Course Descriptions
General Engineering Courses
ENGI 2110 ̶ ENGINEERING MECHANICS-STATICS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: MATH 1360 and SCIE 1430. Corequisite: MATH 1370
Analysis of force systems. Vectors. Laws of equilibrium of particles and rigid bodies. Structural analysis of trusses, frames, and machines. Centers of gravity and moments of inertia. Internal forces. Friction.
ENGI 2120 ̶ MECHANICS OF MATERIALS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: ENGI 2110
Introduction to the mechanics of deformable bodies. Study and analysis of stresses and strains on connections and bar elements subjected to axial, torsional, and transverse loads. Internal forces as stress resultants; shear force and bending moment diagrams. Analysis of structural elements subjected to combined stresses. Transformation of stresses, Mohr´s Circle. Column stability analysis and buckling.
ENGI 2910 ̶ ENGINEERING MECHANICS – STATICS AND DYNAMICS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: MATH 1360 and SCIE 1430. Corequisite: MATH 1370
Examines vector representation of force and moment, equivalent force systems, centroids and centers of gravity, distributed forces, free body diagrams and equations of equilibrium, applications to trusses, and beams. Examines fundamentals of dynamics, kinematics of particles, and kinetics of particles using force, mass, and acceleration.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Courses
CEE 1010 ̶ ENGINEERING GRAPHICS FOR CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS
Four credit-hours. Two two-and half-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: None
An introduction to the field of engineering graphics and descriptive geometry as a design and documentation tool. Topics include orthographic projection, pictorial drawings, dimensioning, feature control symbols, and tolerancing. Use of a computer-aided design (CAD) system to create engineering drawings.
CEE 1012 ̶ ADVANCED AUTOCAD FOR CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CEE 1010
Introduction to the knowledge of graphical vocabulary for the preparation of construction documents, including the technical specifications and their development by computer assisted tools. The topics include AutoCAD used as a tool for the preparation of civil engineering construction documents. Use of tridimensional drawings using Sketchup and Civil 3D in the development of grading and presentation technics. Includes the evaluation of technical specifications for the civil engineering area and the relation with the drawings.
CEE 2110 ̶ ENGINEERING GEOLOGY
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: SCIE 1210 or SCIE 1214, or Academic Department Authorization
Evolution of geology principles through history. The rock cycle. Mineral characteristics and rock formations. Rock types. Rock characteristics and engineering issues. Volcanism. Plate tectonics. Soil formation. Rock weathering. Mass movements. Seismology. Structural geology. Overview of the hydrological cycle. The relation of surface and groundwater hydrology to engineering geology.
CEE 2210 ̶ PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS FOR CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: MATH 2350, CEE 2310 and CEE 2311
An introduction to the role of probability and statistics in civil and environmental engineering. Fundamentals of probability theory. Random variables. Probability distributions. Functions of random variables. Sampling. Hypothesis testing and confidence intervals. Regression and correlation analysis.
CEE 2310 ̶ ALGORITHMS, PROGRAMMING, AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: MATH 1370 and CE 1011 or ENVE 1011. Corequisite: CEE 2311
An introduction to programming and algorithms applied to numerical analysis. The most commonly used numerical methods in civil and environmental engineering practice are introduced. Roots of equations, systems of linear equations, curve fitting techniques, numerical differentiation and integration, and ordinary differential equations.
CEE 2311 ̶ ALGORITHMS, PROGRAMMING, AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: MATH 1370 and CE 1011 or ENVE 1011. Corequisite: CEE 2310
An introduction to programming and algorithms applied to numerical analysis. Programming of numerical methods commonly used in civil and environmental engineering practice, using Visual Basic for Applications within Excel as the programming environment.
CEE 3410 ̶ WATER RESOURCES AND HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2420, CEE 3420, CEE 2310, and CEE 2311
Fundamental concepts of hydrology and hydraulics. Hydrologic processes and the elements of the hydrologic cycle. Rainfall-runoff relationship. Hydrograph and unit hydrograph theory. Frequency analysis. Design of storm sewer systems. Reservoir: yield, capacity, and sedimentation. Open channel flow. Performance and design of culverts. Groundwater hydrology concepts. Well hydraulics.
CEE 3420 ̶ Design of Aqueducts and Sanitary Sewer Systems
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: SCIE 1210, SCIE 1211, and CEE 3410
Water supply sources. Demand and use of water. Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of water. Safe Drinking Water Act and other water quality regulations. Water treatment: rapid mix, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, softening, and other processes. Design of a water distribution system: configuration and requirements, losses, analysis of flow, pipe materials, pumps, and pumping stations
CEE 3430 ̶ WATER QUALITY AND TREATMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CEE 3410 and ENVE 3010
Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of water. Drinking Water Standards. Water sources. Characteristics and design of the water treatment processes. Rapid mixing, chemical feeding, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, and other operations and processes. Processing and disposal of sludge generated at the water treatment plants.
CEE 3440 ̶ MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CEE 3430
Wastewater sources. Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of wastewater. Design of wastewater treatment processes: a) preliminary treatment: screening, coarse solids reduction, grit removal, flow equalization, odor control and coagulation/flocculation; b) primary treatment: sedimentation; c) secondary treatment: activated sludge, trickling filters, stabilization ponds, aerated lagoons, and rotating biological contactors; d) advanced treatment: filtration, adsorption, ion exchange, air stripping, nitrification-denitrification, reverse osmosis, microfiltration and ultrafiltration, chemical precipitation, and phosphorus removal. Disinfection. Post-aeration. Effluent disposal and reuse alternatives. Dissolved oxygen sag analysis. Design of facilities for the treatment and disposal of sludge. The Clean Water Act. Regulatory agencies and their requirements.
CEE 4411 ̶ ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY I
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: ENVE 3210 and CEE 3440
Experiments focused on process monitoring and control as part of the environmental engineering design processes. 1. Laboratory techniques to determine the properties of water and wastewater. Sampling: collection, storage, and preservation. Tests for physical characteristics: color, turbidity, temperature, and solids content (total, settleable, suspended, volatile, and fixed). Tests for chemical characteristics: pH, alkalinity, hardness, chlorine, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, BOD, COD, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Tests for biological characteristics: fecal and total coliform. Jar tests. 2. Meteorological factors measurements. 3. Air quality measurements and analysis: CO2, CO, NOx, and SOx. 4. Noise pollution tests.
CEE 5002 ̶ CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING PRACTICE
Three credit-hours. By agreement. Prerequisite: Approval of the Department Head
Civil and environmental engineering design procedures are applied to the solution of problems under the supervision of a non-faculty member. The problem may deal with any of the fields of civil and environmental engineering, as determined by the instructor.
CEE 5020 ̶ ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CEE 3440 or ENVE 4610
Introduction to the technical, economic, political, administrative, and social forces that influence the environmental quality regulations and the use of natural resources. Review of federal and state laws, regulations, and programs enacted to minimize air, land, and water pollution. Review of public participation mechanisms.
CEE 5030 ̶ ADVANCED HYDRAULICS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CEE 3410
Advanced hydraulics for the design and analysis of systems concerned with the use and control of water, storage, water transmission; design of open channels and pressure conduits. Design of storm and sewer systems. Performance and design of culverts. Sediment transport and sedimentation in reservoirs. Groundwater hydraulics and well hydraulics.
CEE 5050 ̶ CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: Approval of the Department Head
Introduction to research methodologies including title and objectives development, literature review, research justification, experiment or analytical design, and proposal preparation. Open-ended research project in a specific area of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
CEE 5052 ̶ CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CEE 5050
Continuation of the research project started in CEE 5050. Detailed literature review. Research cost estimates. Application of probability and statistics. Selection of instrumentation and tests. Experimentation or analytical development. Results manipulation and evaluation. Development of scientific publication and report presentation.
CEE 5090 ̶ SPECIAL TOPICS IN CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: According to special topics to be covered.
Special topics in any of the areas of specialization in civil engineering (structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, transportation engineering, water resources engineering, and construction engineering), environmental engineering (water supply engineering, wastewater engineering, air pollution control, solid and hazardous waste management, occupational safety and health, environmental toxicology, environmental impact assessment, and pollution prevention engineering), or related fields relevant to engineering practice.
Civil Engineering Courses
CE 1011 ̶ INTRODUCTION CIVIL ENGINEERING
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisite: CEE 1010
An introduction to the civil engineering profession, design philosophy, techniques, theory, methodology, and creative problem solving with emphasis on teamwork, as well as on design issues and practices in the profession. The course includes several design cases. Project design explicitly concerns technical approaches as well as consideration of the existing built environment, natural environment, economic, social, and cultural factors. Critical thinking and logic presentation of an engineering analysis.
CE 2510 ̶ CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2120 and CEE 2210. Corequisite: CE 2511
Application of the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of materials such as concrete, aggregate, ferrous metals, nonferrous metals, timber, plastics, and asphalt cements. Selection of materials and their behavior in civil engineering practice. Test principles and methods applied to construction materials and failure analysis in accordance with the ASTM.
