General  

• The ECE Ph.D written qualifying exam will be given on Friday, January 25, 2008 from 11:00am to 5:00pm in Science and Technology II, room 260. Students should consult http://ece.gmu.edu/phd_in_ece.htm#PROGRAM for the structure and regulations of this exam. Students are required to register for the exam by emailing Professor Yariv Ephraim by 1 December. At the time of registration students are required to declare the one area in which they desire to be tested. The date of the oral exam will be individually communicated to each student. The oral exam is anticipated to be scheduled one to four weeks following the written exam. Each student is required to provide an email address on the exam form and to access that email account on a regular basis. November 2007

• Introducing some exciting, new faculty members and announcing the "sad" departure of some "old timer", well known, faculty.
  August 2007

• The ECE Department is EXCEEDINGLY proud to announce that, as a result of the visit by ABET (the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) in Fall 2006, both the Electrical Engineering program and the Computer Engineering program are reaccredited! August 2007

• EE Grad flies in space. On Sept. 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari (GMU BSEE, 1988) became only the fourth private citizen - and first such woman - to travel into space. The George Mason University (GMU) graduate, dressed in a blue jumpsuit decorated with several Russian space medals, spoke at the university on Feb. 20, 2007.

  Ansari paid $20 million to be sent into space aboard Russian Soyuz TMA-9. She spent 11 days in space, eight of them aboard the International Space Station 220 miles above the Earth.

  She certainly holds the record for miles traveled by any of our graduates, said Lloyd Griffiths, dean of GMU's Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering.

  Anousheh was born in Iran in 1967 and moved to the United States when she was 16. She learned English and earned a bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering from GMU in 1988. Ansari later received a master's degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University and is seeking a master's in astronomy from Swinburne University in Australia.

  She co-founded Telecom Technologies Inc., which later merged with Sonus Networks. Ansari also is co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, a company that specializes in household technology.

  Ansari's family sponsored the $10 million Ansari X Prize, which gave a cash reward to the first nongovernmental organization to send a manned, reusable spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne won the prize in 2004. October 2007

• Janos Gertler, Outstanding Research Faculty Award Winner 2004, Lecture. On October 29, 2004 Janos Gertler, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, presented the School of IT&E 2004 Research Faculty Award Winner Lecture, "Fault Diagnosis in Engineering Systems A Personal Journey - Application to Car Engines." Faculty from Departments across the School of IT&E and the School of Computational Sciences as well as numerous students attended. School of IT&E Dean, Lloyd Griffiths, and ECE Department Chair, Andre Manitius provided introductions. Dr. Gertler then presented an entertaining lecture composed of a review of his research in the past 20 years and interesting details of an application project that, in collaboration with General Motors, adopted his design methods to the on-board diagnosis of automobile engines. This technique, after additional work by GM, has been implemented on several top-of-line GM cars. A collegial reception in the Mason Hall atrium followed the lecture. The ECE Department congratulates Dr. Gertler for this Award and his research achievements. October 2004

• ECE Department 20th Anniversary Celebration. On April 9, 2004 the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department celebrated the 20th anniversary of the founding of the department. Alumni, present students and faculty were joined by George Mason University President, Alan Merten, Provost Peter Stearns and School of Information Technology and Engineering Dean Lloyd Griffiths. A "breakfast" reception for guests to meet and chat among displays of selected faculty research publications was followed by an interesting overview of the Department's history by Founding Chair Murray Black and past Chair Gerald Cook. ECE Chair Andre Manitius brought the attendees up to date with present activities and thoughts about the future of the Department. Five technical presentations by senior and junior faculty members (Professors Harry Van Trees, Kathleen Wage, Alexander Levis, Brian Mark and Kris Gaj) sampled the breadth of research and accomplishments of the faculty.
  
  A pleasant luncheon in the George Mason Center for the Arts lobby followed. Dr. Black and Dr. Cook entertained the attendees with interesting tidbits and pictures from the Department's past. Several past and present students talked about their experiences and memories of their time working toward their degrees within the Department. October 2004

• The ECE Department is happy to welcome back, Dr. Alexander H. Levis, University Professor of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering, and head of the System Architectures Laboratory of the C3I Center, who has been on leave from George Mason University for a three year appointment as the Air Force Chief Scientist.
  
  In this role, Dr. Levis provided independent, objective technical advice primarily to the Air Force Chief of Staff and the Secretary of the Air Force but also to the senior leadership. He served as a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board Steering Committee and served as chair of the Air Force's chief scientists' group. Dr. Levis has held several appointments as member of the Scientific Advisory Board since 1990.
  
