Student may, under the supervision of a faculty member, undertake individual study of a subject relevant to electrical, computer, and systems engineering, if the subject is not covered in a regularly scheduled course. Tangible evidence of achievement must be submitted at the end of the semester. -
ENG EC 455: Electromagnetic Systems I
Time varying electric and magnetic fields. Maxwell equations. Electromagnetic waves. Propagation, reflection, and transmission. Remote sensing applications. Radio frequency coaxial cables, microwave waveguides, and optical fibers. Microwave sources and resonators. Antennas and radiation. Radio links, radar, and wireless communication systems. Electromagnetic effects in high-speed digital systems. Includes lab. -
ENG EC 456: Electromagnetic Systems II
Electric field, energy, and force. Lorenz force. Dielectric materials. Steady electric currents. Magnetic field, energy, and force. Magnetic materials. Applications of electrostatics, magnetostatics, and electrodynamics. Electromagnetic waves in dielectric and conducting materials. Solution techniques for electromagnetic fields and waves. -
ENG EC 463: Senior Design Project I
Development of the technical, communication, personal, and team skills needed for successful design in electrical and computer engineering. Specifications and standards, information collection, design strategies, modeling, computer- aided design, optimization, system design, failure and reliability, human factors. Oral and written communication of technical information. Team dynamics and ethical issues in design. Design project for a small-scale electrical or computer system. Preparation of detailed proposals for senior design projects in the following semester. Includes lab. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Writing-Intensive Course, Research and Information Literacy. -
ENG EC 464: Senior Design Project II
Continuation of a team project in an area of electrical and computer engineering, as proposed in EC 463. Application of technical, communication, personal, and team skills. Oral and written communication of technical information, including progress reports, technical memos, final report, and oral presentations. Includes lab. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course. -
ENG EC 467: Senior Honors Thesis
Well-prepared students may choose to do a formal senior thesis under the direct guidance of a departmental faculty member. Students selecting this option must obtain petitioned approval before the beginning of the semester of thesis registration. -
ENG EC 470: Sensors in Space
This course provides a practical introduction to the development, integration, and deployment of instrumentation on spacecraft platforms. Students are introduced to the physical concepts and practical designs of sensors that measure particles, magnetic fields, and electric fields over a range of energies and frequencies. Particular attention is given to special constraints presented by the space environment. In addition to established designs, the course will also cover new and emerging sensor technologies. The course includes a lab component in which students will learn about small satellite development through design and implementation of a high-altitude balloon ("balloon-sat") experiment. -
ENG EC 471: Physics of Semiconductor Devices
This course addresses the theory of semiconductors and semiconductor electronic devices. The section on the theory of semiconductor includes their crystal structure, energy bands, and carrier concentration in thermal equilibrium as well as carrier transport phenomena (drift, diffusion, generation and recombination, tunneling, high field effects, and thermionic emission). The section on electronic devices addresses the theory of p-n junctions and heterojunctions, of Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT), Thyristors, Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) Capacitors and MOS Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs). -
ENG EC 500: Special Topics in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Specific prerequisites vary according to topic. Coverage of a specific topic in electrical, computer, or systems engineering. Subject varies from year to year and is generally from an area of current or emerging research. -
ENG EC 501: Dynamic System Theory
Introduction to analytical concepts and examples of dynamic systems and control. Mathematical description and state space formation of dynamic systems; modeling, controllability, and observability. Eigenvector and transform analysis of linear systems including canonical forms. Performance specifications. State feedback: pole placement and the linear quadratic regulator. Introduction to MIMO design and system identification using computer tools and laboratory experiments. Same as ENG ME 501 and ENG SE 501. Students may not receive credit for both. -
ENG EC 503: Introduction to Learning from Data
This is an introductory course in statistical learning covering the basic theory, algorithms, and applications. This course will focus on the following major classes of supervised and unsupervised learning problems: classification, regression, density estimation, clustering, and dimensionality reduction. Generative and discriminative data models and associated learning algorithms of parametric and non-parametric varieties will be studied within both frequentist and Bayesian settings in a unified way. A variety of contemporary applications will be explored through homework assignments and a project. -
ENG EC 504: Advanced Data Structures
Review of basic data structures and Java syntax. Data abstraction and object-oriented design in the context of high-level languages and databases. Design implementation from the perspective of data structure efficiency and distributed control. Tailoring priority queues, balanced search trees, and graph algorithms to real-world problems, such as network routing, database management, and transaction processing. -
ENG EC 505: Stochastic Processes
Introduction to discrete and continuous-time random processes. Correlation and power spectral density functions. Linear systems driven by random processes. Optimum detection and estimation. Bayesian, Weiner, and Kalman filtering. -
ENG EC 508: Wireless Communication
Fundamentals of wireless communication from a physical layer perspective. Multipath signal propagation and fading channel models. Design of constellations to exploit time, frequency, and spatial diversity. Reliable communication and single-user capacity. Interference management, multiple-access protocols, and multi-user capacity. Cellular uplink and downlink. Multiple-antenna systems and architectures. Connections to modern wireless systems and standards. -
ENG EC 511: Software Systems Design
Concept of software product life cycle. Various forms of a software product from requirements definition through operation and maintenance. Life cycle models and the activities performed in each phase. Role of rapid prototyping in requirements analysis and design. Design concepts and design strategies. Comparative evaluation of requirements definition and design methods. Analysis and design validation. Small-team projects involving architectural design and software specification.