CE 2511 ̶ CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2120 and CEE 2210. Corequisite: CE 2510
Laboratory techniques and procedures to determine properties of concrete, coarse and fine aggregates, wood, and steel. Design and preparation of concrete mixes. Tests on concrete specimens.
CE 3110 ̶ STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: ENGI 2120
Analytical model of structural systems. Analysis of gravity load distribution. Determination of earthquake and wind loads according to actual code provisions. Stability and determinacy of structures. Approximate analysis of statically indeterminate structures. Analysis of statically indeterminate structures by the Force Method.
CE 3120 ̶ STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 3110, CEE 2310, and CEE 2311. Corequisite: CE 3121
Analysis of statically indeterminate structures by the Stiffness Method and by the Moment Distribution Method. Computer Assisted Structural Analysis. Stiffness. Center and shear force distribution.
CE 3121 ̶ STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 3110, CEE 2310, and CEE 2311. Corequisite: CE 3120
Verify theoretical results with simple laboratory experiences on bars under axial and torsional loads, beams, columns, trusses, and frames. Measurement of deflections, angle of twist, support reactions, internal forces, and strains as the structural response of interest under specified applied loads.
CE 3130 ̶ STEEL STRUCTURE DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CE 3110
Design of structural steel members. Structural steel properties. Tension and compression members. Design of beams with and without lateral support. Combined axial compression and bending. Bolted and welded connections for tension. Introduction to buildings design.
CE 3210 ̶ GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2120, ENGI 2420, CEE 2110, CEE 2310, and CEE 2311. Corequisite: CE 3211
Soils as engineering materials. Local soil types. Description and identification of soils. Index properties. Mineralogical composition of clays. Compaction. The effect of water on soil behavior. Effective stress concept. Flow nets. Stresses in a soil mass. Elastic settlement of soils.
CE 3211 ̶ GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2120, ENGI 2420, CEE 2110, CEE 2310, and CEE 2311. Corequisite: CE 3210
Laboratory techniques to determine the basic properties of soils including soil sampling and description, relationships among soil phases, consistency limits, and grain size distribution. Soil classification systems, compaction, and field density. Coefficient of permeability.
CE 3220 ̶ GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 3210 and CE 3211. Corequisite: CE 3221
Compressibility of soils, consolidation settlements, rate of consolidation. Subsoil exploration and sampling. Soil strength parameters and their use in the evaluation of pressure on retaining structures, soil bearing capacity, and slope stability. Basic concepts of deep foundations.
CE 3221 ̶ GEOMECHANICS LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 3210 and CE 3211. Corequisite: CE 3220
Consolidation test of fine soil samples. Preparation of soil profile including physical properties. Determination of soil shear strength parameters for common geotechnical engineering applications. Unconfined compression, direct and triaxial shear tests performed on SPT-retrieved samples to obtain total stress parameters. Evaluation of soil stiffness. Application problems.
CE 3310 ̶ ROUTE LOCATION AND GEOMETRIC DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: SURV 2095, CEE 2310, and CEE 2311
Route study. Horizontal alignment and simple and compound circular curves. Profile alignment and vertical parabolic curves. Spiral curve and superelevation. Introduction to traffic engineering safety. Earthwork.
CE 3320 ̶ HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 2510, CE 3210, and CE 3310
Roadside design principles. Traffic control devices. Pavement design. Traffic flow theory principles. Capacity and level of service of two-lane highways. Capacity and level of service of multilane highways. Capacity and level of service of basic freeway segments. Freeway weaving analysis. Interchange design principles. At-grade intersection design principles.
CE 3330 ̶ TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING AND URBAN PLANNING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CE 3320. Corequisite: CE 3331
Intersection capacity and level of service. Planning and design aspects of transportation systems. Urban transportation planning models. Development principles of transportation facilities. Design and operational analysis of pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Public transportation.
CE 3331 ̶ HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisite: CE 3320. Corequisite: CE 3330
Data collection techniques and use of equipment associated with different types of transportation studies. Application of statistics and probability in transportation data presentation and analysis. Application of computer software.
CE 3520 ̶ CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2260, CE 2510, and CE 2511
The course discusses management of construction projects from site investigation, planning, and design to construction and application of controls. Topics include project administration, organizations, project costs estimation, bidding of contracts and awards, planning and scheduling techniques, labor relations, claim and dispute resolution, safety, and risk management.
CE 4140 ̶ CONCRETE STRUCTURES DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 3120, CE 3121, and CE 3130
Design of reinforced concrete structures using the Ultimate Strength Design Method. Design for flexure and shear. Continuous beams and one-way slab systems. Development of reinforcing bars. Introduction to column design.
CE 4150 ̶ FOUNDATION ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 3220, CE 3221, and CE 4140
Evaluation of sub-soil conditions as they affect the behavior, proportions, and choice of type foundation. Combined and strap footing. Retaining walls. Sheet piling walls. Pile group and pile cap design. Mat foundations
CE 4530 ̶ CONSTRUCTION METHODS AND PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CE 3520
This course discusses technical aspects of the construction process, and how they can be improved. Construction methods for heavy and building construction will be studied. Also, organizing a project with productivity improvement as a goal will be studied. Students will learn how to calculate and measure worker productivity. In addition, various models and methods for improving productivity will be studied and applied to construction problems.
CE 4911 ̶ CIVIL ENGINEERING SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT I
One credit hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 3330, CE 4140, CEE 3430, and CE 4530
First part of a two-period open-ended design project that involves most areas of Civil Engineering. The project allows correlating the different areas of Civil Engineering, to apply the principles of engineering design and science at a high level, and to develop awareness of social and economic effects of engineering projects. This first course will concentrate in the site analysis, in all the laboratory and field studies required by the specific project (i.e., topography, as-built, structure inventory, soil exploration, traffic study, among others), in the development of a project proposal, and in the site design and environmental evaluation of the proposal.
CE 4920 ̶ CIVIL ENGINEERING SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 4150, CEE 3440, and CE 4911
A continuation of CE 4911. Second part of a two-period open-ended design project that involves most areas of Civil Engineering. The project allows correlating the different areas of Civil Engineering, to apply the principles of engineering design and science at a high level, and to develop awareness of social and economic effects of engineering projects. This second course will concentrate in the detailed analyses and designs required by the specific project, with a clear identification of hypothesis and assumptions, limitations of the study, design criteria, methods and tools, costs, safety, feasibility, and design parameters adopted for each design. Oral presentations and written reports will be used to develop the objectives.
CE 5010 ̶ PRINCIPLES OF ARCHITECTURE FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CEE 1010 and CE 1011
Introduce civil engineering students to architectural concepts. It is a morphological study of the essential elements of form, space, organization, circulation, proportion, scale, and ordering principles. The course emphasizes the element of form as the primary tool of the designer. The relationship between architecture, nature, urban context, culture, history, social, and political issues are included.
CE 5108 ̶ PRESTRESSED CONCRETE STRUCTURES DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CE 4140
General design principles of prestressed concrete members. Pretensioning vs. Postensioning. Prestressing materials: steel and concrete. Design for shear and torsion. Deflection computation and control. Prestress losses. Indeterminate structures and slabs. Construction methods.
CE 5116 ̶ DESIGN OF WOOD STRUCTURES
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 2510 and CE 3110
Wood buildings and design criteria. Properties of wood and lumber grades. Vertical design loads and lateral forces. Design of beams and columns for vertical loads. Design of horizontal diaphragms and shear walls for lateral forces. Connection design, including the overall tying together of the vertical and lateral force-resisting systems.
CE 5208 ̶ SOIL IMPROVEMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 3220 and CE 3221
Current ground modification techniques to improve soil stability, reduce deformation, control seepage, and increase erosion resistance.
CE 5220 ̶ PAVEMENT DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CE 3220, CE 3221, CE 3320, CE 4140, and CEE 3410
Stress and deformation of flexible and rigid pavements, traffic loading, material parameters, drainage design. Pavement performance and reliability concepts. Design of flexible and rigid pavements, overlay design, Superpave, new developments in pavement design. Computerized pavement design.
CE 5308 ̶ URBAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CE 3330
Urban transportation planning modeling. Origin and destination trip assessment. Transportation mode use analysis. Traffic forecasting and assignment. Impact analysis.
CE 5312 ̶ PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CE 3330
Transit modes. Transit planning. Passenger demand, route choice, and assignment. Frequency and headway determination. Scheduling. Network analysis, level of service, and reliability control.
CE 5510 ̶ PLANNING, SCHEDULING, AND COST ESTIMATES
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CE 3520
This course comprises the work plan development process and the use of several scheduling techniques such as precedence diagrams, progress schedules, the critical path method (CPM), program evaluation and review technique (PERT), crashing and delay analysis. Project cost controls, earned value principles, cost estimate studies for construction projects from conceptual and preliminary to detailed estimates are also studied.
