Course subject: Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)

Optimum mininum mean-square error (MMSE) Wiener filtering. Parametric and non-parametric spectrum estimation. Eigenstructure-based frequency estimation. Statistical parameter estimation using maximum likelihood (ML), maximum a posteriori probability (MAP), minimum mean-square error (MMSE) and least squares (LS) methods. Adaptive signal processing using least-mean-squares (LMS) and recursive least-squares (RLS) approaches. Discrete-time Kalman filtering. Recommended background: ECE 316: Probability Theory/ECE 342: Signals and Systems/ECE413: Digital Signal Processing/ECE 604: Stochastic Processes.

Introduction to queueing theory, queueing models, performance measures, performance analysis and evaluations, Poisson arrivals and exponential service times, Little's formula, Markov and semi-Markov processes, birth-death processes, single server and multiserver queues, single stage and tandem networks, open and closed networks.

This course gives an in-depth coverage of technical concepts that are fundamental to the use of ultrasound in biomedicine. Concepts to be addressed include: acoustic wave propagation theory, field profile in ultrasound imaging, principles of ultrasound-based flow estimation, and the biophysical foundations of therapeutic ultrasound. The overall aim of this course is to equip students with essential foundational knowledge in biomedical ultrasonics, starting from first principles in wave physics.

This course introduces a quantitative understanding of cell biology at the molecular level. Guided with real experimental data, biological processes and systems are modeled using fundamental physical principles and engineering analytic techniques, including free-energy minimization, statistical mechanics, random walk models, electrostatics, diffusive dynamics, electrochemical equilibrium, complex networks, feedback system analysis, Turing reaction-diffusion equations, and sequence analysis. Various complicated biological phenomena will be shown to be explicable with the same simple underlying principles.

Representation of bandpass signals and systems, modulation and demodulation for the additive white Gaussian noise channel, optimal demodulation for signals with random phase, noncoherent detection for binary and M-ary orthogonal signals, hard and soft decision decoding for linear codes, concatenated codes, performance of coded modulation systems, characterization of fading multipath channels, diversity techniques, performance of coded systems on fading channels, direct sequence and frequency hopped spread spectrum systems.

This course covers the fundamental concepts and methods, as well as state-of-the-art theories and technologies in the field of image processing and visual communications. Topics include fundamental digital image and video processing methods; image analysis and understanding; statistical image modeling and perception; and robustness, scalability and security issues in visual communications.

This course consists of three parts: Part 1 will be concerned with the definitions of entropies as information measures and the derivation of the rate distortion function of Gaussian sources, which will form the basis for performance comparison. Part 2 will discuss the derivations, design and performance of certain compression techniques, including dpcm/entropy coding, predictive coding, linear predictive coding (LPC), adaptive predictive coding (APC), vector quantization, and tree and trellis coding. Part 3 will consider applications of compression techniques to speech and image processing.

Syntax, semantics, and usage of the VHDL hardware description language. Modeling concurrency in VHDL, in other hardware description languages, and using other simulation techniques. Modeling, design, and implementation at the register-transfer level. Functional verification techniques. Timing analysis. Introduction to power analysis and optimization. Introduction to faults and testing.

Basics of semiconductor physics. Physical principles and operation of p-n junctions, metal/semidconductor contacts, MOS capacitors, MOS field-effect transistors, and related optoelectronic devices. Short-channel MOSFETs, modern MOSFETs, and future transistor technologies. Introduction to device simulators and SPICE models.

Physical source of solar radiation; direct & diffuse radiations; review of electronic materials; semiconductor concepts; optical absorption; generation and recombination processes in semiconductors; operating principles of photovoltaic devices; homo- and hetero- junction devices; equivalent circuits; quantum efficiency; current-voltage characteristics; Efficiency limits in photovoltaic devices; short circuit current and open circuit voltage losses; temperature effect; material-imposed limits; theoretical and practical limits; Photovoltaic device design and fabrication; silicon-based devices; gallium arsenide devices; thin film devices; device simulation; fabrication technologies; Advanced photovoltaic concepts; nano-structure and organic PV devices; System-level photovoltaics; module structure and design; back-end electronics; stand-alone and grid-interactive systems; photovoltaic hybrid systems.

