Course Syllabus

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CS/ECE 3991
Computer Engineering Junior Seminar
Fall 2019

Instructor: Chris Myers, myers@ece.utah.edu, MEB 4112
Office Hours: TTh 12:30pm - 1:30pm or by appointment
Class: T 10:45-12:05, WEB L102

Course Description

 This course serves three primary purposes. First, it will familiarize the students with current trends and career opportunities in Computer Engineering through presentations by industry and faculty members. The second aspect of the course is to provide an education and practice on technical writing for engineers. Third, factors that are important in the engineering profession including professionalism, ethics, the impact of engineering in global and societal contexts, lifelong learning, and contemporary issues will be discussed.

Course Schedule

Date

Speaker

Notes, etc. 
Aug 20 Chris Myers, Introduction to LaTeX

LatexIntro
Aug 27 Chris Myers, Design of Asynchronous Genetic Circuits CEJunSem2019
Sep 3 Cunxi Yu

CunxiYu
Sep 10 Cole Mortensen, Sarcos Sarcos
Sep 17 Priyank Kalla Kalla.pdf
Sep 24 Jason Parkin, Sandia National Labs Sandia
Oct 1 Chris Longhurst, Collins Aerospace

Longhurst.pdf
Oct 8 No Class --- Fall Break
Oct 15 Tsung-Wei Huang, General-purpose Parallel and Distributed Programming Systems at Scale twhuang.pdf
Oct 22 Tim Hollis, Micron Technology, Inc. Hollis.pdf
Oct 29 Mahdi Bojnordi Mahdi.pdf
Nov 5 Blaine Prestwich, ON Semiconductor Prestwich.pdf
Nov 12 Ganesh Gopalakrishnan Gopalakrishnan.pdf
Nov 19 Rajeev Balasubramonian Rajeev.pdf
Nov 26 Armin Tajalli

Armin.pdf
Dec 3 Steve Blair, Engineering Clinic Program

 

Alternative Lectures

As mentioned below in Logistics, if you miss a lecture in CS/ECE1991, you can make up a max of two of the lectures by attending another lecture in the SoC or ECE department, and writing a one-page summary of the other lecture. Here are some lectures that could count as a make-up lecture. Check with me if you have another lecture you'd like to attend but aren't sure it meets the criteria. 

Logistics

  • Grading
    • Attendance: There will be 14 lectures (after the first day's intro). For full credit you must attend 13 out of 14 of those. Also, since it is inconsiderate to the speakers when attendees arrive late or leave early, half of the attendance points will be deducted for those who do so. If you must miss a lecture for some reason, a maximum of two lectures can be made up by attending and reporting on another lecture in the School of Computing or the ECE Department. 
    • Writing: Writing skills will be exercised and evaluated through a written report. The subject of the report will be a Computer Engineering technical topic of your choice; preferably one presented during the seminar. The report will be 4-6 pages long and formatted as an IEEE technical paper with references. You will need to read papers on your chosen subject and write a detailed report on that subject. Your paper can be written as a survey paper or as a detailed technical description of a particular Computer Engineering topic. It will include at least two figures and five references.
    • Because most of this class involves speakers (both internal to the U and external), grading is based on attendance, and on your written paper. 
    • Grades will be 50% attendance and 50% on your final paper

  • Academic Misconduct

    • Note that the School of Computing has adopted a tougher stance on academic misconduct you will need to read the policy (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and print and sign the form. At this point in your program, I assume that everybody already has this form on file with your advisor. If you don't, for some reason, you need to turn this form (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. in to Will Turner (the CE academic advisor) by Friday, August 24.

    • For 3991, academic misconduct means representing work that is substantially copied from an outside source as your own. If you've made use of information from other sources (published documents, reference materials, friends, colleagues, web tutorials, manufacturer's examples, etc.) then you must cite that source in your final paper. If you use text which is slightly modified or copy diagrams that you find on the web then the source of this information must be cited. Best practice for textual work is to cite information obtained elsewhere and provide the full reference in a bibliography. For copied diagrams used in either your final report the best practice is to cite the source in the caption or as text associated with the diagram. This is not an optional practice.

  • Special Needs
    • The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, http://disability.utah.edu/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., 581-5020 (V/TDD). CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All written information in this course can be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services. 

  • Add / Drop

Writing Resources

Writing skills requires practice. However, there are methods to accelerate this process. One of the best resources is the book The Elements of Style (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. by Strunk and White. Please read the 1918 edition linked above, and even better purchase the 3rd Edition. Another great reference is A. Hofmann's Scientific Writing and Communication.

LaTeX is a professional typesetting language. It is a markup language (as is HTML) that embeds typesetting and formatting information with the text. It is the preferred document creation language for engineers. If you intend to continue to a research based degree (such as an Thesis based Master's Degree or Ph.D.) or intend to perform research in industry, then it is strongly advised that you use LaTeX. In any case, you'll use it in this class at least... 

o LaTeX links (These just scratch the surface)

Additional resources on technical writing:

o Technical Document Formatting
o Online Resources
o Presentations and documents regarding writing and document preparation from previous Junior seminars

University Policies

  1. The Americans with Disabilities Act. The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in this class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, (801) 581-5020. CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All written information in this course can be made available in an alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services.
  2. University Safety Statement. The University of Utah values the safety of all campus community members. To report suspicious activity or to request a courtesy escort, call campus police at 801-585-COPS (801-585-2677). You will receive important emergency alerts and safety messages regarding campus safety via text message. For more information regarding safety and to view available training resources, including helpful videos, visit safeu.utah.edu.
  3. Addressing Sexual Misconduct. Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender (which Includes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression) is a civil rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, color, religion, age, status as a person with a disability, veteran’s status or genetic information.  If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you are encouraged to report it to the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 135 Park Building, 801-581-8365, or the Office of the Dean of Students, 270 Union Building, 801-581-7066.  For support and confidential consultation, contact the Center for Student Wellness, 426 SSB, 801-581-7776.  To report to the police, contact the Department of Public Safety, 801-585-2677(COPS).
  4. Additional College of Engineering Semester Guidelines can be found here.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due