CE 5516 – CONSTRUCTION PROJECT ADMINISTRATION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CE 3520
This course discusses the project lifecycle and the corresponding administration strategies, as well as the project procedures and documents, as developed by American Institute of Architects and the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee. It also addresses practical issues related to negotiations, claims, value engineering, safety, risk allocation, and liability.
CE 5522 – CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CE 3520
A comprehensive coverage of documents generated before and during the construction process, including the origin and format of construction documents, which ones are used and why. Globalization aspects on how documents are utilized and how they work together as a system. Contract forms, contract conditions, and specifications are the main core for study. Construction drawings and technical specifications are studied as a design and construction tool into the process. Bidding requirements are discussed as part of the project manual.
Environmental Engineering Courses
ENVE 1011 ̶ INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: MATH 1350, SCIE 1214, SCIE 1215, and CEE 1010
An introduction to the environmental engineering field, presenting to the students a historical background on the profession, as well as basic knowledge on environmental impacts on the atmosphere, soil, and water, and the mitigation technologies available for the environmental engineer. The course includes laboratory activities to illustrate distinct monitoring techniques for impact and compliance assessment, as well as field visits to water and wastewater treatment plants and to solid waste handling facilities.
ENVE 3010 ̶ ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING OPERATIONS AND PROCESSES
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: SCIE 1230, SCIE 2110, ENGI 2430, CEE 2210, and ENVE 1011
This course presents to the students an interface between the scientific knowledge acquired in previous courses and their applications in environmental unit processes and operations, specifically to physical and chemical operations and processes.
ENVE 3110 ̶ ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: SCIE 1230, SCIE 2110, and ENGI 2430
Nature, sources, pathways of toxic substances in the environment and their impact on humans and other life forms. Biochemical Mechanisms of toxicity. Cellular mechanisms of environmental causes of disease. Dose-Response relationships. Xenobiotic metabolism. Phase I and Phase II Reactions. Biodegradation and Bioaccumulation. Quantitative toxicology.
ENVE 3210 ̶ FUNDAMENTALS OF AIR POLLUTION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: ENVE 3010 and ENVE 3110
Definition and general listing of air pollutants. Sources and effects of air pollutants. Federal legislation and regulatory trends. Meteorology. Dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. General control methods for particulate matter, gases, and vapors, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and trace metals. Atmospheric photochemical reactions: ozone formation and smog. Emission standards for mobile sources. General odor control methods.
ENVE 3220 ̶ AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: ENVE 3210
Engineering principles applied to the solution of air pollution problems. Characteristics and design considerations: a) incinerators for control of VOC emissions, b) fixed bed absorbers, c) flue gas desulphurization systems, d) systems for the control of nitrogen oxides, e) cyclonic devices, f) electrostatic precipitators, and g) fabric filters. Cost estimation methodology in air pollution control.
ENVE 3310 ̶ SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: ENVE 3010 and ENVE 3110
Sources, types, composition, and properties of municipal solid waste. Solid Waste generation and collection. Disposal of Solid Wastes; the landfill method. Design, operation, and closure of landfills. Control of gases and leachate in landfills. Materials separation and processing technologies. Thermal, biological, and chemical conversion technologies. Recycling of materials found in municipal solid wastes. Solid waste management and planning issues.
ENVE 3320 ̶ HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: ENVE 3310
Definitions and characterization of hazardous waste. Environmental legislation: TSCA, RCRA and CERCLA. Site Assessment. Partitioning, sorption, and exchange at surfaces. Dynamics of transport away from the source. Approaches to hazardous waste minimization, resources recovery, remediation, treatment, and disposal. Design of selected pathway applications. Bioremediation technologies.
ENVE 3450 ̶ GROUNDWATER POLLUTION CONTROL
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: CEE 2110 and CEE 3430
Overview of groundwater hydrology. Groundwater pollution sources. Pollutant transport and fate considerations. Flow and solute transport modeling. Pollutant source prioritization. Groundwater monitoring, planning and analysis. Groundwater pollution control: physical, chemical, biological and innovative treatment technologies. Groundwater quality management.
ENVE 4460 ̶ INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT, REUSE, AND DISPOSAL
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: CEE 3440
Sources and characteristics of industrial wastewater. Unit operations and processes used in the pre-treatment or treatment of industrial wastewater: equalization, neutralization, sedimentation, oil separation, flotation, coagulation and chemical precipitation, aeration systems, air stripping, activated sludge, trickling filtration, rotating biological contactors, stabilization basins, anaerobic processes, nutrient removal processes, adsorption, ion exchange, chemical oxidation, filtration, membrane processes, and land treatment. Sludge handling and disposal. Effluent reuse and disposal alternatives. Regulatory agencies and their requirements.
ENVE 4413 ̶ ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY II
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: ENVE 3220, ENVE 3320, and CEE 4411
This course introduces concepts of experimental design applied to environmental engineering. Experiments will include the characterization of dissolved solids in wastewater, the physical characterization of solid wastes, the measurement of chemical properties of soils, and monitoring of particulates in air, soil properties, and activated carbon adsorption. The analysis of experimental data and the preparation of reports will be emphasized.
ENVE 4610 ̶ ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: ENVE 3220, ENVE 3320, CEE 3440, and ENVE 3450
Analysis, evaluation, coordination, and preparation of environmental impact studies. Identification and description of the environmental setting, applicable environmental regulations, impact prediction, evaluation of the impacts, mitigation measures and environmental monitoring. Decision methods for the evaluation of alternatives. Public participation in environmental decision-making processes and environmental justice principles.
ENVE 4710 ̶ POLLUTION PREVENTION ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: ENVE 3220, ENVE 3320, and ENVE 4460
An introduction to the theory, principles, and practices related to pollution prevention, environmental legislation, resources usage and conservation, and environmentally benign design for products, processes, and manufacturing systems. Environmental impacts of waste from manufacturing operations and life-cycle assessment that include post-use product disposal, environmental cycles of materials, sustainability, and principles of environmental economics will be thoroughly covered. Principles of process design and economic analysis are integrated in the solution of improved manufacturing processes, and technologies that can be used to minimize pollution. Environmental Accounting and Financial Analysis of pollution prevention projects are presented to assess the effectiveness of proposed process modifications for capital budgeting considerations and managerial decision-making. Several computer projects involving numerical solutions for modification of process design, waste accountability, resource recovery, and financial accounting models are required.
ENVE 4810 ̶ OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisites: ENVE 3220 and ENVE 3320
System safety. Safety management and regulations. Psychology. Industrial hygiene. Ergonomics. Workers’ compensation. Accident causation and investigation. Fire science. Hazardous materials. Workplace violence. Training.
ENVE 4911 ̶ ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT I
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2260, CEE 3420, and ENVE 4610
First part of a two-period open-ended design project to correlate all areas of Environmental Engineering to apply, at a high level, the principles of engineering design and science studied in previous courses and to develop awareness of social and economic effects of engineering projects. Projects are equivalent to those normally experienced by a beginning professional. Computer laboratory sessions, oral presentations, and written reports will cover alternatives to be considered at the initial stage of the preliminary design.
ENVE 4920 – ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: ENVE 4911
A continuation of ENVE 4911. Second part of a two-period open-ended design project that involves most areas of Environmental Engineering. The project allows correlating the different areas of Environmental Engineering, to apply the principles of engineering design and science at a high level, and to develop awareness of social and economic effects of engineering projects. This second course will concentrate in the detailed analyses and designs required by the specific project, with a clear identification of hypothesis and assumptions, limitations of the study, design criteria, methods and tools, costs, safety, feasibility, and design parameters adopted for each design. Oral presentations and written reports will be used to develop the objectives.
ENVE 5620 – ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: ENVE 4610
This course is an introduction to the principles of environmental auditing and to give to the students experience in the use of key methods and techniques. During the course, students will be able to understand the practice behind environmental management systems, gain experience of carrying out environmental management system techniques in the professional environment and conduct an environmental audit with a partner organization.
ENVE 5670 – ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Prerequisite: ENVE 4610
Environmental remediation, design, and applications to emphasize the engineering aspects of using remediation process for the treatment of contaminated soils, sludge, and groundwater. Learn the fundamental techniques for the degradation of hazardous compounds, coupled with design and operational techniques for remediation process. Predict the basic hydrodynamic relationships of contaminant transport phenomena in subsurface environments. Identify the best treatment alternative for each contaminant. Interpret, calculate, and compare alternatives for remediation design.
Land Surveying Course
SURV 2095 ̶ PRINCIPLES OF SURVEYING FOR ENGINEERS
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures and laboratory periods per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 1140, CEE 2210
Through conferences and field practices, the student will learn the basic surveying concepts applicable for the design and construction of routes.
Electrical Engineering Courses
EE 1130 – FRESHMAN DESIGN FOR ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: MATH 0110 or Equivalent.
An introduction to the engineering design philosophy, techniques, methodology, and graphical tools, with emphasis on teamwork. The course seeks to develop creativity and imagination skills in the solution of engineering problems, including critical thinking and logical presentation of an engineering analysis.
