Departmental Brochure

The Electrical Engineering program provides a comprehensive and balanced foundation by offering major courses in the context of a liberal arts education. Students work alongside experienced faculty in small classes and have the benefit of professional mentoring and supervision in both the classroom and the laboratory. The main concern of faculty is to create an effective learning environment for their students. The electrical engineering program begins with the Fundamentals of Engineering course in the freshman year and ends with the team-driven interdisciplinary Senior Design Project. In the first year, the program places major emphasis on mathematics and science to provide the background for engineering and design courses. The Fundamentals course introduces students to the mindset and vision of engineering, the tools and skills that will support their subsequent education, and the significance of successful engineering design and its ramifications. Following preparatory work, the fundamentals of electrical, mechanical, and engineering materials concepts are developed.

Advanced courses in electrical and electronic engineering further develop students' knowledge and skills in the discipline through an increasing emphasis on design assignments. The laboratory experiences are based on state-of-the-art equipment in well-appointed laboratories. The senior design project, a team-driven undertaking in which students tackle a real world engineering problem, caps an intellectually rewarding undergraduate experience. The result is the professional and personal growth of students as required by the mission of the School of Engineering.

Course of Study

As a Fairfield University student studying electrical engineering - one of the oldest and most attractive engineering disciplines - you'll be immersed in classroom studies bolstered by the practical, present-day challenges faced by engineers in the field. You will benefit from the School of Engineering's state-of-the-art facilities, comprehensive curriculum, and expert faculty. The School offers the foundation that prepares students to become leaders and innovators in the field. It combines the 460-year-old Jesuit traditions of academic integrity and intellectual rigor with cutting-edge industry exposure.

The curriculum for the Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) consists of 134 hours distributed over mathematics, the basic sciences, liberal arts, core electrical engineering topics, and specialized electrical engineering courses. A BSEE degree from Fairfield University enables students to participate in diverse professional areas, from designing power grids to designing microelectronic devices finer than a human hair.

At Fairfield University, we have established four educational objectives that our electrical engineering graduates are prepared to achieve in their professional career. They are as follows.

• Domain Knowledge: The graduates of the BSEE program are enabled to apply their technical skills to design/analyze/manage electrical/electronic systems in their chosen discipline in the field of electrical engineering. Furthermore, they are capable of exercising technical, quality, schedule, and cost constraints in the design process.
• Professional Practice: The graduates are trained to practice the discipline of electrical engineering in a competent and efficient manner as individual contributors or as members of an interdisciplinary team.
• Lifelong Learning: The graduates are members of their professional society and remain committed to lifelong learning in their profession and its relationship to society.
• Engineering Citizenship: The graduates practice in an ethical and professional manner and are constantly aware of the impact of their efforts on safety and the environment. They will be active in and of service to the community.

In summary, we provide students with the means to develop into skilled engineers with a strong professional vision regarding their discipline. We prepare them with the ability to develop their ideas, communicate their ideas to the outside world, and share their ideas with a team.

A concentration in control systems is also available. Courses include:

• Electronic Devices and Sensors (Mechatronics)
• Engineering System Dynamics
• Feedback and Control Systems
• Digital Control Systems

This concentration must be completed in the junior or senior year. For further depth in this area, students may choose to take Automation and Robotics I and II.

Engineering Student Society

All Fairfield engineering students are invited to join the Engineering Student Society. This group organizes monthly meetings, field trips, and provides the means for bonding among engineering students.

Study Abroad

Fairfield University offers opportunities for semester- and year-long study abroad. Contact the Study Abroad office at (203) 254-4000, ext. 4332, for more information.

Mathematics Minor

Electrical engineering students hone their mathematical skills with a series of seven math courses that earn them a mathematics minor. The program includes a four-course sequence of calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, and applied probability and statistics.

Research and Internships

As early as the completion of the sophomore year, and particularly at the end of the junior year, students may be placed in summer internships. Those may be continued throughout the academic year with special permission from the dean and the program chair, and may earn academic credit to the intern.

Life After Fairfield 

Demand for Fairfield University's engineering graduates has been consistently strong, and this trend should continue as technology advances at a rapid pace. Electrical engineers are sought out by many sectors of industry as well as by government agencies. With a broad educational background, our graduates have many options available. A number of graduates have directly entered the job market while others have decided to earn master's degrees and doctorates in their field.

The Faculty

Jerry Sergent
Ph.D., University of Cincinnati
Electrical Engineering

Paul Botosani
Ph.D., Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest
Electrical and Mechanical Engineering

Jeffrey Denenberg
Ph.D., Illinois Institute of Technology
Electrical Engineering

Pradeep Govil
M.S., Carnegie Mellon University
Electrical Engineering

Clement Pizzo
E.E.D., Polytechnic Institute of New York
Electrical Engineering

James Tsacoyeaness
Ph.D., University of Connecticut
Physics

Bill Taylor
University of California, Davis
Biomedical Engineering

Real World Education

Open communication with area industries and manufacturers puts our students on the front lines of emerging technologies and keeps the electrical engineering curriculum current and relevant. By tackling real-life challenges encountered by electrical engineers, students gain a perspective that supports classroom and lab learning. Learning experiences are based on a curriculum that aims to graduate skilled electrical engineers who are also capable of contributing to their discipline and serving social needs.

To help tap the students' creative potential while fulfilling the needs of business and industry, the curriculum places an increasing emphasis on design assignments. Standard software packages such as Mathcad, Electronic Workbench, LabView and Matlab Toolboxes are used for problem-solving purposes, and design packages such as Xilinx and Viewlogic are used in digital design laboratories. Experiential learning is carried out on state-of-the-art equipment in well-furnished laboratories.

A special feature of the engineering program is a core curriculum of liberal arts courses which transforms students  into competent, thinking citizens and lifelong learners. Among these courses are: philosophy, history, engineering ethics, literature and composition, religious studies, social sciences and fine arts.

Profile

Janelle Buckley
Electrical Engineering major
"I've always liked math and science, but never thought about engineering until senior year of high school, when some friends told me about their program. It sounded interesting but I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I knew I was in the right place when I studied Fundamentals of Engineering. Later on, I took Digital Electronic Design, in which we had to create a 4-bit microcomputer. Designing and hardwiring the circuit, then getting it to work on my own was very rewarding. My internship, which Dr. Taylor helped me get, involves working for a company that manufactures electronic information displays. It's really helped to reinforce what I've learned at Fairfield.

"The classes have definitely helped me on the technical side, but what's also important is getting involved in the Engineering Student Society to learn networking, communication, and leadership skills."

For further information, please contact:

School of Engineering
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT 06824-5195
Tel: (203) 254-4147
E-mail: acastelot@mail.fairfield.edu