Electrical Engineering

专业详情

Contemporary electrical engineering is a broad discipline that encompasses a wide range of activities. A common theme is the use of electrical and electromagnetic signals for the generation, transmission, processing, storage, conversion, and control of information and energy. An equally important aspect is the human interface and the role of individuals as the sources and recipients of information. The rates at which information is transmitted today range from megabits per second to gigabits per second and in some cases, as high as terabits per second. The range of frequencies over which these processes are studied extends from direct current (i.e., zero frequency), to microwave and optical frequencies.

The need for increasingly faster and more sophisticated methods of handling information poses a major challenge to the electrical engineer. New materials, devices, systems, and network concepts are needed to build the advanced communications and information handling systems of the future. Innovations in electrical engineering have had a dramatic impact on the way in which we work and live: the transistor, integrated circuits, computers, radio and television, satellite transmission systems, lasers, fiber optic transmission systems, and medical electronics.

The faculty of the Electrical Engineering Department at Columbia University is dedicated to the continued development of further innovations through its program of academic instruction and research. Our undergraduate program in electrical engineering is designed to prepare students for a career in industry, research or business by providing them with a thorough foundation of the fundamental concepts and analytical tools of contemporary electrical engineering. A wide range of elective courses permits the student to emphasize specific disciplines such as communications, devices, circuits or signal processing.

Undergraduates have an opportunity to learn firsthand about current research activities by participating in a program of undergraduate research projects with the faculty.

The Electrical Engineering Department, along with the Computer Science Department, also offers B.S. and M.S. programs in computer engineering.