EE 2000 – CIRCUIT ANALYSIS I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: SCIE 1440, MATH 1360. For EE & CpE Students Only: CECS 2200.
For ME Students Only: ME 2010. Corequisite: MATH 2350. For BME Students Only: BME 3010.
Elements in a circuit and electrical quantities. Techniques for the DC circuit analysis. Natural and forced response of RL, RC, and RLC circuits. Introduction to AC circuits analysis.
EE 2001 – ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENTS LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: SCIE 1441, ENGI 2270, EE2000.
Modern electronics measurement methods. Instrument calibration and use. Experimental verification of fundamental laws of electric circuits and magnetism. Experimental study of capacitive and inductive circuits. Use computer programs to analyze circuits. Safety consideration in the laboratory.
EE 2010 – COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: CECS 2202, MATH 1360. Corequisite: SCIE 1440.
Gaussian Elimination, Linear Equations, Orthogonal Projections, Least-Squares & Eigenvalue Problems, Applied Numerical Analysis. Approximations and Errors. Numerical Solution of Linear and Nonlinear Algebraic Equations, introduction to ODE (ordinary differential equations,) Numerical solution of energy storage circuits. Curve Fitting
EE 2020 – CIRCUIT ANALYSIS II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 2000, MATH 2350.
Sinusoidal steady state analysis. AC circuit power calculation. Three phase circuits. Coupled inductors and transformers. Laplace transform in circuit analysis. Resonance and frequency response in a circuit Transfer function and passive filters.
EE 2030 – ELECTROMAGNETICS THEORY
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: SCIE 1440, MATH 1370. Corequisite: EE 2000.
This course exposes students to the fundamental laws of electro-static and magneto-static fields. The course also deals with the Maxwell’s equations describing time-varying electric and magnetic fields with emphasis on Faraday’s Law of Magnetic Induction.
EE 2402 – ELECTROMECHANICAL ENERGY CONVERSION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 2000, EE 2030. Corequisite: EE 2020.
The study of transformers, rotating machinery basics and DC machines under steady state. Safety considerations with the electric machines.
EE 2403 – ELECTROMECHANICAL ENERGY CONVERSION LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 2001, EE 2402.
Experimental study of electrical machines. Safety considerations with electric machines. This course is designed to give electrical engineering students a one trimester course in laboratory work on: electrical and mechanical measurements and basic operation characteristics of transformers (single and three phases) and DC machines used as motor and as generators.
EE 2500 – ELECTRONICS I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 1130, EE 2001.
This course is the first of a three-course series in electronics. Subjects include operational amplifiers, semiconductor devices, diodes, rectification, bipolar transistors, amplification, switching, and an introduction to field-effect transistors. Design and analysis techniques are presented for each subject.
EE 2501 – ELECTRONICS I LABORATORY (Electrical Engineering Core)
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE1130, EE 2001. Corequisite: EE 2500.
Review of laboratory measurement equipment. Perform several design experiments according with topics on electronic theory: diodes and power supplies. Behavior of timers, Op-Amp and some design applications.
EE 3002 – SIGNALS & SYSTEMS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 2010, EE 2020.
Continuous and discrete-time signals. Continuous-time system representation. Fourier series. Fourier transform. Z-transform. Discrete-time system representation. State-variable analysis.
EE 3220 – SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS FOR ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2202
Basic knowledge of various engineering software applications that have proven to be very intensively used in the industry and academic environments. Introduction to Microsoft Office, MATLAB, SIMULINK, MathCAD and PSpice Family Design Center.
EE 3412 – ELECTRIC MACHINES CONTROL
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 2402
The study of the following: Three phase transformers, Induction Three phase Motors, Synchronous Motors & Generators. Also, the DC motors construction and operation will be discussed. An Introduction to AC & DC drives will be presented. This includes typical applications for Variable frequency Drives, system requirements, modeling, and operation characteristics.
EE 3413 – ELECTRIC MACHINES CONTROL LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 2403, EE 3412
Safety considerations with electric machines. This course is designed to give electrical engineering students a one-trimester course in laboratory work on: electrical measurements, operating characteristics of: Three Phase Transformers, Three Phase Induction motors, Synchronous motors, and DC motors.
EE 3420 – POWER SYSTEM ANALYSIS I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 2402. Corequisite: EE 3412
The study of the power concepts in a process of generation, transmission, and distribution of an electric system.
EE 3440 – ELECTRIC SYSTEM DESIGN I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 2020, EE 2402
General Design of electrical systems based in the National Electrical Code and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Code.
EE 3510 – ELECTRONICS II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 2020, EE 2500
This is the second course in a three-course series in electronics. More advanced topics of semiconductor devices are introduced. Discussion topics include differential amplifiers, multistage amplifiers, frequency response, and design and analysis of other common amplifier configurations using MOSFETs and bipolar transistors and bipolar junction transistors (BJTs).
EE 3511 – ELECTRONICS II LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 2020, EE 2500. Corequisite: EE 3510
Review of laboratory measurement equipment. Behavior of BJT as a common-emitter, a common-base, and a common-collector amplifier. Behavior of MOSFET as a common source, a common gate, and a common drain amplifier.
EE 3512 – POWER ELECTRONICS (Communications, Signals & Controls Systems Track)
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 2020, EE 2500
Electrical rating and characteristics of power semiconductor switching devices. Phase controlled rectifiers. Fundamental switching regulators. DC choppers. Static power inverters. Load considerations. Design projects will be required.
EE 3513 – POWER ELECTRONICS LABORATORY (Communications, Signals & Controls Systems Track)
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 2020, EE 2500. Corequisite: EE 3512
Experiments with Power Electronics Converters: AC-DC, DC-DC, and DC-AC. Closed-loop control of DC drives and Closed-loop control of induction motors. Use of computer programs to analyze circuits. Safety consideration in the laboratory.
EE 3600 – AUTOMATIC CONTROLS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 3002, EE 3520
Study of linear control systems. Transfer functions. Stability criteria. Compensation techniques. Analysis of a particular system and determination of an optimal design complying with given specifications. A design project will be required.
EE 3610 – AUTOMATION ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: COE 2300. Corequisite: EE 3611
Study of the theory and practices of the technologies used for industrial automation. The PLC is used as the main micro-controller device to interface with sensors, relays, electro-pneumatics, and motors. Different problems and situations are presented to the students and they prepare and design the solution. A final project is presented at the end of the class.
EE 3611 – AUTOMATION ENGINEERING LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: COE 2301. Corequisite: EE 3610
Experimental exercises with sub-systems used on industrial control applications. The PLC is used as the main micro-controller. Design and programming of PLC based systems are performed.
EE 3614 – MANUFACTURING PROCESSES AUTOMATION AND REGULATIONS
Three credit-hours. Two-hour lecture periods, twice per week. Prerequisite: EE 3610.
This course explores industrial automation applications of the manufacturing processes used in industries such as pharmaceutical, food and beverage; and the regulatory environments. The good manufacturing practices (GMP) regulations are covered including electronic records/signatures and validations.
EE 3702 – FUNDAMENTALS OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS & CELLULAR NETWORKS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2270, EE 2030, EE 3002
Analysis and Transmission of Signals. Amplitude modulation (AM) and Angle modulation (FM, PM). Introduction to Random Processes Concepts. Introduction to Wireless Systems. Propagation Characteristic of Wireless Channels. Antennas for AM, FM and PM transceivers.
EE 3710 – RANDOM PROCESSES
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2270, EE 3002
After completing this course, the students should master the theoretical principles regarding Probability and Random Processes and be familiar with some of its basic applications to electrical engineering. Topics include Probability, Random Variables, Operations in Single and Multiple Random Variables, Random Processes, Spectral Characteristics of Random Processes, Linear System with Random Inputs.
EE 4002 – CAPSTONE DESIGN COURSE I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour meetings per week. Pre-requisite: Departmental Permit. Must have approved ENGI 2260, EE 2402, EE 3600, plus 18 credits of EE Department Electives.
First part of a two-term course on the design of projects based on open-ended requirements. Projects will be selected in accordance with the student’s area of interest (i.e., Electric Power, Electronics, Communications, Automatic Controls, etc.). Students must approve both Capstone Design Courses in sequence and without interruptions. Students that approve the first course and miss the second course will be required to repeat the first course again.
EE 4010 – ELECTROMAGNETICS THEORY II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 2030
Review of Maxwell’s Equations for non-time-varying electromagnetic fields. Study of time-varying electromagnetic fields. Study of Uniform Plane Wave Propagation in lossless, lossy, bounded, and unbounded material media. Study of Transmission Lines Theory.
EE 4022 – CAPSTONE DESIGN COURSE II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour meetings per week. Prerequisite: EE 4002
Second part of a two-term course on the design of projects based on open-ended requirements. Students must approve both
Capstone Design Courses in sequence and without interruptions. Students that are approved for the first course and miss the second course will be required to repeat the first course again.