The course gives an overview of organic electronic and optoelectronic devices. It begins with a review of electronic structure of single organic molecules as a guide to the electronic behaviour of organic aggregates.Various relevant material phenomena are reviewed; including topics from photophysics (absorption and emission of light, excited states, radiative and non-radiative transitions), intermolecular charge transport mechanisms (hopping, disorder), charge injection and transport models, and energy transfer processes. Their applications in light emitting devices, solar cells, thin film transistors, photodetector and imaging photoreceptors, etc. are discussed. Aspects related to device fabrication and patterning may also be addressed.

Design of MOS and bipolar analog integrated circuits at the transistor level, with an emphasis on the design of single-stage and multi-stage op amps. Related topics include biasing, compensation and noise will be covered. In addition, higher level analog and mixed analog/digital subsystems will be discussed, time permitting. Students enrolling in this course are expected to have a background equivalent to the material covered in ECE 242, formerly ECE 332.

Overview of basic physical processes in semiconductors and their interactions with thermal, radiant, mechanical, or chemical input signals. Review of microtransducer materials and technologies. Principles and operation of integrated thermal sensors (thermistors, thermopiles, active IC elements, pyroelectric devices), radiant sensors (optoelectronic, infrared and radiation sensors), magnetic sensors (Hall devices, magnetoresistors, magnetotransistors), (mu)mechanical sensors (piesoelectric and peizoresistive devices, flow sensors and resonant structures), chemical sensors (ion, gas and humidity sensors, CHEMFETs, biosensors, SAW devices), and micro-actuators ((mu)valves, (mu)pumps, (mu)motors). Overview or pertinent interface and modelling techniques.

Transistor-level design of circuits for wideband RF front-ends. An overview of 2G (GSM) and 3G (W-CDMA) standards and relevant radio architectures is presented, with key system specifications mapped onto circuit specifications. On-chip passive component design and simulation aimed at maximizing RF performance is discussed in detail. Circuit examples include: wideband preamplifiers and gain blocks, I-Q up/downconverters, voltage- and digitally-controlled oscillators (VCO/DCO), and power amplifier drivers. Design of circuit blocks for mm-wave frequency applications and RF testing, packaging and characterization are also discussed. Understanding of analog circuit design and semiconductor devices, and analog circuit simulation experience (e.g., SPICE) is required.

An introduction to the problems and algorithms that arise during the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) of digital circuits. Course emphasis is on the backend of the CAD flow such as algorithms for solving problems including: technology mapping, partitioning, floor-planning, clustering, placement, routing and physical synthesis.

Software Systems - Systems programming and operating systems, scripting, system calls, libraries, compilers and interpreters. Mathematical logic - propositional & predicate logic, and some higher-order logics, syntax, semantics, entailment, deduction, use of logic in software. Data structures - lists, stacks, queues, heaps, trees, graphs, and algorithms to manipulate such data structures. Graduate students who have previously taken ECE 750 with the topic title Methods and Tools for Software Engineering are not eligible to take ECE 650.

The application of formal test methods based on the structural and behavioural properties of software systems at the unit integration, and system testing levels; for conventional and object-oriented implementations. Related Background: Prior knowledge of a programming language and a certain maturity in compilers, operating systems, abstract data structures, object-oriented and programming skills.

The course consists of two related parts. The first part deals with the engineering of reliable software. It introductes basic software reliability concepts, descritbes relevant models and discusses processes for engineering of reliable software, including schemes and patterns for the design of reliable and fault tolerant software. The second part addresses development of secure software. It presents key software security concept, techniques and models, overviews major software security vulnerabilities and their exploitation, and considers processes for development of secure software.

This course covers data models, file systems, database system architectures, query languages, integrity and security and database design. Students attending this course should have at least a 4A level Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering background.

Engineers encounter data in many of their tasks. Whether the sources of this data may be experiments, databases, computer files, or the Internet, there is a dire need for effective methods to model and analyze the data and extract useful knowledge and information from it. This course aims to provide engineering graduate students with essential knowledge of data representation, grouping, mining and knowledge discovery.

This course is concerned with recent developments in intelligent sensors and wireless sensor networks. This course will introduce students to diverse fundamental issues encountered in designing and analyzing intelligent sensors and sensor networks (mobile and stationary), with emphasis on mission critical applications.

