Message from the Chair

Thank you for considering the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering of the School of Engineering and Computer Science (SECS) at the University of Denver (DU) for your undergraduate studies. As the Department Chair, I extend a very cordial welcome to all of you, and I encourage you to look at what ECE and DU offer in terms of undergraduate education, graduate education, research, innovation, technology transfer, entrepreneurship, services and career advancement. I am certain that after you look at the provided information and after surfing through the ECE and the DU websites, you will have the answer to 'why you should come to DU and enroll at ECE. It is not an exaggeration if I tell you that when you enroll at ECE everybody will know your name!

• We offer both an exceptional quality of education and unique programs and degrees. In addition to the traditional degrees an ECE Department offers, we also offer dual degrees between all engineering disciplines and between engineering and business. As such, the ECE Department is experiencing a rather dynamic expansion and growth on educational and research fronts:
• Curriculum enhancements and revisions throughout all undergraduate programs
• Improved two-year common curriculum for all engineering degrees covering foundations in electrical engineering, computer engineering and mechanical engineering; we believe that this is fundamental knowledge every engineer should have
• Incorporation of ethics throughout our curricula
• New courses in engineering entrepreneurship, business law, patents and intellectual property rights, which lay the foundations for the successful businesswoman and businessman of the future
• New undergraduate program development leading to a B.S in Electrical Engineering with concentration in Mechatronic Systems Engineering (BSEE-MSE) - the only one in the US
• Introduction of additional graduate study concentrations, basic, applied research and development, coupled with continuous collaboration with our industrial partners
• Establishment of new laboratories, which are essential to our educational and teaching philosophy, but also help us in solidifying research and development producing prototypes and introducing cutting-edge technologies leading to industrial innovation

The ECE Vision is to be a leader in educating, creating and graduating today's and tomorrow's engineers! This includes investing in the intellectual and human capital of each individual student, focusing on both breadth and depth of knowledge, multidisciplinary, and integrated education, and meeting and exceeding current and future challenges in electrical and computer engineering. We envision providing the unique environment that fosters educational, research, technological, economic, cultural and social enrichment worldwide. We also envision being the pioneers who understand educational challenges and market demands, and create top quality successful and sustainable programs and curricula for our students.

The ECE Mission stems from the realization and fact that we recognize the demands of the global economy, the new dynamics of the world market, cultural differences and diversity. It is our mission to excel in:

• Embracing knowledge and education
• Being recognized as a Department that offers the best and most unique programs in electrical and computer engineering, and preparing its graduates to assume leadership roles and social responsibility
• Providing an environment in which students are given the essential resources to address, research and solve real-world problems, participating in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research and its applications
• Promoting active learning, critical thinking, and engineering judgment, coupled with business and entrepreneurial skills
• Offering internship, co-op and continuing education programs that produce top-notch graduates for the highest paid jobs I encourage you to look at our undergraduate programs, navigate through the web site to find out about our faculty, staff, students, and educational and research programs - all of which label us as being at the forefront of many discoveries and farfetched implementations of technology in this rapidly moving and emerging information age we experience on a daily basis.

I welcome all of you to our Department. I am looking forward to your being active participants at DU, and I count on your feedback, suggestions, recommendations and interactions with our faculty and staff, and me personally.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you.

Kimon P. Valavanis
John Evans Professor and Chair
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Ritchie School of Engineering & Computer Science