TEACHING OVERVIEW

Course Overview

I teach five different courses at Stanford:

The first course is a freshman seminar designed to introduce freshmen to the process associated with the design of an engineering project. Students work in teams to develop a term project. The second course is a junior/senior level class that introduces the concepts of Fourier analysis and then applies these techniques to the study of analog and digital communication systems. The third course is a mezzanine course for seniors and first year graduate students that teaches the basics of AM, FM, and digital modulation. The fourth course is a graduate level class that focuses on the design and analysis of single and multiuser wireless communication systems. The fifth course is an advanced graduate course on special topics in wireless communications. In recent years this course has focused on wireless network issues. More details on these classes, including lecture summaries and powerpoint slides, can be found at the course websites linked above.


Course Descriptions

EE 15N: The Art and Science of Engineering Design:
The goal of this seminar is to introduce freshmen to the design process of an engineering project. The seminar will consist of a series of ten lectures. The first part of each lecture will focus on the different design aspects of an engineering project, including formation of the design team, developing a project statement, generating design ideas and specifications, finalizing the design, and reporting the outcome. Students will form teams to follow these procedures in designing a term project of their choice over the quarter. The second part of each lecture will consist of outside speakers, including founders of some of the top companies in Silicon Valley, who will share their experiences about engineering design. On-site visits to Cisco and Google will also be part of the course. The seminar serves three purposes: (1) it introduces students to the design process of turning an idea into a final design, (2) it presents the different functions that people play in a project, and (3) it gives students a chance to consider what role in a project would be best suited to their interests and skills.

EE 179: Introduction to Communication Systems:
This course provides a basic introduction to Fourier analysis and its application to communication systems. We begin the course with an overview of existing communication systems, including cellular telephone networks, radio and TV broadcasting, the Internet, and satellite systems. We then explore the design behind these systems, starting with the basic fundamentals of continuous-time signal representation using Fourier series and transforms. We will examine properties of signals and systems in both the time and frequency domains, and use these analysis methods to study basic modulation techniques like AM, FM, and digital modulation. The properties of noise in communication systems and their detrimental impact on performance will also be explored.

EE 279: Introduction to Analog and Digital Communications:
This course focuses on the analysis and design of communication systems, including both analog (AM/FM) and digital systems. We will cover modulation and demodulation techniques, performance of modulation in noise, and application of these techniques to current systems, including radio, TV, satellite, and cellular systems. As time permits we will also cover advanced topics in digital communications, including spread spectrum modulation, diversity, multiple antenna systems, and multicarrier modulation.

EE 359: Wireless Communications:
This course covers wireless communications techniques for voice, data, and multimedia, with the primary focus on the communication system design. It begins with a brief overview of current wireless systems and standards. The wireless channel is then characterized, including path loss for different environments, random log-normal shadowing due to signal attenuation, and the flat and frequency-selective properties of multipath fading. Next it reviews digital modulation techniques and then studies their performance under wireless channel impairments, including flat and frequency selective fading. The next part of the course is spent investigating techniques to improve the speed and performance of wireless links. It first examines the fundamental capacity limits of wireless channels and the transmission strategies that achieve these limits. Motivated by these capacity results, the design and performance of adaptive modulation and diversity techniques are then investigated. Three techniques to combat frequency-selective fading are then examined: adaptive equalization, multicarrier modulation, and spread spectrum. We will also study the multiple access capabilities of spread spectrum with multiuser detection. The course concludes with a brief overview of wireless networks, including multiple and random access techniques, cellular system design, and ad-hoc network design. Future wireless systems and applications, including the evolution of cell phones and PDAs, smart homes and appliances, sensor networks, and automated highways and skyways, are also discussed.

EE 360: Advanced Topics in Wireless Communications:
This course focuses on current research issues in wireless communication systems and networks. In recent years the course has focused on wireless networking issues, including multiple access techniques, cellular system design, and ad-hoc wireless networking. A rough set of the topics to be covered is given during the first week of classes. Lectures are based on required reading from magazine and journal articles, textbook sections, or supplemental handouts. Students present current research papers to the class as part of the lectures. A term project is also part of the course requirements.

Curriculum Committees

I also chaired the faculty committee to revise the EE undergraduate curriculum. The goal of our committee was to make the EE undergraduate major more interesting, relevant, and fun. I also participated in a campus wide committee on graduate education. The goal of this committee was to determine the strenghts and weaknesses of our graduate program as a whole, facilitate interdisciplinary research, and make recommendations for maintaining Stanford's excellence in graduate education over the next few decades.