Discuss in detail the basic structure, functional characteristics and protection schemes of the main components that make up a powers system, in particular generators, transformers, transmission lines, cables, loads, HVDC and FACTS controllers. Understand the modelling and simulation of these components for detailed electromagnetic transients analyses, as well as phasor models for power flow and stability studies.

The course addresses all dimensions of Power Quality (PQ) issues including mitigation strategies. The focus is mainly on qualitative concepts and comprehensive coverage. The course introduces PQ definitions, limitations, related international standards and mathematical techniques for PQ analysis of power systems. Different identification, localization and classification techniques for PQ problems will be investigated. The various kinds of PQ problems and their effect on the load/system equipment will be looked at in detail. The mitigation strategies such as passive filtering, active and hybrid power filtering, static VAR compensation, DVR, UPQC, etc. will be investigated. Areas covered include voltage sags, interruptions, transients, flickers, harmonics and modeling and simulation of utility systems. The grounding imperfection as a major cause for PQ problems will be addressed in detail. Moreover, requirements and impact of distributed generation (DG) on network power quality will be studied in detail. Effect of DG on voltage regulation, relaying, losses, islanding and standards will be examined. Recommended Background: Basic understanding of modeling of power system elements and analysis techniques is required. Familiarity with a programming language and/or a simulation package such as EMTDC / PSCAD and MATLAB is desirable.

Power system protections schemes are designed primarily to minimize the duration of a fault as well as to minimize the number of customers affect by the fault. The scope of this course is to study the main elements and techniques for power system protection. The course is divided into two main parts; protective equipment and protective techniques. In the protective equipment; circuit breakers, relay, enclosures, fuses and isolating switches are discussed. Different protection techniques dedicated to protect feeders, transformers, generators and motors are discussed in the second part of the course. Recommended Background: Basic knowledge in power system engineering is required, basic knowledge in optimization techniques, statistics, and electric circuits.

The course deals in detail with power system operation and control in the deregulated electricity market environment. The topics include electricity market design and auction mechanisms, price formation, role of the independent system operator in pool versus bilateral markets, generation scheduling in deregulation, transmission pricing paradigms, congestion management, transmission rights, ancillary services procurement and pricing, and security management in deregulation. A highlight of the course is the country- specific information provided on various operational aspects of restructured power systems worldwide. Recommended Background: Basic understanding of power system engineering is required. Knowledge of mathematical programming is desirable.

This course deals with generation and measurement aspects of high voltages and industrial applications of high voltage engineering. The first part concentrates on generation of high voltage ac, dc and impluse voltages of both switching and lightning surges. Measurements techniques based on different types of potential dividers and spark gaps for ac, dc, and impulse measurements will be covered. The second part deals with generation and measurements of special types of high voltages needed for industrial applications. The course also covers non-destructive measurements like surface and internal discharges, capacitance and loss factor and some optical techniques. Recommended Background: Basic knowledge of circuit analysis and low voltage measurement techniques is required. Familiarity with electrical power system components is useful.

This course covers a wide range of topics in electric machines and motor drives including review of power electronic converter topologies, models and control techniques, review of electro-magnetics, dc machine structure, types and principles of operation, dc motor torque/speed characteristic, model, start-up and speed control techniques, synchronous machine structure and principles of operation, synchronous generator synchronization, loading and active and reactive power control, synchronous motor torque/speed characteristic, model, start-up and speed control techniques, induction machine structure and principles of operation, induction motor torque/speed characteristic, model, start-up and speed control techniques, single-phase induction motors, switched-reluctance motor structure, principles of operation and speed control, brushless dc motor structure, principles of operation and speed control, step motor structure, principles of operation and speed/position control, simulation of variable-speed drives, simulation tools, and industrial applications of motor drives. Recommended Background: Basic understanding of circuit analysis, power electronics and control theory.

Understand the basic definitions and concepts associated with power systems analysis. Discuss in detail techniques and tools for power system analysis, with a practical perspecitve. The course will cover short circuit power flow, stability concepts including voltage, oscillatory, transcient and frequency stability.

The objective of this course is to expand the knowledge and expertise of practicing engineers in the area of DC/DC converters. The course will focus on the modeling and design of DC/DC converters, including magnetic design and loop design, and their applications in DC motor drives, DC power supplies, power factor correction circuits, photovoltaic stand-alone and grid-connected systems and fuel cell-based stationary and mobile systems.

