Department News

Sara Ehlert awarded the Goldwater scholarship

Recently, Sara Ehlert, a Electrical Engineering and Mathematics major was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,107 students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.  Of the 1,107 students nominated by their institutions, 271 scholarships were awarded. Established in 1986, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was created to award scholarships to college students studying to become scientists, mathematicians, and engineers.  The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.

As a part of the application, students have to write a research proposal.  Sara wrote about her work with Dr. Aaron Hawkins.  For the past 2 years, they have been working on applying techniques from microelectronic fabrication to the creation of miniature analyzers called lab-on-a-chip.  Specifically, they are working on creating a chip to filter blood.  Sara says "I am very appreciative of the support Dr. Hawkins and BYU has given me in order to allow opportunities like this scholarship to be possible. It has given me even more confidence to know that my research and education is important."

Students use "Space Invaders" as a learning tool

It’s not every day you get to play video games in class. For Professor Brad Hutchings' Embedded Systems course, however, “Space Invaders” is the main item on the syllabus. His class of electrical and computer engineers is taking a futuristic spin on a retro video game, giving the 80s classic a whole new way to play.

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J. Kelly Flanagan received the Outstanding Alumnus Award for 2012

J. Kelly Flanagan received the Outstanding Alumnus Award for 2012 from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Brigham Young University.  Some of the highlights from his distinguished career are summarized below.

Education: Kelly Flanagan received both a BSEE (1988) and MSEE (1989) degrees from BYU.  He then continued on to receive his PhD from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at BYU in 1993.

Professional Career:  After completing his PhD, Doctor Flanagan took a faculty position in the Computer Science Department at BYU. He currently serves as the Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer of BYU. He continues to do research and advise students.

Awards: Dr. Flanagan has published numerous technical papers, received over $2,000,000 of funding, advised many graduate students, received a teacher of the year award, and received the Utah Golden Key Award.

Brent Nelson appointed new Department Chair

Brent Nelson has been appointed the new Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Chair. His appointment began June 1st, 2012. Dr. Nelson received his doctorate in computer science from the University of Utah. He serves as co-director for the NSF Center for Reconfigurable High Performance Computing (CHREC), and is actively involved in the international and globalization activities within the college. He created the college’s Globalization Study Abroad program in 2007.

BYU electrical engineers light up ballroom dance team

Professor Aaron Hawkins and a team of electrical engineering students and faculty have created fully-functioning, eye-catching light suits that flash to music.

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Andrea Eyring Named Honored Alumna

Andrea Eyring (MSEE 1987, BSEE 1987) was named the Honored Alumna in 2012 by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at BYU. Andrea is the founder of Eyring Systems Incorporated, established in 1996. Eyring Systems Incorporated provides specialized system and software engineering, signal analysis, and consulting services in the areas of digital telecommunications and data communications.

BYU Spinoff is Acquired by Lockheed Martin

Procerus technologies, an Orem Utah based company which has its origins in the BYU Magicc lab was purchased on January 17, 2012 by Lockheed Martin.  In 2002-2003 Reed Christiansen,  Walter Johnson, and Josh Hintze were masters students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at Brigham Young University working under the direction of ECE professor Randy Beard and ME professor Tim McLain.

ECEN students use light to beam songs across a room.

Each semester, classes resume the challenge of improving on previous efforts to transmit music across a room with light. This semester, Jana Sardoni, Matt Seamons, and other members of Jana's team built a device that can transmit any song from anyone’s iPod to a receiver and speakers up to 20 feet away. Check out their story.

Taylor Webb receives NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship

Taylor Webb, an MS degree candidate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been awarded a prestigious NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship with an annual value of $60,000. His research will be advised by Prof. Karl Warnick in the area of phased array feed antennas for space remote sensing applications.

First Year Experience in Electrical and Computer Engineering at BYU

Many of the top students in the high school graduating class of 2011 will choose electrical or computer engineering as a career.  In doing so, they select a discipline that will help shape the future.  Electrical and computer engineers will design the next generation smart phones, faster and more powerful computers, smaller and more functional electronic tablets, and newer, smaller, and faster medical devices. It is an exciting field that offers both intellectual and monetary rewards.