1 - 10 of 259 results for: EE

Basic principles and components of electrical circuits, and the tools of the trade.

Preference to freshmen. Musical instruments, as well as being fun to play, are excellent examples of science, engineering, and the interplay between the two. How does an instrument make sound? Why does a trumpet sound different from a guitar, a flute, or a bell? We will examine the principles of operation of wind, string, percussion, and electronic instruments hands-on in class. Concepts to be investigated include waves, resonators, understanding and measuring sound spectra and harmonic structure of instruments, engineering design of instruments, the historical development of instruments, and the science and engineering that make them possible. Prerequisites: high school math and physics. Recommended: some experience playing a musical instrument.

The world may be made of earth, wind, fire, and water, but it runs on information. What is information? How do we measure it, manipulate it, send it, and protect it? Why has everything gone digital and what does this mean? The mathematics of the Information Age is part of your everyday life, from imaging to the Internet. We will discuss the elements of information theory and how information is represented in different ways for different purposes. We will work with the mathematical representation of signals from the classical functions of trigonometry to the spectrum of a general signal. This course will help you understand some of the profound ways mathematics is used to shape and direct these aspects of the modern world. There will be regular assignments, readings, a research project, and a presentation on a topic of your choice that goes beyond the class material.

Preference to freshmen. Introduction to information technology. The technical foundation of bits and bytes, multimedia, and networks, using the web as a starting point. Topics include representing information as bits and bytes, digital music, images, video, computer graphics, and virtual reality. Data compression, JPEG, MPEG audio, and video. Bandwidth and sampling. Analog, digital, and wireless telephone systems. Digital transmission and storage: modulation, error control; cable, fiber, satellite, storage media. Broadcasting. GPS. Circuit- versus packet-switched networks, local-area networks, Ethernet, Internet. Email, VoIP. Security: encryption, digital signatures, digital certificates. Field-trip to a Silicon Valley information technology company.

Preference to freshmen. The stories behind disruptive inventions such as the telegraph, telephone, wireless, television, transistor, and chip are as important as the inventions themselves, for they elucidate broadly applicable scientific principles. Focus is on studying consumer devices; projects include building batteries, energy conversion devices and semiconductors from pocket change. Students may propose topics and projects of interest to them. The trajectory of the course is determined in large part by the students themselves.

The goal of this seminar is to introduce freshmen to the design process associated with an engineering project. The seminar will consist of a series of lectures. The first part of each lecture will focus on the different design aspects of an engineering project, including formation of the design team, developing a project statement, generating design ideas and specifications, finalizing the design, and reporting the outcome. Students will form teams to follow these procedures in designing a term project of their choice over the quarter. The second part of each lecture will consist of outside speakers, including founders of some of the most exciting companies in Silicon Valley, who will share their experiences about engineering design. On-site visits to Silicon Valley companies to showcase their design processes will also be part of the course. The seminar serves three purposes: (1) it introduces students to the design process of turning an idea into a final design, (2) it presents the different functions that people play in a project, and (3) it gives students a chance to consider what role in a project would be best suited to their interests and skills.

Preference to freshmen. Scientific and engineering approaches to technologies inspired by science fiction literature and film. Topics may include nanotechnology, teleportation, solar sails, applications of lasers, and ideas related to computers and communications. Bad science in science fiction and proposals that do not work. Prerequisites: high school math and physics.

Preference to freshmen. The first part is hands-on micro- and nano-fabrication including the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF) and the Stanford Nanocharacterization Laboratory (SNL) and field trips to local companies and other research centers to illustrate the many applications; these include semiconductor integrated circuits ('chips'), DNA microarrays, microfluidic bio-sensors and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The second part is to create, design, propose and execute a project. Most of the grade will be based on the project. By the end of the course you will, of course, be able to read critically a New York Times article on nanotechnology. More importantly you will have experienced the challenge (and fun) of designing, carrying out and presenting your own experimental project. As a result you will be better equipped to choose your major. This course can complement (and differs from) the seminars offered by Profs Philip Wong and Hari Manoharan in that it emphasizes laboratory work and an experimental student-designed project. Prerequisites: high-school physics.

Preference to sophomores. Each session consists of a lecture by instructor or guest speaker followed by demonstration or hands-on experimentation. Instruments available include light microscopes, scanning electron microscope, scanning tunneling microscope, microlithography tools. Applications include microelectronics, microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS), and biotechnology. Reading assignments and final project. Prerequisite: high school physics.