1 Chapter Two Electrical & Computer Engineering Specialization

2 Power  Design and building of power distribution systems.  Electrical eng. are involved in helping to supervise the construction of power plants.  Electrical eng. are involved in designing the network of transmission lines used to deliver power to customers, while wiring inside homes and businesses is performed by licensed electricians.  Electrical eng. Work on the development and implementation of alternative power sources ( solar cells, wind turbines)

3 Electronics  Design a wide variety of devices.  Large manufacturing companies require Electrical eng. to help design one-of-a-kind electronic circuits to efficiently manufacture their product.  Electronics eng. have detailed knowledge about what devices are available and how to combine them into a useful circuit.  Electronics eng. work closely with manufacturing eng. in designing a product that does intended job, manufactured easily and has reasonable cost.  Electronics eng. often use computer – based software to help in the design like PSPICE.

4 Computers  Computer eng. Are concerned with the design of computer hardware, the circuitry that enables a computer to perform its required tasks.  Computer eng. are responsible for designing the networks through which computers communicate with each other.  Computer eng. are employed in many different settings. All electronic systems today involve some level of computer control (e.g automobiles)  Computer eng. work in teams with computer scientists and Electrical eng.

5 Wireless Communication  Electrical Eng. have helped design the communication infrastructure of the world by designing telephones, switching systems and telecommunication network.  Due to development of wireless communication systems. Computers can now be networked without being connected to a telephone line.  Engineers are needed to design the cell phones (design small antennas). They work closely with specialists in ergonomics to make sure that the design of the phone does not put undue stress on the user ’ s body.

6 Wireless Communication  Engineers design the sending and receiving equipment used to disseminate the cell phone signals.  Computer eng. design computer controls for the sophisticated switching networks required to run a cell phone system.

7 Microelectronics and integrated circuits  Microelectronics focuses on the design of extremely small electronic devices and their interconnection to form useful devices.  Some microelectronics engineers focus on the special design requirements when circuit elements are shrunk to very small dimensions.  Other microelectronics engineers Work on the process required to successfully fabricate an IC. (Intersection of electrical Eng. and chemical Eng).  Electronics eng. Work closely with chemical, manufacturing eng. and production technicians.

8 Control Systems  Modern control systems are very sophisticated and found on numerous devices.  Electrical eng. design control systems to ensure that complex devices operate efficiently and safely.  Most control system have a computerized control module, so Computer eng. Will be involved.  Control systems engineering has been revolutionized by the introduction of “ fuzzy ” controllers.

9 Electromagnetics  Electrical eng. have harnessed Electromagnetic phenomena to build useful devices.  Electromagnetic refers to the propagation of information by time-varying electric and magnetic field.  Electrical eng. Working in EM design antennas, radars, microwave communication systems (satellites).  They work with electronics eng. to ensure that the antenna used for radio signals interface correctly with sending and receiving electronics  They also work with wireless communication experts to help design most efficient antenna for cell phone applications.

10 Signal Processing The tasks of signal processing include:  Finding ways to pull meaningful signals out of the noise.  Developing methods for converting analog information into its digital equivalent.  Compressing information (using special algorithms to reduce data to a more manageable size and to later reconstruct the original data)  Signal processing is important in medical application (develop efficient means for processing and utilizing this information)

11 Image processing Image processing involves:  Taking very large amounts of information (image) and making that information useful through developing methods to enhance the contrast in an image to bring out information, or altering the color to make it easier to detect important information.  Compressing the data for more efficient storage of large files.  Making medical diagnostic equipment.  Taking and processing electronic images in astronomy to collect information  Automotive industry image processing can be used to understand the combustion processe taking place in an engine (tune engine).  Creation of special effects in movies.

12 Biomedical Biomedical engineering involves:  Engineering of new medical diagnostic and treatment tools and new processes for delivering therapy to patients  MRI (magnetic resonance imaging ) used to help diagnose a variety of diseases.  Design of new electronic equipment, much of it computer based, which allows physicians to do their job better, which requires also the skills of electrical, mechanical and chemical engineers.

13Optoelectronics  Optoelectronic experts have worked to Develop optical sensors and optical emitters, including laser.  Optoelectronic components are incorporated into CD & DVD players and laser printers.  The development of optical fiber technology has allowed telephone conversations and data communication to be carried over optical cables, optical systems are faster and are able to carry more information.  Optoelectronic experts are attempting to change the way computers work (converting from flow of electrons in electronics circuits to flow of photons).

14 Plasmas  Plasma: the fourth state of matter.  Plasma is a collection of electrons, ions, and neutral atoms or molecules in gaseous form, most of the matter in space is in the form at plasma.  Many homes and businesses contain plasma-based devices (florescent light bulbs, neon signs, in microelectronics and IC industry, it is used to itch transistor patterns into silicon to form IC.

15 Robotics  Important technology in industry to perform repetitive tasks quickly and accurately (automobile assembly lines, IC fabrication, food processing plants).  Robots require very sophisticated control systems and are generally computer controlled.  Autonomous robot (no external computer or power supply ) require communication systems between the operator and the robot, this would require the work of many specialties of electrical engineering