EE 4030 – ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY (EMC/EMI)
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour meetings per week. Prerequisites: EE 2500, EE 3002, EE 4010
Study of various aspects of Electromagnetic Compatibility including history, products requirements, as well as fundamental design principles, ramifications, and considerations. Understanding the role of Electromagnetic Compatibility in suppressing Electromagnetic Interference.
EE 4031 – ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY (EMC/EMI) LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 4030
Experiments and demonstrations in Electromagnetic Compatibility.
EE 4220 – SW PROCESSES, DATABASES & NETWORKING (Electrical Engineering Core)
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour meetings per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2202
The course adopts an empirical and top-down approach to the study of the fundamental high-level concepts that are key to an operational understanding of systems that integrate information and communications technologies.
EE 4400 – POWER SYSTEM ANALYSIS II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3420. Corequisites: EE 3413, EE 4401
Review of impedance and admittance matrix construction and reduction. Review of transformer line and machine models suitable for short circuit and steady state analysis. Power flow analysis using the Gauss Seidel method. Case studies of power flow analysis. Short circuit analysis of three phase, single phase, and phase to phase faults. Breaker selection.
EE 4401 – POWER SYSTEM ANALYSIS LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3420. Corequisite: EE 4400
Experiments with electric power transmission systems, three phase generation, power lines, and synchronous motors.
EE 4422 – ELECTRIC POWER QUALITY
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3420. Corequisite: EE 4400
Measurements and Industry Standards for Power Quality. Component modeling and network analysis under non-sinusoidal conditions. Effects of nonlinear loads. Harmonics and flicker distortion in power systems. Sags, swells, impulses, and other transient events. Improvement practices.
EE 4432 – POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 4400
Introduction and general philosophies of protection for power systems. Analysis of power system during faults and abnormal conditions. Application of protective relays in electric power systems. Study of protection schemes for Transmission and Distribution lines, Substations, Transformers and Generators.
EE 4433 – POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 4432
Experimental works with protective relays and auxiliary equipment. Calibration, testing and setting of protective relays. Discussions topics include transient effects in power system networks, short circuit analysis using symmetrical components, instruments transformer PT’s and CT’s test, moderates protective relaying coordination studies, overcurrent relays, directional overcurrent relays, bus and transformer differential relays test and simulation. Protection and control drawing interpretation containing ANSI and IEEE guides and standard.
EE 4438 – SMART DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3420. Corequisite: EE 4400
Present a description of main systems and components for Electric Power Distribution Systems. Explain terminology to study load characteristics. Describe specification and operation of main substation components such as: Transformers, High Voltage Switching and Metering Equipment. Study main distribution system types like Aerial and Underground distribution systems. Perform analysis with techniques for Distribution Systems Voltage Regulation such as: Approximate Voltage Drop, Power Loss considerations, and Capacitors Applications. Present a description of Smart Grid Technologies including equipment used for Distribution Automation Systems. Define main systems and components for Distribution Management Systems.
EE 4442 – LIGHTING FUNDAMENTALS DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3420
Theory of light, sight and vision, language of lighting, light sources, luminaries data, illumination design: interior and exterior; roadway lighting.
EE 4444 – ELECTRIC SYSTEM DESIGN II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 3420, EE 3440
General Design of electrical systems based in the National Electrical Code and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Code.
EE 4452 – ALTERNATIVE GENERATION SYSTEMS (Smart Grid Power Systems Track)
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3420
This course will help you understand the historical development of energy production, the economic impacts and environmental effects of energy production, and a description of principal fuels used for energy conversion. Also, a technical understanding of conventional energy sources will be presented such as: Steam Power Plants, Gas Cycle Plants, and Combined Cycle Plants. In addition, basic concepts, operating principles, and related technologies for renewable energy power generation such as: Solar Power, Wind Power, Biomass Power, Geothermal Energy, Hydroelectric Power, and Energy Storage System Applications. Finally, a description, planning, and comparison for investment in Distributed Generation Sources will be presented.
EE 4462 – ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 4444
Principles of Project Management applied to case studies of the Electrical Construction Industry, and conforming to NECA, MCAA, & SMAGNA techniques.
EE 4464 – GENERATION CONTROL SYSTEMS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 4400
Power Plant components. Generating Plant Types. Characteristics of power generating units. Economic dispatch of thermal units and methods of solution. Unit Commitment. Automatic Generation Control. Introduction to Power System Stability.
EE 4466 – RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS (Smart Grid Power Systems Track)
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 4452
Operation and design of electrical generation systems using photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and Wind Power (WP). Considerations of a stand-alone or grid connected way throw site and energy evaluation. Analysis and design using net metering application. Component operation, system design, sizing, and installation requirements. Backup system sizing using different types of batteries. Study of solar energy irradiation and irradiance. Wind measurement using the ISA model. Power quality, safety regulations and code rules according to NEC Articles 690 (PV) and 694 (WP). Other standards (IEEE, etc.) calculations and procedures required for necessary design approval. Economic analysis and global environmental impact.
EE 4602 – PROCESS CONTROL & INSTRUMENTATION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 3440, EE 3600
Study of basic components of a control system. Design of single process control systems. Study and design of cascade control systems. Study and design of ratio and feedforward control system. Study of piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) standards. Study of process characterization including thermal and mass transfer process. Study and analysis of fundamental PLC-based control system design. Study and analysis of final control elements.
EE 4603 – PROCESS CONTROL & INSTRUMENTATION LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 4602
Experiments for process control and instrumentation. Transducers, transmitters, analog and digital controllers, controls valves, switches, and indicators. Experiments with a process control trainer and programmable logic controllers (PLC’s).
EE 4606 – DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS (Communications, Signals & Controls Systems Track)
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 3002, COE 3320
Introductory course with attention on how a DSP controller affects a closed-loop system performance. Exposure to feedback control theory principles presented by means of a digital control algorithm model, using the Z-transform. Presentation of basic mapping rules, and proper sampling period selection for a digital control algorithm, such like the PID controller. Discussion of the Harvard architecture, data conversion errors, computational performance, and hardware operational requirements for A/D and D/A signal conversion. Implementation of control strategies to satisfy standard time and frequency control performance requirements. Introduction to state-space control, thru pole-placement, LQR and state-space observer design schemes. Use of MATLAB/SIMULINK and/or microprocessor-based programming. Main interest in electromechanical control for robotic systems.
EE 4612 – CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3600
Principles of analog and digital control. Analog and digital control using the PID controller. Design strategies with time specifications. Design strategies with frequency specifications. Special topics. Design projects will be required.
EE 4620 – ROBOTIC ENGINEERING DESIGN
Four credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3600 or EE 4606. Corequisite: EE 4621
Study of the technology, programming, applications, theory, and practices of robotic systems. All the basic systems of the robots are covered including manipulators, hardware components, sensors, and programming. The course covers design and applications.
EE 4621 – ROBOTIC ENGINEERING DESIGN LABORATORY
Four credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3600 or EE 4606. Corequisite: EE 4620
Experimental exercises with sub-systems used in robotic applications. Design and programming of PLC based systems are performed. A field trip to the industry is made as part of the laboratory.
EE 4622 – INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION (Both Tracks Components)
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 3610, EE 3611
The purpose of this course is to discuss advanced industrial automation concepts applied to the manufacturing industry. Topics such as: System Integration, Control System Architecture, SCADA, industrial communications protocols, algorithms industry Standards and Good Manufacturing Practices, will be discussed on the course. The Allen-Bradley DCS Compaq Logic platform will be used.
EE 4640 – AVIONICS SYSTEMS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: Departmental Permit.
This course explains the principles and underlying theory of the core avionic systems in civil and military aircraft, comprising the pilot displays, data entry and control systems, fly by wire flight control systems, inertial sensor and air data systems, navigation systems, autopilots and flight management systems. The implementation and integration of these systems with current (2010) technology is explained together with the methods adopted to meet the very high safety and integrity requirements.
EE 4706 – FIBER OPTICS SYSTEMS DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3702 or EE 4400
Application of electromagnetic and optical physics theory, digital communication theory, and modulation techniques to the design of fiber optic transmission systems. A design project is required.
EE 4720 – DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2270, EE 3002
Topics include LSI systems, the DTFT, the DFT, and the FFT. Study of linear and cyclic convolution. The Z-transform. Filter structures. Introduction to FIR and IIR digital filter design. Several DSP applications are discussed and demonstrated. MATLAB simulations and a final project are required.
EE 4724 – DIGITAL DATA TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3702
Introduction to Random Processes and review of the Sampling Theorem. Pulse amplitude modulation. Baseband digital transmission with PCM, DPCM, DM, ADM. Line coding. Intersymbol interference and equalizing. Passband binary digital transmission including ASK, FSK, PSK, and DPSK. M-ary modulation techniques. Advanced digital communication systems including spread spectrum systems and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. Spread spectrum systems. Overview of the Behavior of digital communication systems in presence of noise (AWGN).
