What is Signals & Systems?

Signals & Systems is the study of how to effectively send and process information.  Information can be sent as 0s and 1s on an electrical device, or it can be sent through the air as an electromagnetic wave, like radiowaves or microwaves.  Signal & systems engineers design communication protocols for everything from cell phones to satellites in space.  The electrical signal being sent can represent many different types of information, like a human voice, written text, or an image.  Signals & systems engineers also have to find effective ways to interpret signals from sensors, like a heart rate monitor or air quality sensor.  One exciting, but difficult, problem our faculty are working on is computer vision, which is the study of how to enable computers to “see” and process information from pictures like humans do.  As the world becomes more and more interconnected with wireless devices and sensors, it will become increasingly important to have effective and efficient ways to exchange, collect and store data in our technology-driven world.

ECE X5xx = Signal Processing/Communication

ECE 3500 Signals and Systems is a foundational course for this area.

ECE 3530, Probability and Statistics and ECE 3300 Electromagnetics are also requirements for some of these courses.

Most of these classes require the above classes as prerequisites.