As of Fall 2008, the CSE department will have a new computer engineering degree (CpE) which replaces the previous CSE degree in the department. Thus, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) now has three degrees: (1) one in Computer Science (CS), (2) a second one in Software Engineering (SE) and (3) a third one in Computer Engineering (CpE). The CpE degree was created to respond to emerging importance and need of computing in engineering applications. It combines computational principles and theory with concrete engineering deliverables and practice in hot new areas such as energy, health, security, and micro-device design automation.
The philosophy of the CSE Department is that theory and methods studied in the Computer Science Degree, aim to improve the performance of real-world applications found in CpE and deliver the most efficient configuration of hardware and software systems. Similarly, SE develops software to enable CpE applications. Alternatively, CpE impacts the degrees of computer science and software engineering with the introduction of new industrial needs, new technologies and need applications that need better computational methods and improved software tools. Both CS and CpE degrees connect to the SE degree because they motivate the design and development of robust and enabling software that deliver safe systems without errors, easy to use and efficient in their time and space resources. The three programs together overlap in courses and faculty but are very distinct in their individual emphasis. All three strengthen our CSE Department even further as they provide a healthy distinction and interaction of three areas of concentration. The interaction among CS, CpE and SE brings out new ways to compute, new ways to discover and lead students to innovation. The three degrees are synergistic while each degree is enveloped by related courses and faculty expertise coming from the other two, in ways that empower each program.
Computer Engineering projects can range from devices to monitor the condition of highway services to intelligent biomedical devices for assistive environments, to sensors monitoring the wing of an airplane. Courses in CpE will prepare the students for applications in circuit design, biomedical engineering, embedded systems, wireless communication systems, computer architecture, bionanosensors, smart medical aids, VLSI testing and CAD design, effective design and manufacturing, high performance system design, energy systems, and others.
The Computer Engineering program is unique in the university aims to hire the best of faculty teachers and researchers. We will be recruiting new faculty from top university who not only interact well with other engineering departments in the College of Engineering, but also whose work has direct relevance to the needs of industry and government and who are excellent teachers. It is expected that a large number of new students will be entering the program and thus providing new insights and links with the Computer Science and the Software Engineering programs.