Electrical and computer engineers develop and create products that change the world and make our lives easier. The cell phones we depend on, the computers used in national security, and the electrical systems that make our cars operate were all created by electrical and computer engineers. At WPI, we keep that progress moving forward with our innovative research and out-of-the box approaches.
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at WPI challenges students to push themselves to understand society’s and technology’s complex issues in a broader context than what’s in front of them. We want our students—whether they are earning an undergraduate minor or a doctorate—to tackle society’s most pressing problems and uncover new ways of solving them. Whether it’s developing systems that can locate firefighters in the middle of a burning building or creating neuroprosthetics that look and function like natural limbs, our faculty and students are at the front edge of remarkable innovation.
While advancing technologies is at our core, we also take human connections very seriously in ECE. We pride ourselves on the family-like atmosphere we cultivate; faculty, students, and staff encourage each other’s every success and are there for the challenges both in the classroom and in life.
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As members of WPI's Vernam Group, Berk Sunar and Thomas Eisenbarth search for vulnerabilities in the remote storage and computing services known collectively as "the cloud." Cloud computing, which makes it easier and less expensive for companies to scale up their operations, has helped enable the rapid expansion of firms like Netflix and Dropbox.
The Worcester Business Journal reported on work funded by a $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a new smartphone app to monitor chronic wounds. The work is led by Emmanuel Agu, associate professor of computer science and coordinator of WPI’s Mobile Graphics Research Group, with co-principal investigators professor Diane Strong and associate professor Bengisu Tulu, both of the Foisie Business School, and Peder Pedersen, a retired professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Raghvendra Cowlagi, assistant professor of aerospace engineering, and Alexander Wyglinski, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, are developing self-driving cars that can operate safely and efficiently, even in complex city environments; the work is funded by a $425,000 National Science Foundation award.
