2008–2009 - Florida Institute of Technology

Susan K. Earles, Ph.D., semiconductor modeling, processing and
fabrication, microelectronics, solid-state device physics.
Ivica Kostanic, Ph.D., telecommunications, wireless telecommunications.
Brian A. Lail, Ph.D., antenna-coupled sensors, computational and applied
electromagnetics, EMI, EMC.
Professors Emeriti
Charles D. Beach, Ph.D.; Rufus H. Cofer, Ph.D.;
Raghvendra Deshmukh, Ph.D., P.E.; Andrew W. Revay Jr., Ph.D.;
Thomas J. Sanders, Ph.D.; M. Mehdi Shahsavari, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professors
T. Crandell, Ph.D.; B.A. Myers, Ph.D.; R. Vanderbilt, Ph.D.
Student Coordinator
Cheryl Mitravich
Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering is to prepare students to become successful professionals
in a dynamic global environment. By fostering a desire
for lifelong learning through a broad-based interdisciplinary core
education, both electrical and computer engineering programs
provide opportunities for undergraduate research that reflects
the expanding world around us, and gives students the tools to
advance the state-of-the-art in a chosen specialization area.
unDergrADuATe Degree ProgrAmS
Bachelor of Science
Computer Engineering _______________________
The goal of the computer engineering program is to provide the
student with a total learning experience. The program is designed
to expose the entire spectrum of computer engineering concepts
from the basic building blocks of transistors and gates, through
the progression of embedded controllers, computer architectures
and high-performance digital signal processors. Students develop
an extensive knowledge of hardware, along with a strong education
in programming techniques to provide them with a complete
understanding of computer systems. In the senior year, they
design, build and test computer systems as part of their senior
design course.
The educational objectives for computer engineering are to create
in our students the passion for engineering that will allow them
to understand and correct the increasingly diverse problems
facing modern society; to graduate quality engineers who are
forward-thinking and equipped with the leadership skills needed
to make tomorrow’s world a better place through their desire for
lifelong learning; to provide our students with the broad-based
interdisciplinary education that will allow them to excel in the
global marketplace; to give our undergraduates opportunities for
hands-on research that not only advances the state-of-the-art in
their field but also allows them in-depth study of specialization
areas that lead the growing knowledge base in the profession;
and to ingrain in our students the desire to better serve society’s
needs, to search for better ways to solve the world’s problems,
and to give them the tools to raise the standards of engineering
worldwide.
A major component of the computer engineering program at
Florida Tech involves hands-on learning. The computer engineering
student begins taking computer engineering courses during
the freshman year. The freshman-level courses include programming
and interfacing an embedded microcontroller. Laboratory
experience is integrated into most of our classes. In the junior
year students are introduced to interfacing with a high-performance
digital signal processor.
In computer engineering, a strong focus is on the mastery principle.
It is assured that computer engineering students not only
know the material critical to engineering, but also can demonstrate
mastery of the material, which is the goal of everyone in
the program.
During the freshman and sophomore years, students learn the
basics of computer engineering along with college-level mathematics
and physics. In addition, courses in computer design
with hands-on laboratory experience are taken both terms of the
freshman year. In these courses, students program and create an
interface to an embedded microcontroller.
Throughout the sophomore and junior years, students learn basic
analytical techniques of the engineer—ways in which the engineer
views physical situations and uses mathematical techniques
to design basic subsystems. Many of the courses taken by students
at this level offer integrated laboratory experiences. In this
way, students can visualize the practical aspects of the various
theories they encounter.
During the senior year, students continue to build their knowledge
base to develop a system approach to engineering design.
Through electives that emphasize applications using digital signal
processors, students may explore various topics within computer
engineering for which they have developed specific interests.
Degree Requirements
Candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering
must complete the minimum course requirements as outlined
in the following full-time curriculum. Deviations from the
recommended program may be made only with the approval of
the student’s adviser and concurrence of the department head,
in accordance with the Accreditation Board for Engineering
and Technology (ABET) criteria. Students may complete these
requirements on a part-time basis.
Proficiency in certain key areas is of primary importance to
success as computer engineers. For this reason, a student who
receives a grade of D in any of the following courses is strongly
urged to repeat the course to attain a grade of at least C:
ECE 2111, ECE 2112, ECE 3111; MTH 1001, MTH 1002,
MTH 2001, MTH 2201; PHY 1001, PHY 2002, PHY 2003.
Students must successfully complete a minimum of 90 percent
of all the courses listed below under the freshman and sophomore
years before they will be allowed to register for upper-level
(3000/4000) courses.
Students who have completed 24 credit hours and have not
passed COM 1101 will register for this course in the next available
semester. Students who have completed 48 credit hours and
have not passed COM 1102 will register for this course in the
next available semester.
The engineering science elective is limited to courses that
help develop an appreciation of other branches of engineering.
Courses that are acceptable as humanities/social sciences electives
are identified as such in the Course Descriptions section of
Degree Programs—College of Engineering 71