Master of Science in Computer Engineering College of Engineering - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

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Master of Science in Computer Engineering

College of Engineering - Department of Electrical and

Computer Engineering

1. Introduction \ Program Mission

Computer engineers provide the key building blocks of the modern infor-mation technology based society, from improved software systems and faster computers to advanced integrated circuits (ICs) and next-generation communication networks. Computer engineering specialists integrate cus-tomized hardware and embedded software to design and build devices such as next-generation mobile phones, tiny MP3 players, iPods, alarm systems, x-ray machines and even laser surgical tools.

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Sharjah has developed a Master of Science program in Computer Engineering that will prepare its graduates to confidently confront the challenges of the information technology revolution and prepare them for highly rewarding careers by providing advanced knowledge and skills. The Department aspires to have well-recognized engineering programs involv-ing excellence in teachinvolv-ing and research.

The Department has highly qualified faculty and lecturers with many years of academic and practical experience both regionally and interna-tionally. The expertise of the academic staff spans the main disciplines of Computer Engineering. In addition, the Department has laboratory facilities that are furnished with high quality state-of-the-art equipment facilitating advanced experimental work for teaching, research and consultancy.

2. Program Goals (Objectives)

The overall objective of the Master of Science in Computer Engineering is to strengthen the academic and professional knowledge of its students. The program is also intended to provide students with depth in their cho-sen area of focus. The specific objectives of the program are to:

1. Educate graduate students with the advanced knowledge and skills re-quired to solve research oriented technical problems in computer

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engi-the region as a whole.

4. Promote a sense of leadership with emphasis on scholarship and profes-sional ethics.

2.1 Program Objectives (Outcomes)

Upon successful completion of the M.Sc. in Computer Engineering program, the student will be able to:

1. Formulate a complex conceptual research problem in computer engi-neering and write the results in a research article format.

2. Apply mathematical and engineering skills in solving a complex con-ceptual research problem in computer engineering.

3. Design complex systems or processes to meet desired needs within realistic constraints related to the economy, environment, society, poli-tics, ethics, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability. 4. Design/conduct simulations for research using modern software

engi-neering tools.

5. Demonstrate knowledge of contemporary technical and professional issues in the practice of computer engineering

6. Engage in lifelong learning.

7. Demonstrate effective technical communication skills both verbally and in writing.

3. Program Structure – Thesis Track

The degree title: “Master of Science in Computer Engineering, MSCPE”. The minimum degree requirement is 33 credit hours composed of 24 credit hours of coursework and 9 credit hours for thesis.

After successfully completing at least 50% of the course work (at least 12 credits), the student has to elect a research supervisor in the chosen area of specialty and complete 9 credit hours of research work (thesis) under his/ her supervisor.

The 33 credits are distributed as follows:

Requirements Credits 4 Core Courses 12 2 Specialized Courses 6 2 Elective Courses 6 Thesis 9 Graduate Seminar 0

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The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department may offer the follow-ing areas of specialization:

• Computer Systems Architecture

• Embedded Systems and Computer Applications • Computer Networks

• Microelectronics and VLSI

I – Core Courses:

The student must complete the following four compulsory courses :

Course # Title Pre-requisite

0403520 Computer Architecture Grad. Standing 0403530 Real – time Embedded Systems Grad. Standing 0403540 Computer Networks Grad. Standing 0403550 Integrated Circuits Fundamentals Grad. Standing In addition, the students must complete the Graduate Seminar and Master Thesis as mentioned in VI.