The course will discuss in detail the basic concepts of risk assessment and outage models of system components. It will discuss in details the concept of asset management and its main components, application examples about the risk evaluation of transmission lines, generators and substations will be considered.

The definitions and concepts associated with short circuit, power flow and stability analysis are presented and discussed. Models, techniques and tools used for these types of studies are discussed with a practical perspective, and applied to the comprehensive analysis of a typical test system. Controls and protections for voltage, angle and frequency control and regulation, such as Automatic Voltage Regulators (AVR), Power System Stabilizers (PSS) , Automatic Generation Control (AGC), under-voltage and under-frequency relays, are also studied and applied.

This course deals with the new emerging technology in high voltage engineering. It is divided into five parts. The first part of the course in a review of the basic fundamentals of high voltage engineering. The second part deals with the new techniques in partial discharge measurements. The third part of the course deals with measurements of charge distribution in solid dielectric. The fourth part of the course discusses the optical fiber based monitoring techniques of the high voltage high power equipment. The last part of the course deals with the application of high voltage engineering in power systems.

This course covers the following topics in distribution engineering: Load Characteristics and distribution system load forecasting; Distribution system planning; Distribution system automation; Design and application of distribution transformers; Design and optimal operation of sub-transmission lines and distribution systems; Distribution system voltage regulation; Reactive power control for distribution systems; Application of capacitors to distribution systems; Calculation of voltage drops in lateral distribution systems; Calculation of power losses in distribution systems; Introduction to distribution system protection. Background Required - basic knowledge of power system operation and analysis.

Fundamentals of microwave and RF circuit analysis, design and measurements; Generalized transmission line analysis; S-parameters; Coupler and filter design; Diode-detectors, and mixers; Low-noise and power amplifiers, oscillators; Computer aided design of RF circuits.

Mathematics of time varying electromagnetic fields, linear antennas self and mutual impedance, aperture antenna, wave diffraction theory, geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD).

The course is introductory and emphasizes the fundamental concepts and engineering applications without a previous exposure to quantum mechanics. Examples and problems are designed to address the applications of the course contents to real problems in electronic, optoelectronic, photonic and superconductive devices.

An introduction to control theory for linear time-invariant finite-dimensional systems from both the state-space and input-output viewpoints. State-space theory: the concepts of controllability, observability, stabilizability, and detectability; the pole-assignment theorem; observers and dynamic compensation; LQR regulators. Input-output theory: the ring of polynomials and the field of rational functions; the algebra of polynomial and rational matrices; coprime factorization of transfer matrices; Youla parametrization, introduction to optimal control.

This is a course on continuous-parameter state estimation and control for stochastic linear systems. It is based on a single unifying theme, namely that state estimation in linear systems is equivalent to projection onto a closed linear subspace generated by an observation process in a Hilbert space of random variables. This formulation of state estimation leads to the innovations theorem of Kailath, and this in turn has a number of corollaries of considerable practical importance, such as the Kalman-Bucy filtering formulae and the Rauch-Tung-Striebel prediction formulae which are much used for example in problems of inertial guidance and control in aerospace, in stochastic optimal control, and (more recently) in econometrics.

This is a project course, which is open all ECE MEng students with greater than or equal 80% average, after the completion of at least 3 courses. The MEng student will carry out a 4-month research project under the direct supervision of an ECE faculty member. Faculty members will post the projects offered and interview candidates. At the end of the term, a written Project Report will be submitted and evaluated and graded by the Supervisor. ECE research students (MASc and PhD) are NOT eligible to enroll in this course. MEng students must obtain a permission number to register for this course. ECE 699 is not transferrable to the ECE MASc program.

This course introduces some timely topics in communications security. It covers the advanced topics on cryptography, encryption and authentication, homomorphic encryption, cryptanalysis, provable security, network security mechanisms and protocols, network access authentication, radio air link protection, privacy in radio frequency identification systems, game theory and security in wireless spectrum sharing, attacks, and hardware protections.

This course will help you understand the foundational principles of FPGA architecture, the compilation and CAD process for modern FPGAs, high-level synthesis with OpenCL, communication overlay fabrics, and design strategies and patterns for computational acceleration. In particular, we will explore topics of contemporary interest such as machine learning that can influence both (1) how we design FPGAs, and (2) how they can be accelerated using FPGAs.

