The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association                                                                        January  2018
Letter from the Editor
Badri Roysam,
University of Houston
Dear ECEDHA Members, Industry Partners, and Colleagues,

2018 begins on a positive and hopeful note as we learned, thankfully, that the feared impacts of the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on graduate education did not materialize, thanks to the combined efforts of all the major professional societies, and unflinching support we received from news editors around the country. Even as our community managed to dodge this risk, we must continue to battle the newly emergent societal attitudes to higher education. It is time for the ECEDHA community to redouble our advocacy efforts, and better articulate our contributions to societal advancement and economic competitiveness. There is much to discuss at the 2018 ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo , March 16 - 20, in Monterey, California. Appropriately, the conference theme is about Re-envisioning ECE. See you there!

Featured Article
Steven Hietpas,
South Dakota State University

Don Gruenbacher,
Kansas State University

Jerry Hudgins, University of Nebraska
Faculty Goal Setting

"Goals are visions and dreams with clothes on. ... Goals force practical steps into your life to make your dreams come true. ... Goals are the heavy lifting and cause the heavy lifting to occur." [1]

When you review your faculty's end-of-year evaluations, we presume there is a section for them to state their goals for the next year - correct?  And at the end of the year, there is likely an expectation that the previous year's goals are reviewed and commented on - correct?
 
Have you found faculty don't write sufficiently strong goals?
 
Or do you find that they are simply a repeat from the previous year's not-well-stated or less-then-strong goals?
 
And then, do you find that little, if any, comments are made with regards to the extent to which these goals were met?
 
Or if they actually did review and comment on these goals, very few comments are made to the impact their meeting these goals has had on teaching, research or service?

Let's face it, none of us when we were faculty enjoyed writing their annual review, and after writing about our accomplishments for the year before, the last thing we wanted to do was write a new set of goals for the coming year.  But now that you are a department chair, it is your responsibility to assist your faculty in writing effective goals, ones that are meaningful and, when achieved, will not only advance them in their career, but also advance your unit. 

The following treatise presents three steps to follow if it is your desire to have your faculty write effective goals.  Step 1 is to convince your faculty the importance of writing meaningful and effective goals.  Step 2 is to hold a faculty development activity or meeting on how to write meaningful and effective goals.  Step 3 is to meet with your faculty about midway through the academic year to review with them their goals and how they are doing and to determine if there is anything you can do to assist them in meeting their goals.  Below is a summary of what you may want to consider for each of these steps.

>> Read more

Professor Asu Ozdaglar,
Department Head, MIT EECS
New MIT EECS Department Head Asu Ozdaglar Emphasizes Innovation and Talent

Asu Ozdaglar became the new head of the MIT Department of EECS on Jan. 1. She had served as interim department head since July 2017, when former head Anantha Chandrakasan was named dean of MIT's School of Engineering.

Ozdaglar, the Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professor of EECS, is also former associate department head, former director of MIT's Laboratory for Information Decision Systems (LIDS), and former associate director of MIT's Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS).

She has made fundamental contributions to optimization theory, economic and social networked systems, and game theory. In addition, she has developed a range of graduate and undergraduate courses, including a graduate-level game theory subject and an undergraduate course on networks listed jointly with MIT's Department of Economics. She also played a leading role in launching a new undergraduate major in computer science, economics, and data science. 

Conference Corner
Shoba Krishnan,
Santa Clara University
Host University Spotlight: Santa Clara University

On behalf of Santa Clara University, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the 2018 ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo and to beautiful, historic Monterey. We are thrilled to serve as one of the hosts of this year's conference, and we hope you will have time to visit us and Silicon Valley while you are here. The ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo has helped make significant advances to the rapidly evolving field of electrical and computer engineering education over many years. We are pleased to be a part of that and look forward to seeing you at the conference.

Santa Clara University is a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in the heart of California's Silicon Valley. It offers more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering as well as master's degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology, law degrees, and doctoral degrees in engineering. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master's universities, California's oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice.  

Marco Rolandi,
University of California, Santa Cruz
Host University Spotlight: University of California, Santa Cruz

On behalf of the Department of Electrical Engineering in the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz,  I would like to welcome you to the 2018 ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo. We are happy to be among the host universities for this year's conference, in the beautiful Monterey Bay, which is a short drive from UCSC campus.
 