II – Specialized Courses:

a. Computer Systems Architecture

Course # Title _requisite

Pre-0403521 Parallel Computer Architecture 0403520 0403522 Distributed Computing Systems 0403520 0403523 Arithmetic Algorithms and Processors 0403520 0403524 Application-specific Architecture and Design _{Methodologies} _StandingGrad. 0403529 Special Topics in Computer Architecture _StandingGrad. 0403620 Advanced Computer Architecture 0403520 0403621 Fault-tolerant Computer System Design 0403520

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b. Embedded Systems and Computer Applications

0403530 Real-time Embedded Systems Grad. Standing 0403532 Performance Evaluation Grad. Standing 0403533 Software System Implementation Grad. Standing 0403534 Neural Networks and Applications Grad. Standing 0403539 Special Topics in Embedded Systems _{and Computer Applications} Grad. Standing 0403630 Computational Intelligence and _{Knowledge Engineering} Grad. Standing

0403631 Robotics Grad. Standing

0402560 Digital Signal Processing I Grad. Standing 0402501 Applied Stochastic Processes. Grad. Standing 0403642 Computer Vision Grad. Standing c. Computer Networks

0403541 Network Protocols and Standards 0403540 0403542 Multimedia Networking and _{Communications} 0403540 0403543 Network Security and Cryptography Grad. Standing 0403544 Computer Networks Design and _Performance 0403540, (0403531 _{or 0403532)} 0403549 Special Topics in Computer Networks Grad. Standing 0402540 Communication Systems Engineering Grad. Standing 0403640 Mobile Computing Grad. Standing d. Microelectronics and VLSI

0403551 Advanced Digital IC Design 0403550 0403552 Logic Synthesis of Digital Systems Grad. Standing 0403553 VLSI Micro-chip Design 0403550

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0402551 Analog IC Design Grad. Standing 0403559 Special Topics in Microelectronics _{and VLSI} Grad. Standing 0403650 Micro-devices and Micro-sensors in _VLSI 0403550 0402651 Analog Micro-system Design 0402551 0402652 RF Integrated Circuit Design 0402551

III. Elective Courses:

The student must complete four elective courses to be selected in coordina-tion with his/her supervisor. They may include:

i) Courses listed below under depth courses.

ii) Independent Studies in Computer Engineering (course 0403575)

IV – Independent Studies:

0403575 Independent Studies in Computer _Engineering Grad. Standing

V – Graduate Seminars and Master Thesis:

0403590 Graduate Seminar Grad. Standing 0403599 Master Thesis Dept. Approval

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4. Program Structure – Non - Thesis Track

The degree title: “Master of Science in Computer Engineering, MSCPE”. The minimum degree requirement is 33 credits composed of the following:

Requirements Credits

4 Core Courses 15

2 Specialized Courses 6

4 Elective Courses 12

Total 33

In addition, each student must pass a comprehensive exam-ination as specified by the College of Graduate Studies and Research.

I – Compulsory Courses

Each student must complete the following six compulsory courses:

Course

No. Course Title Credits Prerequisite

0403520 Computer Architecture 3 Grad Standing 0403530 Real- time Embedded _Systems 3 Grad Standing 0403540 Computer Networks 3 Grad Standing 0403550 Integrated Circuits _Fundamentals 3 Grad Standing 0403598 Research Project 3 Final Semester 0403590 Graduate Seminar 0 Grad Standing

II– Specialized Courses

In addition, each student must select two courses from one of the following depth areas:

a. Computer Systems Architecture

0403521 Parallel Computer Architecture 0403520 0403522 Distributed Computing Systems 0403520 0403523 Arithmetic Algorithms and Processors 0403520

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0403524 Application-specific Architecture and _{Design Methodologies} Grad. Standing 0403529 Special Topics in Computer Architecture Grad. Standing 0403620 Advanced Computer Architecture 0403520 0403621 Fault-tolerant Computer System Design 0403520 b. Embedded Systems and Computer Applications

0403530 Real-time Embedded Systems Grad. Standing 0403532 Performance Evaluation Grad. Standing 0403533 Software System Implementation Grad. Standing 0403534 Neural Networks and Applications Grad. Standing 0403539 Special Topics in Embedded Systems _{and Computer Applications} Grad. Standing 0403630 Computational Intelligence and _{Knowledge Engineering} Grad. Standing

0403631 Robotics Grad. Standing

0402560 Digital Signal Processing I Grad. Standing 0402501 Applied Stochastic Processes. Grad. Standing 0403642 Computer Vision Grad. Standing c. Computer Networks