This course covers the system level design of integrated circuits for wireless transceivers. Specific mixed analog/digital circuits such as: mixers, A/D and D/A converters (Nyquist rate and oversampled) for IF digitizing as well as switched capacitor filters for IF and baseband processing will be studied. Related Background: Basic knowledge of Analog Integrated Circuits.

The separation of models from the simulation engine. The interaction of models and the simulation engine. Basics of a simulation engine. Mathematical tools for modeling. Modeling using modern Analog Hardware Description Languages (AHDLs). AHDL applications to: large circuit simulation, efficient model development/verification, specialized simulators.

Principles of distributed computing; architectures and middleware; servers, processes, and virtualization; upper-layer network protocols, inter-process communication and remote procedure calling; concurrency, synchronization and distributed algorithms; dependable distributed systems and fault tolerance.

Models for concurrent programming; data programming; data parallel models for SIMD and MIMD computers; explicit, semiautomatic, and automatic approaches; data parallel compilers; software engineering issues such as program and data partitioning; task mapping and scheduling, concurrent program design, testing and debugging of concurrent programs, performance tuning, etc. Related Background: Basic exposure to programmin using C or Fortran, previous graduate or undergraduate course in operating system or concurrent programming would be helpful.

This course covers the concepts and theory required to understand, design, program, and analyze safety-critical software-intensive real-time systems (and how you get the most out of your deadline-constrained life). The course specifically covers the following topics: challenges and problems of modern embedded software, building blocks of embedded systems, software modeling and design, UML, UML/MARTE, the scheduled model, the synchronous model, worst-case execution time analysis, real-time scheduling theory, interrupt handling for real-time systems, safety analysis and argumentation, and system performance measurement and evaluation.

Application of state-of-the-art high power electronics to power transmission and distribution systems. The emphasis will be on three important application areas - high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems, flexible AC transmission Systems (FACTS) and Custom Power devices. The course addresses FACTS controllers including: static synchronous compensators (STATCOM), static synchronous series compensators (SSSC), interphase power flow controllers (IPFC) and unified spower flow controllers (UPFC). Custom power devices such as shunt DSTATCOM, series compensating DVR and unified power quality conditioners (UPQC) are also discussed. This course will concentrate on the operating principles, models, and control and performance of power electronic systems used in these applications. Background required - ECE 463 or equivalent.

This course covers topics related to sustainable and clean energy resources; distributed generation and utility interfacing. The following topics are covered: Wind power generators; construction; operation theory, modeling and analysis. Wind turbine interfacing techniques with the grid. Photovoltaic energy sources; construction, modeling, loading characteristics and interfacing requirements. Fuel cells; types, construction, modeling and characteristics, operation theory and interfacing requirement. Distributed generation concept; Barriers to DG interfacing; Reactive power control applications using the DG interfacing; Ancillary services supplied by DG. System protection requirements with DG.

This course addresses all the dimensions of Power Quality (PQ) issues including mitigation strategies. The focus is mainly on qualitative concepts and comprehensive coverage. This course introduces PQ definitions, limitations, related international standards and mathematical techniques for PQ analysis of Power Systems. Different identification, localization and classification techniques for PQ problems will be investigated. The various kinds of PQ problems and their effects on load/system equipment will be looked at in detail. Mitigation strategies like passive filtering, active and hybrid power filtering, static VAT compensation, DVR, UPQC, etc. will be investigated. Areas covered include voltage sags, interruptions, transients, flickers, harmonics and modeling and simulation of utility systems. Grounding imperfection as a major cause for PQ problems will be addressed in detail. Moreover, the requirements and impacts of distributed generation (DG) on network power quality will be studies in detail. Effects of DG on voltage regulation, relaying losses, islanding and standards will be examined. Background Required - Basic understanding of modeling of power system elements and analysis techniques. Familiarity wit a programming language and/or a simulation package such as EMTDC/PSCAD and MATLAB is desirable.

This course provides an overview of the fundamentals and the recent research in the field of humanoid robotics. The course covers kinematics and dynamics, postural stability, control, gait and trajectory generation and inertial parameter estimation. Additional advanced topics in learning, human-robot interaction, manipulation and grasping are introduced.