  The position of the Air Force Chief Scientist was created in 1950, and 30 Air Force Chief Scientists have held office since then. Included among them are two other members of the George Mason University community, Dr. Harry L. Van Trees, Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Electrical and Systems Engineering and Director of the C3I Center, and Dr. Edwin B. Stear, Visiting Research professor with the System Architectures Laboratory. October 2004

• ECE students come through again! The ECE Department is proud to announce another recognition of the achievements of our students and alumni. At the Spring 2004 IT&E Awards Banquet, April 30, awards were presented to Outstanding Undergraduate Student, Jason Bales, (BSEE 2004); Outstanding Graduate Student, Smriti Kansal, (MSEE 2004); and (fourth year in a row!) Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, Jeff Gravatte (BSEE 1988) Program avaiable at: http://ite.gmu.edu/forms/spring_awards_2004.pdf.    October 2004

• The ECE Department is proud to announce another recognition of the achievements of our faculty. At the Spring 2004 IT&E Awards Banquet, April 30, awards were presented to Dr. Kathleen Wage, Outstanding Teaching Award; Dr. Timothy Beatty, Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award; Dr. Janos Gertler, Outstanding Research Faculty Award; and Dr. W. Murray Black, Outstanding Faculty Service Award. Program avaiable at: http://ite.gmu.edu/forms/spring_awards_2004.pdf.    October 2004

• Do you like to "play" with "toys"? Check out the fun things the ECE 450 students worked with the past couple of semesters.
  Pcitures and Stuff (scroll down to the bottom!)
  Thanks to both the students and the instructor, Tim Beatty. December 2003

• ECE students come through again! The ECE Department is proud to announce another recognition of the achievements of our students and alumni. At the Spring 2003 IT&E Awards Banquet, April 11, awards were presented to Outstanding Undergraduate Student, Timothy M. Brown, (BSEE 2003); Outstanding Graduate Student, Dr. Richard A. Echard, (Ph.D. in ECE 2002; MSEE 1991); and (third year in a row!) Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, Lisa Jensen (BSEE 1986, MSSSE 1993). Program avaiable at: http://ite.gmu.edu/forms/spring_awards_2003.pdf.    December 20, 2003

• All EE and CpE MS students should note that in August 2002 the ECE Department made some procedural changes, as well as a change to include selected TCOM courses as "non-ECE" courses and hence elegible for consideration and approval for part of the MSEE or MSCpE programs. Details of these changes can be found at: http://ece.gmu.edu/msdegree/recentchanges.html. Of particular importance are the changes in the Scholarly Paper Procedures. August 10, 2002

• All ECE PhD students should note that several changes were made during the Spring 2002 semester in the program requirements. Please review the overall program to ensure you are aware of all requirements, and in particular the Qualifying Exam Requirements and the Courses Requirements. May 25, 2002

• The ECE Department is proud to announce another recognition of the achievements of our students, alumni and faculty. At the Spring 2002 IT&E Awards Banquet, May 3, awards were presented to Outstanding Undergraduate Student, Sashisu M. Bajracharya, BSCpE student; Outstanding Research Faculty, Dr. Rao Mupluri; and (second year in a row!) Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, Dr. Mark Willebeek-LeMair (BSEE 1985). May 25, 2002

• IEEE - The Spring 2002 Student Professional Awareness Conference (SPAC), organized and presented by the IEEE GMU Student Chapter, took place March 29, 2002. The result was the largest turn out yet with over 200 people attending, comprised of Students, Faculty, and vistors. School of IT&E Dean Lloyd Griffiths made some interesting remarks about the possibilities for George Mason engineering students now and after they graduate. The focus of the SPAC was Career Management. Presentations included talks by Valorie J. King (Killer Jobs: Keeping Your Career on Track), and Chris J. Brantley (The Citizen Engineer). A panel of working engineers, including some George Mason alumni - Daniel Shores BSEE '01 and Bernard Loveless (BSEE '01) made brief remarks about "life after graduation in the 'real' world" and then responded to questions from the audience. Awards for sponsors and other supporters of SPAC and IEEE were given out. School of IT&E Associate Dean White presented awards to each of the IEEE GMU Student Chapter officers (Scott Reichert - President, Basharat Zia - Vice President, Pelin Aksoy - Secretary, Jason Bales - Treasurer, Venu Gogineni - Webmaster, Sarah Cavaliere - Programs Chair). Many door prizes were given out in drawings to those who attended, and free lunch and refreshments were provided.
  For those IT&E related students who are interesting in becoming involved in the IEEE GMU Student Chapter, (networking with other students, networking with working students, resume enhancing activities) visit us on the web at http://ite.gmu.edu/~ieee .

• The ECE Department is excited to boast the almost total sweep of awards at the Spring 2001 IT&E Awards Banquet. The Outstanding Undergraduate Student, A. Glenn Richardson, BSEE student; Outstanding Graduate Student, Marc Christensen, PhD in ECE student; Outstanding Teaching Award, Dr. Bernd-Peter Paris; Outstanding Adjunct Professor, Carl Schaefer; and the Outstanding Alumna in Entrepreneurial Excellence, Anousheh (ne Raissyan) Ansari, BSEE 1988, were all ECE Department nominees. March 2001

• "Undergraduate Scholarship Application information"