Here on the UC Santa Cruz campus, and just over the hill in Silicon Valley, electrical engineering students work beside world-class faculty and industry experts towards their BS, MS, and PhD degrees. Opportunities for research and internships with local tech companies give graduate and undergraduate students hands-on experience. Thriving research centers foster interdisciplinary collaborations, and programs such as the Corporate Sponsored Senior Projects Program (link: https://csspp.soe.ucsc.edu) provide opportunities for students to work on real-world projects, encouraging commercialization of student-driven discoveries. 

Register Today for the 
2018 ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo!
  
March 16-20, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey in
Monterey, California


Register Today and Take Advantage of the Early Bird Rate!


The ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECE xpo is the largest gathering of ECE department heads from throughout the United States and Canada.

This year's program is hosted by San Jose State University, Santa Clara University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, Santa Cruz. Join us  March 16-20, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey in Monterey, CA.

The 2018 P rogram Committee has assembled a world-class educational program focusing on the most pressing issues facing academia and ECE today.  This year's program features:
  • A fantastic lineup of speakers from both academia and industry
  • Specialized pre-conference workshops, including a brand new Leadership Workshop
  • Sessions focusing on the future of ECE - including Community, Branding, Diversity, Curriculum, Robotics, and Makerspaces
  • Ample networking time to connect with old friends and new acquaintances 
  • The ECExpowith more than 40 industry leaders on hand to show the latest technologies in the field


Special Announcements
Now Renewing 2017-18 Membership!
  
Renew your membership today to continue receiving ECEDHA membership benefits, including:
  • The opportunity to attend the 2018 ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo
  • The opportunity to participate in the ECEDHA Annual Survey, a valuable tool in benchmarking your organization in lab and office space, faculty and department head salaries, research budgets, student retention, graduation rates, and much more.
  • Complimentary job posting service via the ECEDHA website
  • Complimentary registration for ECEDHA's ECE Webinars
  • And much more!
Looking for your membership packet?  P lease contact Megan Bekolay at  mbekolay@ecedha.org   or 312.559.3724
Corporate Features
ECE Insights

ECE Insights offer in-depth interviews with leading industry executives.

Featured ECE Insights:
In This Issue
Calendar of Events
March 16, 2018
Leadership Workshop
Presented at the ECEDHA Annual Conference
Hyatt Monterey - Monterey, CA
March 16, 2018
ABET Workshop
Presented at the ECEDHA Annual Conference
Hyatt Monterey - Monterey, CA
March 16-20, 2018
ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECE xpo
Hyatt Monterey - Monterey, CA
On Demand Webinar
Rethinking Electronics Fundamentals
Sponsored by National Instruments
On Demand Webinar
Sponsored by Keysight Technologies
On Demand Webinar
In Partnership with National Instruments, ISTEC, LACCEI, and Tecnológico de Monterrey
On Demand Webinar
Sponsored by COMSOL
On Demand Webinar
Sponsored by National Instruments
On Demand Webinar
Sponsored by Keysight Technologies
ECEDHA Member and Partner News
University of Arizona: Cognitive and Autonomous Test Vehicle (CAT Vehicle) Research Experience for Undergraduates

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona invites undergraduate students to apply for the REU Site Program, which will provide hands-on, collaborative work with graduate students doing research in the fields of autonomous systems and cognitive radio. 

Selections will be based on a combination of research interests, academic qualifications, and faculty recommendations.

Accepted participants will receive a $5000 stipend, $600 travel allowance, lodging, and six units of upper division research credit.

Application Deadline: February 15, 2018
Program Timeline: June 3, 2018 through August 3, 2018

THE BRIDGE Magazine of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN)

The magazine of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu is THE BRIDGE, which publishes a variety of features and content relevant to ECE students, faculty, and professionals. The magazine is electronic and open access with PDF versions of the current and prior issues.

Issue 2 of THE BRIDGE 2017 is available now!


At the ECE Source, we strive to cover topics that are relevant and timely to ECE  department heads.  We welcome your comments, feedback, and suggestions of topics t o cover in our next issue.  Thank you.