EE 4736 – COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, SIMULATION & DESIGN (Communications, Signals & Controls Systems Track)
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 4724
Simulation and design of analog and digital communications systems. MATLAB, SIMULINK, the COMMUNICATION Toolbox and the Simulink DSP Block-Sets are used to verify and test the designed models. Topics include: Simulation of AM and FM links, Binary and M-ary Baseband and Passband Modulations, Time Division and Frequency Division Multiple Access. Inter Symbol Interference (ISI), Digital Equalization, Raised Cosine Shaping Filter, Spread Spectrum.
EE 4742 – ADVANCED MOBILE NETWORKS AND TECHNOLOGIES (Communications, Signals & Controls Systems Track)
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: EE 3702
1G-5G wireless standards. Cellular traffic capacity and trunking. Large scale and small-scale radio propagation channels. Review of Propagation Models, Fading. Performance of various modulation/demodulation schemes in fading channels. Fading Mitigation. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Systems (MIMO). Modems for Wireless Communication. Multiple-Access Techniques in Wireless Communications. Antennas for cellular communications.
EE 4902 – UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: Fourth-year Electrical Engineering student with 3.00 or higher GPA. Departmental Permit.
Research study in advanced topics in areas of electrical engineering like electric power systems, solid state electronics, communication systems, industrial control, robotics, digital signal processing, among others. The research can be conducted in two ways: a research paper or the implementation of a project. Each project will be evaluated observing the use of the recommended guidelines required to develop the project.
EE 4904 – UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: EE 4902 and Departmental Permit.
Extension of research study in advanced topics in areas of electrical engineering like electric power systems, solid state electronics, communication systems, industrial control, robotics, digital signal processing, among others. The research can be conducted in two ways: a research paper or the implementation of a project. Each project will be evaluated observing the use of the recommended guidelines required to develop the project.
EE 4911 –ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SEMINAR I
One credit-hour. One one and half-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: Departmental Permit.
Topics are limited to those which are not part of content of regular courses offered by the department. Credit-hours earned can fulfill the graduation requirements in Electrical Engineering. It will also serve to stimulate further advanced studies.
EE 4912 –ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SEMINAR II
Two credit-hours. Two one and half-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: Departmental Permit.
Topics are limited to those which are not part of content of regular courses offered by the department. Credit-hours earned can fulfill the graduation requirements in Electrical Engineering. It will also serve to stimulate further advanced studies.
EE 4990 & EE 4991 – SPECIAL TOPICS IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: Departmental permit according to topics to be addressed.
Advanced topics (4th year level) in areas of current research in electrical engineering. Many include topics in advanced electric power systems, solid-state electronics, communication systems, industrial control, and robotics, among others.
Computer Engineering Courses
COE 2300 – LOGIC CIRCUITS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2200. Corequisite: COE 2301
This course covers a full range of topics such as number systems and codes, digital circuits, Boolean algebra, minimization of logic functions, combinational logic design and practices, introduction to combinational logic design with PLDs, sequential logic design principles and practices. A general exposure to the combinational design of an Arithmetic-Logic Unit (ALU) and the sequential design with PLDs. ROM and RAM system-level design is given. Design Projects will be required.
COE 2301 – LOGIC CIRCUITS LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: SCIE 1441. Corequisite: COE 2300
This laboratory provides an experimental study using the TTL digital logic circuits. Two levels of integration are used: small-scale integration (SSI) and medium-scale integration (MSI). These logic circuits are then used in such applications like: combinational logic analysis and design, multiplexing, decoding, arithmetic and comparison operations, memory devices, counting, and sequential logic analysis and design. Computer simulation will also be required.
COE 3302 – DIGITAL SYSTEMS DESIGN WITH VHDL
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: COE 2300
Study of the modern methodology for digital system design using CAD tools and VHDL/Verilog as design Language. Design of components toward integration into a system to be used for particular purposes.
COE 3303 – DIGITAL SYSTEMS DESIGN WITH VHDL LABORATORY
One credit-hour. One four-hour or two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: COE 2300, COE 2301. Corequisite: COE 3302.
Provides practical exercises in the design, simulation, and implementation of Digital Systems using semi-automated tools, and following a comprehensive design and development process. Covers fundamental computer hardware sub-systems which can be applied in follow-on Computer Architecture course and its laboratory.
COE 3320 – MICROPROCESSORS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: COE 2300. Corequisite: COE 3321
This course covers a full range of topics such as: numerical base, basic computer architecture and organization, microprocessor and
microcontroller architecture, programmer models, microprocessor addressing modes, instruction set, and assembly language. A design project will be required.
COE 3321 – MICROPROCESSORS LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: COE 2301. Corequisite: COE 3320
The laboratory introduces microcontroller systems programming, including both hardware interfacing and software fundamentals.
COE 4002 – CAPSTONE DESIGN COURSE I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour meetings per week. Prerequisites: All Computer Engineering core courses before 4th year. Senior standing. Departmental permit.
First part of a two-term course on the design of projects based on open-ended requirements. Projects will be selected in accordance with the student’s area of interest (i.e., digital circuits, VLSI testing, software engineering, parallel processing, computer graphics, visualization, artificial intelligence, data base, HCI, computer Hardware, computer Software, data mining, etc.). Students must approve both Capstone Design Courses in sequence and without interruptions. Students that approve the first course and miss the second course will be required to repeat the first course again.
COE 4022 – CAPSTONE DESIGN COURSE II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour meetings per week. Prerequisite: COE 4002
Second part of a two-term course on the design of projects based on open-ended requirements. Students must approve both Capstone Design Courses in sequence and without interruptions. Students that approve the first course and miss the second course will be required to repeat the first course again.
COE 4320 – COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
Four credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: COE 3320. Corequisite: COE 4321
Instruction set architecture, functional organization, and implementation of a computer are studied from the performance point of view, to provide the students with the principles and techniques used in the design of modern computer systems.
COE 4321 – COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE LABORATORY
Zero credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: COE 3320. Corequisite: COE 4320
A practical experience on design, organization, performance measurement, benchmarks, and implementation of a computer system.
COE 4330 – COMPUTER NETWORKS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Corequisites: CECS 3234 or CECS 4230
Using the public Internet as the model, a top-down approach to the data transport conventions from the Application to the Link layer are analyzed, relying on the protocols published by the IETF and IEEE. The course opens with a concise history of the Internet, followed by an introduction to the organizations involved in Internet governance. The socket concept is examined along with the most important Application, Transport, Network, Link layer open protocols. Routing algorithms, IP addressing, and NAT schemes are discussed. The course closes with the discussion of protocols for multimedia networking, network security, and network management. A team design project is required.
COE 4331 – COMPUTER NETWORKS LABORATORY
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Corequisite: COE 4330
The laboratory exemplifies the techniques and devices that implement the solutions to communication problems discussed in class. Covers structured wiring schemes and their combination with wireless access schemes. Configures communication protocol stacks within various operating systems. Simulation and analysis of techniques that solve important communication problems. Covers various communication applications and issues of security and reliability related to different network topologies and configurations.
COE 4340 – MICROCOMPUTER INTERFACING
Four credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: COE 3320. Corequisite: COE 4341
Practical architectural view of microprocessor and detailed description of its interfacing elements. Laboratory assignments place emphasis on embedded system microcontrollers, their machine language and high-level language, I/O capabilities, peripheral interfacing chips for memory and devices, and counter-timers and interrupts. Interrupts and interrupt handlers are discussed in detail. Weekly interfacing problems and a design project are required.
COE 4341 – MICROCOMPUTER INTERFACING LABORATORY
Zero credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: COE 3320. Corequisite: COE 4340.
The laboratory emphasizes the I/O capabilities, peripheral interfacing chips for memory and devices, counter-timers and interrupts. Interrupts are discussed in detail. Weekly interfacing problems are discussed. A design project is required.
COE 4902 – UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: Fourth-year Computer Engineering student with 3.00 or higher GPA. Departmental Permit.
Research study in advanced topics in areas of computer engineering like data communication systems, digital testing, digital signal processing, artificial intelligence, computer security, distributed systems, and parallel computation, among others. The research can be conducted in two ways: a research paper or the implementation of a project. Each project will be evaluated by observing the use of the recommended guidelines required to develop the project.
COE 4904 – UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: COE 4902. Departmental Permit
Extension of research study in advanced topics in areas of computer engineering like data communication systems, digital testing, digital signal processing, artificial intelligence, computer security, distributed systems, and parallel computation, among others. The research can be conducted in two ways: a research paper or the implementation of a project. Each project will be evaluated by observing the use of the recommended guidelines required to develop the project.
COE 4990 – SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: Departmental permit according to topics to be addressed.
Advanced topics (4th year level) in areas of current research in computer engineering. Many include topics in data communication systems, computer graphics, robotics, computer architecture, digital testing, image processing, parallel computing, software engineering, computer languages, and real-time systems, among others.
