Message from the Chair

Welcome back to our returning students, and a warm welcome to our new students. Students are at the very center of our mission as a department. After all, we wouldn’t have a department without you! Our faculty and staff, industry partners, and UM alumni work collectively to support a successful academic year that will yield personal growth for you, our students. As we are returning to a pre-pandemic life, I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in person in the weeks and months ahead.

Over the past three years, the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically transformed our ways of studying, working, and living. A variety of societal, financial, and technology-related challenges may continue to impact our higher education for many years to come. But within every challenge lies an opportunity. At this time, the electrical, computer, and robotics engineering field offers unprecedented opportunities to explore new disciplines and impact humans and society in positive and meaningful ways. The domestic industries are facing a shortage of skilled engineering workforce. The ECE department at the University of Michigan-Dearborn is uniquely positioned to provide high-quality education to serve regional and national needs. Reflecting this trend, the ECE department has grown extensively across a broad spectrum. As of Fall 2022, the department has 23 full-time faculty members and expects dynamic growth with strategic hiring over the next several years. We are actively pursuing two more faculty (computer engineering and intelligent systems) targeted to start in Fall 2023. We recently opened new student and research laboratories at the Engineering Laboratory Building (ELB). Cutting-edge research facilities and classrooms ensure our curriculum development keeps pace with the rapid-charging industry trend. Our project-based learning activities sharpen students' knowledge and skills by tackling real-world engineering challenges. Our faculty are actively engaged in sponsored research projects in various areas, including but not limited to power/energy systems, autonomous and connected vehicles, cyber security, robotics, intelligent systems, cyber-physical systems, wireless networks, and vehicle electronics. Our research funding and student population are at all-time highs.

We offer a full range of educational programs leading to undergraduate BSE degrees in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Robotics Engineering, as well as graduate MSE degrees in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering, and Robotics Engineering. We also offer doctoral-level programs, Ph.D. in Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Engineering (EECE), D.Eng. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and several stackable certificate programs. Our faculty have a good balance of academic excellence and industry experience, which allow them to teach students how to solve real-world engineering problems. The ECE department has a long history of integrating teaching with research and project-based learning, providing extraordinary opportunities for undergraduate students to become involved with leading-edge engineering work. Upon graduation, our ECE students are equipped with technical knowledge, hands-on experiences, and professional development skills to excel in their future careers. The future for our graduating students is promising indeed. Numerous studies and our recent survey data predict continued growth in engineering-related fields for years to come. 

As the future fades into the past, we are confident that your efforts to grow and gain knowledge will produce extraordinary experiences you will share with colleagues, friends, and families.

Please contact me (313-593-5314; [email protected]) for more information about our academics or general questions.

Go Blue and Go Dearborn!

Dr. Wencong Su

Associate Professor and Interim Chair of ECE