ECE Technology Program

As autonomous systems become a ubiquitous part of our society, robotics has quickly emerged as a high demand field of study. By its nature, robotics is a multi-disciplinary study with its core in electrical and computer engineering. This makes developing effective robotics curriculum a challenge as students can quickly become jacks of all trades and masters of none. Additionally, developing and maintaining effective laboratory settings for students to implement theory in a safe and effective way can be extremely difficult. This session will focus on how the strengths of the electrical and computer engineering discipline can be leveraged to effectively develop future roboticists who are career ready upon graduation. It will feature presentations from academics involved in developing and deploying robotic curriculum as well as industry partners hiring those graduates. After the presentations, a roundtable discussion will encourage participants with a variety of experience to exchange and promote strategies, ask questions, and in general, have a conversation that enhances robotics curriculum within electrical and computer engineering departments.

For more information on the ECE Technology Program please the ECE Technology Program page.

Organizers:

Magnus Egerstedt
Steve W. Chaddick School Chair and Professor
Georgia Tech

Magnus Egerstedt is the Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, one of the largest programs of its kind in the United States with over 2,500 students and over 110 faculty members. From 2016-2018, Dr. Egerstedt served as the executive director for the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines and held the Julian T. Hightower Chair in Systems and Controls in the School of ECE. He holds secondary appointments in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, the School of Interactive Computing, and the Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. Dr. Egerstedt received the M.S. degree in Engineering Physics and the Ph.D. degree in Applied Mathematics from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, the B.A. degree in Philosophy from Stockholm University, and was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Harvard University. He conducts research in the areas of control theory and robotics, with particular focus on control and coordination of complex networks, such as multi-robot systems, mobile sensor networks, and cyber-physical systems.




Sean Wilson
Director, Robotarium Lab
Georgia Tech

The engineering profession students need to be prepared for is rapidly changing due to the great acceleration of technology. Are they ready to hit the ground running? This session will focus on the key role that industrial partnerships can play in driving improved student outcomes and helping prepare the student for the transition from the lab environment to the workplace.

For more information on the ECE Technology Program please the ECE Technology Program page.

Organizers:

Andy Bell
National Instruments

In order to support and advance the significant revolution in many ECE curricula, the ECE laboratory role, purpose, and mission must undertake a similar evolution. New pedagogies, test and measurement platforms, and entrepreneurial mindsets are driving innovation within and outside of the classroom. The ECE laboratory is uniquely positioned to capitalize on these changes and foster undergraduate passion and creativity, but thought must be given as to how best to address this evolution while being constrained by shrinking budgets and external competition. This session aims to look at ways that traditional ECE labs can be re-imagined to become more flexible and adaptive in order to support varied laboratory styles, as well as broadening use for lectures, flipped classrooms, design studios, and makerspaces.

For more information on the ECE Technology Program please the ECE Technology Program page.

Organizers:

Matt Lamparter
Bucknell University

Ramsin Khoshabeh
University of California, San Diego















Mark Liu
University of California, San Diego

Truong Nguyen
University of California, San Diego 

This session will begin with short presentations of current ECE curriculum reforms that have been implemented. The panel participants from academia, industry participants and the audience will then break into smaller groups and discuss the challenges, outcomes and results from the curriculum changes that may have been implemented and its short and long term impact on student experience. The panel will regroup and discuss the outcomes from the group discussion and exchange ideas on various strategies and action plans for making an agile and engaging ECE curriculum. The groups will also propose an updated curriculum based in the inspiration from the conference.

For more information on the ECE Technology Program please the ECE Technology Program page.

Organizers:

George Pappas
Professor and Chair
University of Pennsylvania

George J. Pappas is the UPS Foundation Professor and Chair of the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a secondary appointment in the Departments of Computer and Information Sciences, and Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. He is member of the GRASP Lab and the PRECISE Center. He has previously served as the Deputy Dean for Research in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. His research focuses on control theory and in particular, hybrid systems, embedded systems, hierarchical and distributed control systems, with applications to unmanned aerial vehicles, distributed robotics, green buildings, and biomolecular networks. He is a Fellow of IEEE, and has received various awards such as the Antonio Ruberti Young Researcher Prize, the George S. Axelby Award, the O. Hugo Schuck Best Paper Award, the National Science Foundation PECASE, and the George H. Heilmeier Faculty Excellence Award.





Truong Nguyen
University of California, San Diego