Computer Engineering and Computer Science Courses
CECS 2004 – DISCRETE STRUCTURES
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: MATH 1330 or Equivalent. Corequisites: MATH 1340
Fundamental mathematical concepts related to computer science, including finite and finite sets, relations, functions, and prepositional logic. Introduction to other proofing techniques. Modeling and solving problems in computer science. Introduction to permutations, combination graphs, and trees with applications.
CECS 2200 – COMPUTER PROGRAMMING FUNDAMENTALS
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: MATH 0110 or Equivalent.
Introductory laboratory teaching the concept of an algorithm as a systematic solution to a problem. Students learn to represent algorithms using flowcharts and pseudocode. Fundamental constructs of structured programming languages such as variables, operators, selection, and repetition statements are then used to capture these algorithms for automated execution in a computer. Students learn to use a development environment and a high-level language such as C++.
CECS 2202 – COMPUTER PROGRAMMING I
Four credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2200. Corequisite: CECS 2203
The course is a follow-up to the CECS 2200 course and continues with the development of algorithms and programming skills using C++. It emphasizes modular program design using functions, arrays, and pointers. The course introduces fundamental object-oriented concepts such as class, object, instance variables, instance methods, and constructors and destructors.
CECS 2203 – COMPUTER PROGRAMMING I LABORATORY
Zero credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2200. Corequisite: CECS 2202
This course is the laboratory companion to the Computer Programming I course (CECS2202). It uses two different pedagogic strategies to assure that student carry out their lab projects successfully. The students complete a set of mini-projects in a closed laboratory setting. Each set of mini-projects provides them with the practical skills required to tackle a major project as a take home open-lab assignment. All projects are carried out using an Integrated Development Environment for the C++ language.
CECS 2222 – COMPUTER PROGRAMMING II
Four credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2202. Corequisite: CECS 2223
This course continues the development of the students’ skills in algorithm programming using the object-oriented paradigm. It emphasizes dynamic memory allocation, composition, inheritance, templates, exception handling, and file processing.
CECS 2223 – COMPUTER PROGRAMMING II LABORATORY
Zero credit-hour. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2202. Corequisite: CECS 2222
This course is the laboratory companion to the Computer Programming II course (CECS 2222). The students complete a set of mini-projects in a closed laboratory setting. Each set of mini-projects provides them with the practical skills required to tackle a major project as a take home open-lab assignment. All projects are carried out using an Integrated Development Environment for the C++ language.
CECS 3200 – ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: CECS 2202, COE 2300 or CS 2302 for CS Majors.
This course introduces students to the fundamental principles of machine language. Basic concepts such as number or data representation (binary, hexadecimal, and others), branching and looping, memory organization, operands, instruction cycle, addressing modes, exception handling, etc. are introduced.
CECS 3202 – VISUAL-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2202
This course is an introduction to Visual Basic. Course covers the fundamentals of visual programming in Visual Basic. Topics discussed cover: variables and operators, using decision structures, loops and timers, strings, modules, procedures, arrays, and graphical user interfaces.
CECS 3210 – ADVANCED PROGRAMMING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2222
This course aims to advance your basic programming skills, with special attention to user interface design, problem solving, and coding style in an object-oriented event-driven language, such as C#. Topics include: objects, classes and events, GUI design, and multithreading. Optional topics are graphics and databases.
CECS 3212 – DATA STRUCTURES
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2004, CECS 2222
The course covers fundamental data structures, the tradeoffs these imply for various sorting and searching algorithms, and their application using C++ or similar high-level language. The course emphasizes recursion, and the use of pointers, lists, stacks, queues, tables, and trees. The computational performance of searching and sorting techniques using big-O notation are also discussed. Several programs are assigned.
CECS 3214 – INTERNET PROGRAMMING I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2222
Covers the fundamental concepts guiding the emergence of the Internet and WWW. Focuses on technologies used at the browser’s side. Includes, XHTML, advanced elements such as tables, forms and frames, use of JavaScript for DOM manipulation. Emphasizes efficiency and scalability in the creation and maintenance of websites, including style sheets (CSS) and separation of content from presentation. An introduction to XML and related standards is included.
CECS 3216 – MACHINE LEARNING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2270, EE 2010 or CS 3010.
Algorithms and Models covered in this course include Linear Regression, Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machines, Gradient Descent, Dimensionality Reduction: Principal Component Analysis, K-means Clustering, Decision Trees, Ensemble Learning, Basic Introduction and Overview of Artificial Neural Networks and Deep Learning including Convolutional Neural Networks and Recurrent Neural Networks.
Topics include; Data Collection and Preparation, Problems with Data, Data Imputation, Data Imbalance, Supervised vs. Unsupervised Learning, Training Data, Validation Data, Test Data, Activation Functions, Parameters vs Hyperparameters, Overfitting, Underfitting, Performance Metrics, Confusion Matrix, Learning Curves, Cross Validation, The Bias-Variance Problem, Learning Rate, Transfer Learning, Local Minima vs. Global Minima, Backpropagation, The Vanishing Gradient Problem in Deep Neural Networks, Generalization Ability, Regularization Techniques, Initialization Schemes, Fast Optimizers, and Applications. A project or incremental projects including reports and/or oral presentations are required. The software used is MATLAB, Python, Tensor Flow, Keras and Scikit-Learn.
CECS 3218 – DATA ENGINEERING FOR MACHINE LEARNING I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2270, EE 2010 or CS 3010.
Review of the Machine Learning Process. Covers best practices, classes of techniques and criteria for their selection when performing Data Preparation for Machine Learning (ML). Data Cleaning and feature selection following sound statistical and modeling techniques that avoid data leakage and model distortion. Data transform algorithms most suitable to different variable types and their probability distributions, for single and multiple variables. How to transform prediction targets and integrate these into the final model. Address machine learning computational complexity issues with dimensionality-reduction algorithms.
CECS 3220 – HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2222
The course explores user-centered design approaches in information system applications. Addresses the user interface and software design strategies, user experience levels, interaction styles, usability engineering and collaborative systems technology.
CECS 3234 – UNIX OPERATING SYSTEM
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2222 or EE 4220.
Concepts of the UNIX operating system are presented. The course will also provide a deep and thorough knowledge of UNIX and its utilities. Topics include system commands, system editors, awk, sed, text formatting, and shell programming. The use of modem and terminal software and system maintenance utilities are covered as well as system call in C, lex, yacc, ar, and make.
CECS 3302 – DATA COMMUNICATIONS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: COE 2300 or CS 2302 for CS Majors.
This course is concerned with the exchange of data between directly connected devices. The key aspects of transmission, interfacing, link control, and error-free data transfers are examined. The physical and data link layers are discussed for a variety of LAN and WAN technologies. Design projects are required.
CECS 4200 – PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 3212
The course covers general concepts and constructs of several major programming paradigms. The design issues involved in the various language constructs are discussed and how these choices lead to different languages. Imperative, declarative, logic, functional, and object-oriented programming paradigms are illustrated in languages such as Pascal, Prolog, Lisp and C++. Methods used for describing the semantics and syntaxes of programming languages are introduced, such as: EBNF, syntax graphs, attribute grammars, operational, and denotation semantics.
CECS 4202 – DATABASE SYSTEMS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: CECS 2004, CECS 2222
This course is an introduction to the database concept. The course covers data models, relational database concepts, hierarchies, relational algebra and SQL, storage structures, and the role of databases and computers in application environments. Various programming assignments in SQL and a design project are required.
CECS 4204 – SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Corequisite: CECS 4202
The course presents the different phases for the development of software: project planning, object-oriented analysis, design, coding, and testing techniques using the Unified Modeling Language (UML). In addition, some tools to support the development to complete the activities necessary to develop software. Students are required to use what is presented to develop an application (the implementation is optional.)
CECS 4206 – DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 3212
This course covers issues that arise in the analysis and design of algorithms used for solving computational problems. A number of common algorithm design paradigms and examples are presented and explained. Algorithm design issues are contemplated. Computability and computational tractability concepts are introduced. Examples of computational problems with no algorithmic solution are analyzed. The importance of time and space requirements are greatly considered as the student designs algorithms to solve computational problems.
CECS 4208 – COMPUTER FORENSICS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 3212
The computer forensics course teaches students the basics of how a computer forensic case is carried out. The course covers the basic elements of criminology, legal theory as it applies to computer forensics, as well as the investigative process. The course teaches the necessary technical theory and practical aspects of forensic investigations. It emphasizes proper collection of evidence, proper documentation handling and information disposal procedures.
CECS 4210 – ETHICAL HACKING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 3212
This course covers the basic skill set in the area of ethical hacking. The course explains how to analyze exploits by examining and coding them, while discussing how to protect the computing infrastructure from those same attacks. It will also examine how the process of ethical hacking is carried out in a business environment.
CECS 4214 – NETWORK SECURITY
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 3212
This course covers current network technologies and the methodologies used to secure them. The course provides a hands-on approach where the student will learn the theory as well as the implementation of network security technologies in a controlled environment. The course includes a “Capture the flag” simulation where students are expected to protect the infrastructure from real attacks on an isolated network.
