New engineering degree responds to computer boom

The College of Engineering is booting up a new degree program that will help graduates take advantage of an incredible demand for computer expertise.

In spring 2000, a new degree in computer engineering will begin modestly with an enrollment of about 80 students, but over several years will grow to more than 200 students. The degree is the formalization of an academic option offered in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) that has become increasingly popular.

ECE Professor Charles Kime, coordinator of the degree, says the department is ready with seven current professors and three new faculty who were hired specifically for the initiative.

Computer engineering differs from a traditional computer science degree in that it stresses design and development of computer hardware as well as software. The curriculum will be rich in courses devoted to design of integrated circuits, computer boards and embedded chip technology. It will also focus on advances in wireless communication and networking.

“Computer engineers will reach a broad spectrum of available jobs,” Kime says. “We will be educating students to cross the boundary between software and hardware development and hopefully integrate the two.”

There shouldn’t be any trouble generating interest, given the booming job market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 235,000 new openings in computer engineering during a 10-year period that began in 1996. That makes it the second fastest-growing job category for jobs requiring bachelor’s degrees. But U.S. universities are graduating fewer than 6,000 computer engineers per year.

The graduates should be valuable additions for Wisconsin industry, which has many companies such as GE Medical Systems and Rockwell International that are major players in the embedded chip industry, Kime says. Currently the only other state computer engineering program is taught at the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Marquette University.

Embedded systems, which perform specific tasks in a larger product, will be one of five specialty areas students may pursue, Kime says. Students can also specialize in computer architecture, electronic design automation and hardware design for the communications industry, including digital and satellite-based products.

New assistant professors include Charlie Chung-Ping Chen, a Ph.D graduate of the University of Texas-Austin recruited from industry; Lei He, a 1999 Ph.D graduate of the University of California-Los Angeles; and Mikko Lipasti, a Carnegie-Mellon University Ph.D who was recruited from industry. Lipasti was part of Chancellor David Ward’s Sesquicentennial Hires program.

“Electrical engineering departments across the country are trying to hire new faculty,” Kime adds. “We made some very competitive offers and we were able to convince university leaders we needed to go all out.”