Vision:

Long term: To be in the top quartile of Electrical and Computer Engineering programs in the nation, both in teaching and research.

Short Term: To continue as a recognized center of excellence in electrical and computer engineering within the southern region and to develop further our nationally competitive research programs in selected areas.

Mission:

• To educate students so that upon graduation they will be able to pursue a productive career.
• To provide BS graduates background necessary for advanced study at LSU or elsewhere.
• To provide MS graduates with technical depth in one or more areas of specialization so that they can compete successfully in the marketplace.
• To provide Ph.D. graduates with an ability to do original and significant research in a chosen area of specialization.

Goals

Goals for the department

• Maintain recognition as the best undergraduate and graduate program within the state and one of the best in the southeastern region
• Maintain regional recognition as a nationally competitive program in automatic control, computer engineering, electronics, electric power, multimedia signal processing and telecommunications.
• Be nationally recognized as a competitive program in the top quartile in quality teaching and research in selected areas of electrical and computer engineering.

Goals for the undergraduate program

• Attract the best students available, especially from the state and the region.
• Reach student to faculty ratio of 15:1 or better.
• Continue to maintain up-to-date undergraduate teaching laboratory facilities.
• Continue to provide our students with a quality design and laboratory experience.
• Hire two full time technicians/engineers to help maintain the teaching and research labs and help with capstone design projects.
• Offer a BS degree in Computer Engineering and to expand offerings in the area to match the expanding knowledge base in computer engineering.
• Rebuild the electric power program to serve the state economy and needs of our students.

Goals for the graduate program

• Increase the number of doctoral students to an average of three per graduate faculty.
• Increase the stipend for doctoral students to the expected NSF level of $25,000 per year.
• Create more space for graduate student offices.
• Increase the number of TA and RA positions.

Goals for research activity

• Increase departmental research activities in areas that contribute to the economic development of the state.
• Increase the level of sponsored research to achieve annual external funding of at least $100,000 per FTE research faculty member by 2005.
• Spearhead the college thrust in the area of micro and nano-fabrication.
• Develop the following departmental thrust areas of education, research and scholarship that are important to the industry and economy of the region:
  • Information technology: a1) communications, a2) networking, a3) digital media processing,
  • Advanced computing systems, and
  • Micro- and nano-system technology including micro- and nano-materials technology.

Objectives

(The bold notations indicate the goals to which objectives primarily apply:

D=department, U=undergraduate program, G=graduate program, R=research activity)

State Funded Budget

1. Add eight FTE TA positions to cover the shortage for laboratory instruction and grading to permit a better utilization of faculty time in developing new laboratory experiments rather than teaching lab sections and grading. (U,G)
2. Increase the departmental equipment budget to $150,000 per year (from current $30,000 per year including matching funds for upgrading or replacement of our multiprocessor server) to allow maintenance and purchase of critical parts for aging equipment in a regular fashion. (U,G,R)
3. Increase travel fund by $20,000 to partially support faculty and student travel to major conferences and meetings and to support guest lectures in the department. (G)
4. Increase the support budget (personnel, supplies, operating, computer software, etc.) by $150,000. (D)

Space

1. Increase lab space by 15,000 sq. ft. (We have almost no lab space in the critical areas of computer engineering and communication.) (U,R)
2. Provide at least a desk for every graduate student doing a thesis. (G)
3. Obtain 22 more faculty offices. (We have no more office space for any new faculty member.) (D)

Laboratory

1. Perform deferred maintenance needed in all labs and offices. (D)
2. Establish a major research/education lab in telecommunication and computer networking. This lab will provide the infrastructure for teaching, research, prototyping and development in the areas of wireless communication, cyber-security, high-speed computer networking, and so on. $500,000. (U,G,R)
3. Set up an undergraduate control systems laboratory to provide students with a tangible design experience. $100,000. (U)
4. Develop an Electronic Design Automation (EDA) lab. $100,000. (U,G,R)
5. Hire 2 full time laboratory technicians or RAs for the new laboratories. (U)
6. Start an interdisciplinary teaching/research laboratory in the microfabrication area either within the college or at CAMD but spearheaded by the ECE Department. Equipment should be funded by the college and/or by the university for this interdisciplinary effort. At least two full time research associates will be needed to run the equipment. College and CAMD could provide the research personnel funds. $1.5 million (U,G,R)
7. Improve the research equipment base in EMDL by at least $500,000. (R)

Faculty: Add 22 faculty positions (excluding the five currently vacant positions in the department we are hiring now.) (D,U,G,R))

Power Engineering: The electric power industry is one of the major industries in Louisiana, and consequently LSU should serve the needs of this industry through education and research. Currently we have only two faculty members in the area of drives and harmonics. We need faculty to offer courses on power generation & control, power transmission, power systems dynamics, protection, faulted system analysis, system reliability, and electric power dispatch, which are essential for the education of electrical engineers for power industries.