CECS 4216 – REVERSE ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 3212
The subject of reverse software engineering is the process of analyzing binary code to create a higher-level representation of the program being examined. This is accomplished by applying reversing techniques to obtain the assembly code from the binary executable and then obtain the C/C++ structure from the recovered assembly code. The course will study the ways in which protection mechanisms have been circumvented in the past through reverse engineering and the current methods employed to protect programs from reverse engineering. The course also emphasizes the methods by which IT personnel and programmers can protect software applications from circumvention by an attacker, thereby protecting the IT infrastructure.
CECS 4218 – INTRODUCTION TO GAME DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2200
This course is an introduction to the process of game design prior to game development, including the development of an idea and the production of a game design document. Topics include game elements, player motivation, game dynamics, game culture, game design team roles and game design process workflow.
CECS 4220 – E-COMMERCE
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2222
This course will study the structure, organization, and use of the Internet. Internet technologies and their potential applications are examined including electronic commerce, database connectivity, and security. An emphasis will be placed on evaluating, organizing, and developing efficient models of electronic transactions and Web Information Systems.
CECS 4224 – DEEP LEARNING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: ENGI 2270, EE 2010 or CS 3010.
Machine Learning Overview, The Perceptron, Multi-Layer Neural Networks, Deep Neural Networks, Backpropagation, Transfer Learning, Convolutional Neural Networks, Recurrent Neural Networks, Attention Mechanism, Transformers, Autoencoders, Generative Adversarial Networks, Reinforcement Learning, other ANN architectures such as Boltzman Machines, Self-Organizing Maps, and others. Topics include: Data Collection and Preparation, Problems with Data, Data Imputation, Data Imbalance, Training-Test Data Split, Gradient Descent, Activation Functions, Hyperparameters Selection, Overfitting, Underfitting, Performance Metrics, Confusion Matrix, Learning Curves, Cross Validation, The Bias-Variance Problem, Learning Rate, Local Minima vs. Global Minima, The Vanishing/Exploding Gradient Problem, Generalization Ability, Regularization Techniques, Initialization Schemes, Fast Optimizers, and Deep Learning Applications. A project or incremental projects including reports and/or oral presentations are required. The software used is MATLAB, Python, Tensor Flow, Keras and Scikit-Learn.
CECS 4226 – COMPUTER GRAPHICS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2222
The course covers the representation and manipulation of two and three-dimensional transformations, projection, illumination and shading models. The course will focus on algorithms and techniques that have emerged in the past several years. Topics include basic modeling and rendering methods, volumes and scientific visualization techniques, visual programming languages and environments, and computer animation. Also presents computer graphics as an aid in the presentation and analysis of information.
CECS 4228 – COMPUTATIONAL THEORY
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 3212
Introduces basic concepts in computation and computability theory. The course covers formal languages, models of computation and computational complexity. Major topics include regular languages, context-free languages, decidability, reducibility, time complexity and space complexity.
CECS 4230 – OPERATING SYSTEMS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Corequisites: COE 4320 or CS 3300 for CS Majors.
Operating systems are the programs that manage the computer hardware resources, and augment or enhance their basic functionality on behalf of the application programs that use the computer. The course discusses various aspects of computer operating systems including processes, process scheduling, memory management, concurrent programming, deadlocks, and others.
CECS 4232 – DATA ENGINEERING FOR MACHINE LEARNING II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: CECS 3218.
Covers the processes pipeline for collecting, storing, and analyzing big-data at-scale for Machine Learning from the perspective of the Data Engineering life cycle. Presents a historical summary of the evolution of computing for big-data and machine learning. Reviews enterprise data architectural frameworks. Studies the layered models for cloud computing and hybrid clouds. Discusses and analyzes tradeoffs between the key issues of consistency, scalability, fault tolerance, and complexity. Studies ML design patterns and their adoption in major implementation frameworks. Studies the principal ML model experimentation and deployment platforms. Reviews training, validation and deployment of ML algorithms and re-training actualization. Provides practice in the utilization of some of the leading Cloud-computing platforms for ML. Covers open and standardized cloud computing management and orchestration frameworks for your application infrastructure containers, as in Doker, and Kubernettes. Discusses data governance, security, and ethical issues.
CECS 4236 – SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Corequisites: CECS 4202.
Explores the process of requirements, elicitation, generation, modeling, tracing, and utilization in the development of software systems under plan-based and agile software development methodologies.
CECS 4240 – REAL-TIME OPERATING SYSTEMS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 3234 or CECS 4230.
Real-time operating systems (RTOS) are used primarily in embedded systems. In these systems, the time factor is a priority to ensure that all processes are carried out within established time frames. Examples are industrial control applications, telephone switching equipment, flight control and real-time simulations. The course introduces concepts such as task states and scheduling triggers, process and thread synchronization, and others, all emphasized on the real-time operating system. Simulator will be used to expose students to these concepts.
CECS 4248 – SOFTWARE TESTING AND VERIFICATION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Corequisites: CECS 4202.
The course presents the concepts, processes, strategies, methods, and techniques for software verification and validation. It also covers how to write a test plan and test report.
CECS 4911 – COMPUTER ENGINEERING SEMINAR I
One credit-hour. One one and half-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: Departmental Permit.
Topics are limited to those which are not part of content of regular courses offered by the department. Credit-hours earned can fulfill the graduation requirements in Computer Engineering and Computer Science. It will also serve to stimulate further advanced studies.
CECS 4912 – COMPUTER ENGINEERING SEMINAR II
Two credit-hours. Two one and half-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: Departmental Permit.
Topics are limited to those which are not part of content of regular courses offered by the department. Credit-hours earned can fulfill the graduation requirements in Computer Engineering and Computer Science. It will also serve to stimulate further advanced studies.
Computer Science Courses
CS 2302 – DIGITAL LOGIC FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 2200
The course covers the following topics: digital and analog systems, binary systems, digital systems, structure and behavior, design levels, combinational and sequential systems.
CS 3010 – NUMERICAL ANALYSIS FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisites: CECS 2202, MATH 1360. Corequisite: SCIE 1440
This course gives students the ability to apply solutions for approximations and errors, numerical solutions of linear and non-linear algebraic equations, ODE, PDE, numerical solutions of scientific problems, curve-fitting.
CS 3300 – COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CECS 3200
Instruction set architecture, functional organization, and implementation of a computer are studied from the performance point of view, to provide the students with the principles and techniques used in the design of modern computer systems.
CS 4002 – COMPUTER SCIENCE PROJECT I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour meetings per week. Prerequisite: All Computer Science core courses before 3rd year. Senior standing. Departmental permit.
First part of a two-term course on projects based on open-ended requirements. Projects will be selected in accordance with the student’s area of interest. Students must approve both Computer Science Project Courses in sequence and without interruptions. Students that approve the first course and miss the second course will be required to repeat the first course again.
CS 4022 – COMPUTER SCIENCE PROJECT II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour meetings per week. Prerequisite: CS 4002
Second part of a two-term course on projects based on open-ended requirements. Projects will be selected in accordance with the student’s area of interest. Students must approve both Computer Science Project Courses in sequence and without interruptions. Students that approve the first course and miss the second course will be required to repeat the first course again.
CS 4902 – UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: Third-year Computer Science student with 3.00 or higher GPA. Departmental Permit.
Research study in advanced topics in areas of computer science like artificial intelligence, databases, knowledge discovery, data warehousing, computer security, distributed systems, and parallel computation, among others. The research can be conducted in two ways: a research paper or the implementation of a project. Each project will be evaluated observing the use of the recommended guidelines required to develop the project.
CS 4904 – UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN COMPUTER SCIENCE II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: CS 4902. Departmental Permit.
Extension of research study in advanced topics in areas of computer science like artificial intelligence, databases, knowledge discovery, data warehousing, computer security, distributed systems, and parallel computation, among others. The research can be conducted in two ways: a research paper or the implementation of a project. Each project will be evaluated observing the use of the recommended guidelines required to develop the project.
CS 4990 – SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: Departmental permit according to topics to be addressed.
Advanced topics (3rd and 4th year level) in areas of current research in computer science. Many include topics in data mining, e-commerce, evolutionary algorithms, and data warehousing, distributed computing, computer security, human computer interaction, e-learning, knowledge.
Courses for Non-Electrical Engineering Majors
ENGI 2310 – COMPUTER PROGRAMMING & ALGORITHMS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: MATH 1330 or Equivalent.
The students will learn the steps that lead to the possible solution to a problem. In addition, the course presents the tools used in the development of a program.
ENGI 2320 – PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lectures per week. Prerequisite: SCIE 1440
Introduction to fundamental electrical engineering concepts. Study of electrical quantities such as current, voltage, energy, and power. Study of the ideal behavior of resistors, inductors, and capacitors as well as various independent and dependent ideal energy sources. Introduction to basic techniques of electrical circuit analysis.
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