2016 Academic Program Review of Graduate Programs for The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering April 11-12, 2016 College Station, Texas Word of Welcome from Miroslav Begovic, ECE Department Head and Jose Silva-Martinez, ECE Director of Graduate Studies As Department Head and Director of Graduate Studies for the Texas A&M Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, we extend a heartfelt welcome to Texas A&M University on behalf of our colleagues and our students. We thank you for your service as external reviewers of our Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) graduate programs. We are pleased to have been able to prepare for this opportunity by conducting our own assessment of these programs while looking for opportunities to continually improve. We realize that a strong and highly reputed graduate program is essential to maintaining an excellent department and improving our academic recognition. As we strive to further improve our graduate program, the peer assessment process becomes increasingly important. We are grateful for your review as a means of helping us improve our programs. The self study that follows was prepared for this review and reflects an evaluation of the graduate programs within the ECE department. It includes a brief history of the department and overview. We also briefed the recommendations of the 2008 review panel and the actions taken by our department during th last few years. We are also presenting details on the research and education activities of the graduate programs, plans for continual assessment and improvement, and a strategic vision for the future. We look forward to your input and eagerly await your recommendations about how we might further improve our programs as we strive for greater excellence. We realize this is a time consuming task and thank you again for your service and support. We will be glad to answer any questions and provide more information should you require it. Miroslav Begovic Jose Silva-Martinez Department Head Director of Graduate Studies Department of ECE Department of ECE Texas A&M University Texas A&M University ii Table of Contents Word of Welcome ii Table of Contents iii I. Introduction 1 A. Charge to the Review Team 1 B. Outline of the report 2 II. Brief History of the Department 3 A. Recent Developments 4 B. 2008 Graduate Programs Review 6 III. Overview of the Department 10 A. Faculty 10 B. Administrative Organization 14 C. Fiscal Information 18 IV. Graduate Program 21 A. Research 23 B. Education Programs 30 C. Student Profiles 32 V. Strategic Plan/Program Assessment 38 A. Mission/Purpose Statement 38 B. Outcomes 38 C. Measures 38 D. Data Collection 39 E. Strengths/Weaknesses of the Graduate Student Programs 39 F. Departmental Vision 43 G. College of Engineering Strategic Plan and dept. ECE Related Efforts 45 VI. Appendices 50 A. List of ECE Faculty 51 B. Graduate Student Handbook 54 iii C. Graduate Courses (400-600 level courses) 115 D. Faculty Biographies 253 iv I. Introduction A. Charge to the Review Team Please examine the department and its programs and make recommendations that will help in planning improvements. Your resources are a self-study report prepared by the department, copies of materials from the program’s last review, information you gain through personal interactions while visiting Texas A&M University, copies of strategic plans and goal-setting documents at the department, college, and/or university level, and any additional information requested by you or by the department. Within the broad charge of recommending ways the department can continue to improve are some specific questions that we would like you to address: 1) Based on the data / information provided in the self-study report or gathered by the external review team, what are the department’s overall strengths and weaknesses? 2) How well do the department’s strategic goals align with those of its college and with those of Texas A&M University? 3) How would you compare this department with its peers? 4) What improvements (including student learning and faculty development) has the department made since the previous program review? 5) With only current resources or a modest infusion of new ones, what specific recommendations could improve the department’s performance, marginally or significantly? The ECE Department goal is to offer the best possible education to our student body, improve our research skills, increase graduate programs visibility, and move forward in national and international rankings. We believe that your comments and suggestions will significantly contribute towards the achievement of department goals. B. Outline of the report. This self-report is divided into five chapters complemented with four appendices. Chapter II presents a brief history of the Department of Electrical Engineering followed by a description of our recent developments. We also included a summary of the findings and recommendations of the 2008 graduate program review panel. Chapter III gives an overview of the ECE Department graduate programs. Detailed information on faculty and department organization are provided. The organization of the department is described as well as various departmental committees. Fiscal information is detailed at the end of this chapter. The graduate program is fully described in Chapter IV. The ECE Department encompasses seven research groups. Details on the research areas and organization are given in this Chapter IV. The educational programs are described as well as the degree requirements. After the details of the ECE graduate program are presented, Chapter V describes our mission, outcomes and assessment plan. The department vision is then described as well as our contributions toward the achievement of the COE mission. Appendix A 1 provides a list of faculty. The Graduate Student Handbook, Fall 2015 is included in Appendix B. A full description of degree requirements, list of graduate courses, recommended courses, qualifying examination and financial aid is provided. The syllabi of the 400-600-700 level courses is provided in Appendix C. Finally, two-page faculty CVs are provided in Appendix D. 2 II. Brief History of the Department The electrical engineering curriculum at Texas A&M had its beginning in the Fall of 1903. The department was called Physics and Electrical Engineering. The first two degrees in electrical engineering were awarded on June 13, 1905. In the fall of 1909, Electrical Engineering was made a separate department from Physics. Electrical engineering courses proved to be popular and the department expanded. In 1913–1914, the enrollment was 153, which represented almost half the total students in engineering and about 17% of the total enrollment of Texas A&M. Enrollment in the Electrical Engineering Department continued to climb steadily after World War I, from 152 in 1918–1919 to 406 in 1925–1926. Following World War II, the department and university entered into another phase, developing graduate courses and research. Starting in 1961, different areas of specialization were introduced such as electromagnetic fields, communications and electronic circuits, and digital systems. In 1967 control theory came into prominence as analog and digital computers introduced a new era in communication. Since the early seventies, the department has had a tremendous growth in research and educational opportunities. This has led to the establishment of eight disciplines and a graduate program offering rich educational and research experiences. In 1963, the Electric Power Institute (EPI) was founded by Prof. John Denison in collaboration with Dean Fred Benson. The motivation was to provide a mechanism to maintain the electric power teaching program and develop a research program in the area at a time when most universities were greatly de-emphasizing power. In 1998, EPI changed its name to Electrical Power & Power Electronics Institute (EPPEI) to better reflect the activities of power system and power electronics groups. In 1997, the department of Electrical Engineering jointly with the Department of Computer Science began to offer degrees in Computer Engineering. The Computer Engineering program became such a prominent part of the department that in 2005, the department changed its name to Electrical and Computer Engineering. In 1998, the department received a $5.1 million gift from Texas Instruments to support the development of research and education in the area of analog and mixed signals. As a result, in 1999 the Analog and Mixed Signal Center was formally created. The mission of the Analog & Mixed-Signal Center is to contribute to the advancement of the state- of-the-art in the area of analog mixed-signal integrated circuits and systems. The center plays a key role in the education and training of highly qualified engineers for design and manufacturability of analog and mixed-signal integrated systems. In 2003, the department started a satellite program in ECE in Doha, Qatar. Several permanent faculty have been hired for this program as well as a number of our College Station faculty who have temporarily relocated to help run the Texas A&M at Qatar program (TAMUQ). Currently, the Qatar program offers undergraduate degrees identical to the program in College Station with specializations available in Power and Telecommunications and Signal Processing. In the near 3 future, TAMUQ will begin to offer graduate programs in Electrical Engineering as well. A. Recent Developments Over the last 10 years, the ECE Department has experienced a period of significant growth. This is a result of the faculty investment program initiated by former President Robert Gates and supported by current president Michael K. Young under the umbrella of the 25/25 program. The main thrust of these programs is to consolidate resources throughout the university and promote interdisciplinary research across different disciplines, colleges and departments. President Young and COE have allocated a number of new faculty positions to those programs that were viewed as high priority for the future success of the University.