1. Add 3 positions to revitalize education and research in electric power.

Automatic Control: This area has a clear potential for impact in the economic development of the state. The extensive process and service industry can benefit by advances in such areas as fault tolerant and intelligent control and by the development of control over communication networks.

1. Add at least 1 more faculty with experience in areas such as fault tolerant control, process control, and control over networks.

Digital Media Processing: This area deals with the transformation of data (signals, images, video, etc.) to extract or better transmit information. It is widely recognized as having a large potential for spurring economic development through low-capital-high-technology entrepreneurial activity. Moreover, it should serve as a nexus for collaborative activity with content creators and telecommunications specialists.

• The digital media processing faculty must have expertise in implementation issues, embedded systems, and digital signal processors.
• They must have expertise in specialized techniques and standards for signal, image and video transmission.
• They have to develop collaborations with creative artists and advance the field of immersive environments.

1. Hire at least 3 faculty members in the area of digital signal processing, video coding, voice over IP, video over IP.

Information Technology: Information technologies have spurred much of the entrepreneurial activity in the last decade and remain a dynamic engine for economic growth. Developing strength in key areas of information technology such as wireless communication networks, broadband networks, electronics, the Internet, etc. will enable the department to have a significant impact in promoting economic growth in the state and the region.

1. Hire 4 new faculty members in networking related areas such as cyber-security, digital rights management, network protocols, optical networks, traffic engineering, internetworking, etc., to develop networking as a major thrust area of instruction, research and scholarship. This area has become extremely important in both wireline and wireless networks. It is preferable to hire a coherent group with strong potential for collaboration among themselves and with the rest of the faculty in related fields.
2. RF engineering. Hire at least 2 new faculty with expertise in RF, wireless circuit design, VLSI, and mixed-signal design.
3. Microwave. Hire 1 faculty with expertise in radio propagation and adaptive/smart antenna design.
4. Hire 4 faculty by 2005 in areas such as electronic design automation, embedded and low-power systems, and computer architecture.

Nano-Materials and Devices: As device sizes get smaller and enter the nanometer range, quantum and other size-effects become important, resulting in new and interesting physical and material effects that can be exploited for circuits and device fabrication, and information storage and transmission. This area deals with such new emerging technologies.

1. Add 3 more faculty positions in nanoelectronics, quantum devices (e.g., spintronics) and materials for nano-size devices and structures. These positions may come under the IT-Materials umbrella.
2. Add 1 faculty in opto-electronics and/or high frequency device area.

First Year Objectives

(The bold notations indicate the goals to which objectives primarily apply:

D=department, U=undergraduate program, G=graduate program, R=research activity)

State Funded Budget

1. Add four FTE TA positions to cover the shortage for laboratory instruction and grading. (U,G)
2. Increase the departmental equipment budget to $80,000 per year (from current $30,000 per year including matching funds for upgrading or replacement of our multiprocessor server) to allow maintenance and purchase of critical parts for aging equipment. (U,G,R)
3. Increase travel fund by $5,000 to partially support faculty and student travel to major conferences and meetings and to support guest lectures in the department. (G)
4. Increase the support budget (personnel, supplies, operating, computer software, etc.) by $60,000. (D)

Space

1. Increase lab space by 3,000 sq. ft. (We have almost no lab space in the critical areas of computer engineering and communication.) (U,R)
2. Obtain 8 more faculty offices. (We have no more office space for any new faculty member.) (D)

Laboratory

1. Perform deferred maintenance needed in most of our labs. (D)
2. Establish a major research/education lab in telecommunication and computer networking. The initial phase of the investment is about $300,000. (This may partially come from LSU Capital.) (U,G,R)
3. Add four stations to the undergraduate control lab. in the first year. $50,000. (U)
4. Develop an Electronic Design Automation (EDA) lab. The first year investment is about $70,000. (U,G,R)

Faculty: Add 12 faculty positions (excluding the five currently vacant positions in the department.) (D,U,G,R))

1. Add 1 position to meet the basic need of education in electric power.
2. Add 1 faculty with experience in areas such as fault tolerant control, process control, and control over networks.

The following positions may come from IT initiative.

1. Hire 2 faculty members in the area of digital signal processing, video coding, voice over IP, video over IP.
2. Hire 2 faculty members in networking related areas such as cyber-security, digital rights management, network protocols, optical networks, traffic engineering, internetworking, etc., to develop networking as a major thrust area of instruction, research and scholarship.
3. RF engineering. Hire 1 faculty with expertise in RF, wireless circuit design, VLSI, and mixed-signal design.
4. Microwave. Hire 1 faculty with expertise in radio propagation and adaptive/smart antenna design.
5. Hire 2 faculty in areas such as electronic design automation, embedded and low-power systems, and computer architecture.
6. Add 2 faculty positions in nanoelectronics, quantum devices (e.g., spintronics) and materials for nano-size devices and structures. These positions may come under the IT-Materials umbrella.