0403541 Network Protocols and Standards 0403540 0403542 Multimedia Networking and _{Communications} 0403540 0403543 Network Security and Cryptography Grad. Standing 0403544 Computer Networks Design and _Performance 0403540, (0403531 _{or 0403532)}

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d. Microelectronics and VLSI

0403551 Advanced Digital IC Design 0403550 0403552 Logic Synthesis of Digital Systems Grad. Standing 0403553 VLSI Micro-chip Design 0403550 0402551 Analog IC Design Grad. Standing 0403559 Special Topics in Microelectronics and _VLSI Grad. Standing 0403650 Micro-devices and Micro-sensors in VLSI 0403550 0402651 Analog Micro-system Design 0402551 0402652 RF Integrated Circuit Design 0402551

III. Elective Courses:

The student must complete four elective courses to be selected in coordi-nation with his/her supervisor. They may include:

i) Courses listed below from othere areas of specializations.

ii) Independent Studies in Computer Engineering (course 0403575).

IV – Independent Studies:

0403575 Independent Studies in Computer

Engineering Grad. Standing

V – Graduate Seminars and Master Thesis:

0403590 Graduate Seminar Grad. Standing 0403599 Master Thesis Dept. Approval

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5. Course Description

Courses in specialization area: Computer Systems Architecture

0403520 Computer Architecture (3-0:3)

Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

Machine organization & design, Formal descriptions, Comparative Study of machine instruction sets, Instruction set design, Formats & data representation, Addressing structures, Mechanization of Procedure calls, Memory management, Virtual and cache memory organization, I/O processing and interrupts, Fundamental reliability aspects.

0403521 Parallel Computer Architecture (3-0:3)

Prerequisite: 0403520

Parallel computer organization, Sequencing, Granularity, Locality, Array computing, Data-flow computers, Multi-processing, Array computers, Loop-level multiprocessors, Process-level multiprocessors, Performance evaluation measures, Parallel algorithmic structures, Organizations of control, memory, interconnection, and processing elements.

0403522 Distributed Computing Systems (3-0:3)

Task partitioning & allocation, Inter-process communication, Message passing protocols, Replicated file systems, Interface, Cache memory, Actor model, Fine-grain multi-computers, Distributed operating system kernel, Error recovery strategy, Performance monitoring and measurement, Scalability and maintainability, Proto-types & commercial distributed systems.

0403523 Arithmetic Algorithms and Processors (3-0:3)

Logic & organization of digital arithmetic processors. Algorithm acceleration, Floating point & significance arithmetic, Arithmetic error detecting codes, Algorithm evaluation, Residue arithmetic, Fast algorithms and implementations for two-operand addition, multi-operand addition, multiplication, division, and square root, Floating-point arithmetic and numerical error control.

0403524 Application-specific Architecture and Design Methodologies (3-0:3)

VLSI architectures for variety of applications in signal processing, image processing, communication, networking, etc., Systolic arrays,

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Wave-0403529 Special Topics in Computer Architecture (3-0:3)

Advanced and emerging topics are selected from the area of computer systems architecture. Contents of the course will be provided one semester before it is offered.

0403620 Advanced Computer Architecture (3-0:3)

Architecture & organization at microprogramming, machine language & operating system level. Functional & structural models of computer systems, Storage system organization, Flow-control, Micro-architectures for High performance processors, Hierarchy and management, Communication organization and control, Vector processors.

0403621 Fault-tolerant Computer System Design (3-0:3)

Fundamental concepts of dependable computing, Design methodology for fault-tolerant architectures, Modeling tools, Analytic models and measures, Design for critical applications: Long-life & high availability systems, Tolerance of design faults: design diversity and fault-tolerant software issues, Fault tolerance in distributed systems, Relationship between fault tolerance and system security.

Courses in specialization area: Embedded Systems and Computer Applications

0403530 Real-time Embedded Systems (3-0:3)

Architecture of real-time systems, Design and construction of software for real-time applications of digital computers, Requirements and specification methods, Scheduling algorithms and timing analysis. Real-time operating systems. Real-time programming languages. Selected case studies.

