ECET Strategic Plan (2010-2015)

Download the complete ECET Strategic Plan (PDF)

Mission and Vision

Mission

The mission of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET) at Purdue University is to serve and support the citizens of Indiana, the United States, and the world by the collective contributions of its people to meet global challenges by synthesizing engagement, discovery, service, and teaching to prepare

practicing professionals in the application of technological knowledge and processes that address societal needs using current and emerging resources
future leaders and scholars that design, develop, and apply existing and emerging technological systems on open-ended problems whose solutions benefit society.

Vision

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET) at Purdue University will be recognized worldwide for excellence in its academic programs, strategic collaborations, and partnerships. ECET will be acclaimed for its societal impact through application of scientific and technological innovations that address challenges of global significance in signature areas.

ECET Signature Areas

Signature areas are those areas that encourage, nurture, and celebrate the competencies and accomplishments of the faculty: their scholarship, resource acquisition, and student mentoring efforts to satisfy our mission and fulfill our vision. The signature areas are tightly coupled with research, engagement, teaching, and learning. ECET signature areas defined for the purpose of the ECET strategic plan for 2010-2015 include but are not limited to

Energy Efficiency and Management
Health and Environment related Technologies
sTem education
Cyberinfrastructure

Energy Efficiency and Management

The earth’s supply of fossil fuels will someday be depleted. Clearly there is a need to contribute to current and emerging areas involved with managing the energy being consumed today as well as helping develop new methods and systems for managing energy harvested by alternative means tomorrow. Many alternatives are and will continue to be funded from government agencies and industry, as no clear single solution exists to deal with the loss of fossil fuels. The emerging “Smart Grid” attempts to optimize the management of energy distribution on a national scale. Grid 2030 vision calls for the construction of a 21st century electric system that connects everyone to abundant, affordable, clean, efficient, and reliable electric power anytime, anywhere. Every current competency such as machines and power distribution, electronic circuits and systems (including battery technologies), instrumentation, communications, networking, computer systems, control, and emerging competency areas such as nanotechnology and sensor networks can participate.

Health and Environment Related Technologies

Health and environment related technology development takes on many forms. Patients benefit from advanced methods and equipment for testing and diagnosis, as well as treatment and cure. Pharmaceutical manufacturers benefit from devices that automate new drug testing and delivery. New means for determining the source of pandemic outbreaks, or mitigating them altogether, are emerging. Personal health is often strongly correlated to the environment. Thus activities to develop technologies and tools to better understand and in some cases control the environment are increasingly important. Many current ECET competencies such as machines and power distribution, electronic circuits and systems, instrumentation, communications, networking, computer systems, control, and emerging competency areas such as nanotechnology and sensor networks can easily be mapped into this signature area. Funding opportunities are numerous, including national foundations for science, health, and the department of agriculture.

sTem Education

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is currently a national challenge that has the attention of our national government and funding agencies. The student pipeline as a whole is diminishing while baby-boomers engaged in STEM careers are leaving the workforce, creating a widening gap between supply and demand. This area presents significant research and engagement opportunities and can also serve as a recruitment vehicle for sustaining and growing ECET. Every current competency such as machines and power distribution, electronic circuits and systems, instrumentation, communications, networking, computer systems, control, and emerging competency areas such as nanotechnology and sensor networks can participate.

Cyberinfrastructure

The area of Cyberinfrastructure is related to computing elements at every scale that work to help solve problems and gain new knowledge. The world’s communication and computing systems are converging to become more connected. Elements can be as small as emerging MEMS and nanotechnology can take them, or capable of performing 150,000 operations per person on the planet, per second. Inclusive between these extremes are those compute elements that process acquired signals, code and decode communication symbols, provide energy efficiency and performance acceleration of applications, and form computational clusters and Grids. Most current ECET competencies such as machines and power distribution, electronic circuits and systems (including battery technologies), instrumentation, communications, networking, computer systems, control, and emerging competency areas such as nanotechnology and sensor networks are easily mapped into cyberinfrastructure related activities. Funding takes many forms including computing systems, network systems, education, and the cyberinfrastructure itself.

Strategies for 2010-2015

The strategies for 2010-2015 are defined in relation to characteristics of the ECET vision:

1. Innovative undergraduate and graduate curricula enriched through application of current and emerging technologies, multidisciplinary approaches, experiential learning, synergistic collaborations, and international perspectives.

2. K-12 programs that engage pre-college students, enhance technology teaching, and promote technological literacy.

3. Internationally recognized applied research programs in our signature areas that advance the missions of the department, College of Technology, and Purdue University.

4. Collaborations and partnerships beyond the University that produce innovation and discoveries with worldwide impact.

5. A community of faculty, staff, and students with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives who conduct themselves with the utmost collegiality, professionalism, and mutual respect.

Innovative Curricula

Vision characteristic: Innovative undergraduate and graduate curricula enriched through application of current and emerging technologies, multidisciplinary approaches, experiential learning, synergistic collaborations, and international perspectives.

Lead in the establishment and maintenance of the Bachelors degree level “Bodies of knowledge” (BOK) in Electrical Engineering Technology and Computer Engineering Technology on a national and international scale.
Lead in the establishment and maintenance of the Masters and PhD degree level “Bodies of knowledge” in Electrical Engineering Technology and Computer Engineering Technology on a national and international scale.
Identify, develop, implement, and maintain efficient, robust, and reliable course delivery mechanisms to facilitate departmental objectives at local and statewide sites
Expand ECET service structure to support the West Lafayette campus and beyond
Identify, establish, and maintain resource channels and sources (collaborations) to
- Maintain educational laboratories consistent with the state of the art.
- Perform the investigation and research required to succeed in completing curricular objectives.
- Provide resources to faculty engaged in exchange-based teaching and learning activities
- Provide resources to faculty for course management and maintenance activities.

K-12 Programs

Vision characteristic: K-12 programs that engage pre-college students, enhance technology teaching, and promote technological literacy.

Identify the top 5 motivators and goals for K-12 program involvement
Identify those programs with the highest probability for successful participation and impact toward motivators and goals
Identify common threads of requirements, training needed for faculty participation
Identify and engage in activities with the largest impact on student and faculty growth
Develop metrics for assessing impact
Identify, establish, and maintain resource channels and sources (collaborations) to

Support faculty training and travel
Self-fund K-12 program involvement
Grow K-12 program involvement by a factor of 3 by 2015

Applied Research

Vision characteristic: Internationally recognized applied research programs in our signature areas that advance the missions of the department, College of Technology, and Purdue University.

Grow direct faculty involvement toward a goal of sponsored research funding that is in the upper quartile of the College by 2015
Identify and align ECET faculty with signature areas
Grow each signature area to reach preeminence
Engage our signature areas with other entities
Identify and rightsize departmental resources to support research growth.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Vision characteristic: Collaborations and partnerships beyond the University that produce innovation and discoveries with worldwide impact.

Identify, engage and maintain collaborations with national engineering, ET, and labor governing bodies
Identify, engage and maintain lab instrument/equipment/software supplier collaborations
Identify, engage and maintain lab selected industrial collaborations
Identify, engage and maintain international curriculum/program exchange collaborations
Identify, engage and maintain K-12 program collaborations and partnerships (see K-12 programs)
Identify, engage and maintain governmental agency and contractor collaborations.

Download the complete ECET Strategic Plan (PDF)