Welcome to the September issue of the ECE Source. I hope that you had a productive and relaxing summer. Mine involved significant travel throughout Central and South America. During my travels I visited several universities' engineering schools and it is very interesting to see how different universities approach engineering education slightly differently. For example, EIA (Escuela Ingenieria de Antiochia) in Medellin, Colombia has a combined electrical and mechanical engineering program in which students take common core courses and then follow tracks to get either an electric power or mechanical engineering specialization. >> Read more

Barry Sullivan, ECEDHA

It's that time of year. Back-to-school sales have come and gone, and big yellow buses are a familiar sight again in the neighborhood. The weather may be slow to get the news, but summer is over and school is back in session as far as students are concerned.

In my family's case, it was time to pack up our youngest and launch him on the college phase of his education. It's hard to know where this path will lead him, but I'm happy to say he is setting off on it as an engineering major. 
>> Read more
 

By J. Scott Maberry, Partner, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP; Robert F. Roach, Chief Compliance Officer, New York University; and Kristin L. Worman, Assistant General Counsel, Texas A&M University System

  

Export controls are as old as governments. But U.S. colleges and universities need to be especially careful now because of new realities of U.S. export controls. Electrical and Computer Engineering departments should take particular note because of the sensitive nature of some of the technologies you're developing. Perhaps you've already heard from your compliance personnel or your legal department on this important issue. This article suggests ten current realities on export controls, suggesting areas where a little bit of focus now might help avoid problems in the future. This article concludes with ten reasons to seek export control advice from your University's compliance or legal department. >> Read more

By Craig J. Scott^a, Petronella James^a, Yacob Astatke^a, Jumoke Ladeji-Osias^a, Farzad Moazzami^a, Kofi Nyarkoi^a
aMorgan State University

  

Over the past three years, we have been investigating the use of inexpensive, highly portable instrumentation to facilitate our lab requirements. As a result of this enabling technology, an online program targeted toward completing the second two years of an undergraduate electrical engineering degree is being piloted at our institution. Nearly 109 students have participated in this study. A two-plus-two approach avoids the need for an institution wide conversion of all required courses. Special care must be taken, however, to assess a student's ability to work independently and to assess whether or not they have reasonable expectations of the degree of time management and persistence needed to satisfactorily complete their coursework online. In this article, we detail the curriculum changes, how the formats of both laboratory and non-laboratory courses were modified, and the process of recruiting and certifying faculty to teach these courses. >> Read more
 

By Olivia Solon (July 31, 2013, WIRED)

  

A team of computer scientists at UCLA, IBM Research, and UT-Austin have designed a system to encrypt software that allows a person to use a program as intended while preventing the deciphering of the code behind it. This is the first time that "software obfuscation" has been accomplished. >> Read more
 

By Tamar Lewin (August 17, 2013, The New York Times)

  

Next January, the Georgia Institute of Technology plans to offer a master's degree in computer science through massive open online courses for a fraction of the on-campus cost, a first for an elite institution. If it even approaches its goal of drawing thousands of students, it could signal a change to the landscape of higher education. >> Read more
 

By Michael Vasquez (August 21, 2013, The Miami Herald)

  

Measured strictly by size, the University of Florida's recent Fundamentals of Human Nutrition class was a resounding success. The class, offered this past spring, was UF's first foray into the online trend of Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. The class was open to anyone interested, from around the world, and more than 69,000 students signed up. >> Read more

By Robert N. Charette (August 30, 2013, IEEE Spectrum)

  

You must have seen the warning a thousand times: Too few young people study scientific or technical subjects, businesses can't find enough workers in those fields, and the country's competitive edge is threatened. >> Read more

(September 4, 2013, MIT Technology Review)

  

One of the most time-consuming aspects of teaching is grading homework assignments. So here's an interesting crowdsourcing tool from Luca de Alfaro and Michael Shavlovsky at the University of California Santa Cruz that switches the burden from the teacher to the students themselves. >> Read more

 

ECEDHA is pleased to announce its 30th ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo. Join us in Napa, California as we celebrate 30 years of ECE leadership!

This special commemorative year promises one of the most exciting programs to date:

  

  

  

Captured live at the 2013 ECEDHA Annual Conference, ECE Spotlight Sessions offer the opportunity to view short corporate presentations and to learn more about what these companies can offer you.

  

  

  

  

John Kikuchi, Agilent EEsof EDA University Program Manager, Agilent Technologies

  

ECEDHA Perspectives offer in-depth interviews with leading industry executives.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Brad Ruzicka
Manager, Worldwide Analog Channel Marketing and SC Distribution Communications
Texas Instruments

  

  

  

How can a student gain a competitive edge when first joining the engineering industry?
 

  

In This Issue

 

WECEDHA Regional Meeting

Canadian Regional Meeting

SWECEDHA Regional Meeting

ECEDHA Annual Survey OPEN for collection

Outstanding Leadership and Service Award Nomination Deadline

Innovative Program Award Nomination Deadline

Diversity Award Nomination Deadline

ECEDHA Annual Survey CLOSES for collection (all responses due)

Online Education and Distributed Learning Workshop

ABET Workshop

2014 ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo

The Meritage Resort & Spa

Napa, California

  

2013 ECEDHA membership renewal for ECEDHA department heads is now underway. ECEDHA membership runs on a calendar year beginning January 1 - December 31.

  

  

>> Renew Today!

  

For questions, please contact Michelle Klein at [email protected] or 312-559-3724.

  

ECEDHA has established a Corporate Membership Program to strengthen the bonds between ECEDHA member institutions and leading industry organizations.

  

Please join us in welcoming our newest corporate members!

  

  

  

    

  

  

  

  

  

  Interested in becoming an ECEDHA corporate member? Contact Kim Simpao at [email protected].