0403531 Modeling and Simulation (3-0:3)

Elements of computer simulations, including modeling deterministic and stochastic systems, Generation of uniform and non-uniform random numbers, Discrete-event simulations, Simulation languages, Design of simulations, Statistical analysis of the output of simulations, Variance reduction, Optimization via simulation, Applications to modeling stochastic systems in computer science and engineering.

0403532 Performance Evaluation (3-0:3)

A broad introduction to computer system performance evaluation techniques and their application. Approaches considered include measurement/

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networks, and timed Petri nets. Applications of the techniques are studied using case studies.

0403533 Software System Implementation (3-0:3)

Implementation of systems-level software, especially for embedded computers. Topics include the methods, software architectures, design strategies, CASE tools, and real-time operating system services, formal and informal software design techniques.

0403534 Neural Networks and Applications (3-0:3)

A comprehensive treatment of neural network architectures and learning algorithms balanced with theory and application examples. Topics include single layer networks,

multi-layer feed forward networks and back propagation, cascade correlation, recurrent networks, self-organizing maps, bi-directional associative memory, hardware realization of neural networks.

0403539 Special Topics in Embedded Systems and Computer Applications (3-0:3)

Advanced and emerging topics are selected from the area of Embedded Systems and Computer Applications. Contents of the course will be provided one semester before it is offered.

0403630 Computational Intelligence and Knowledge Engineering (3-0:3)

Concepts, design, implementation of computational intelligence involving integration of different methodologies: intelligent database management systems, rule-based systems, neural-type systems and fuzzy systems for heuristic problem solving, diagnostics, risk analysis and decision support; decision trees, reasoning techniques.

0403631 Robotics (3-0:3)

Methods for designing and operating robotics systems for advanced automation, on-line identification and description of 3-D objects by digitized images, off-line collision-free path planning, on-line collision avoidance traveling using artificial intelligence.

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Courses in specialization area: Computer Networks

0403540 Computer Networks (3-0:3)

Network technologies, Packet switching, Cell switching, Switching and routing, Packet switch architectures, ATM switch architectures, Internet routers, Network interface, Operating systems support for high performance, Protocol processing, Network control, Traffic management, Congestion control.

Note: “0403520 Computer Networks” and “0402611 Telecommunication Networks” cannot be both taken for credit.

0403541 Network Protocols and Standards (3-0:3)

Local area networks protocol standards: MAC Addressing, Bridging protocols, Internet protocol standards, Routing protocols for interior and exterior gateways, Multicasting, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Inter-networking with ATM.

0403542 Multimedia Networking and Communications (3-0:3)

Multimedia applications and requirements, Multimedia traffic generations and characterization, Audio compression, Image and video compression standards, Advances in networking technologies and protocols for multimedia applications, LAN technologies, Broad-band services, Integrated service in the Internet, Audio-video conferencing standards, Data conferencing standards, Real-time streaming protocols.

0403543 Network Security and Cryptography (3-0:3)

Theory and practice of cryptographic techniques used in computer security. Topics include Encryption (secret-key and public-key), Digital signatures, Secure authentication, Electronic commerce, Key management, Cryptographic hashing, Internet voting systems, Zero-knowledge protocols.

0403544 Computer Networks Design and Performance (3-0:3)

Prerequisite: 0403540, (0403531 or 0403532)

Queuing models, Applications to the design and analysis of computer networks and data switches, Traffic/resource management, Distributed routing protocols and shortest path routing, High-performance routing, Connectivity, Reliability.

0403549 Special Topics in Computer Networks (3-0:3)

Advanced and emerging topics are selected from the area of computer networks and applications. Contents of the course will be provided one semester before it is offered.

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0403640 Mobile Computing (3-0:3)

The course discusses the convergence of wide-area wireless networking and mobile telephony to support ubiquitous access to information, anywhere, anyplace, and anytime. Topics include Mobile-IP, Ad-hoc networks, Local connectivity, 3G- wireless networks, Approaches to building mobile applications (e.g., mobile client/server, thin client, proxy architectures, and disconnected operation) and mobile e-commerce.

Courses in specialization area: Microelectronics and VLSI

0403550 Integrated Circuit Fundamentals (3-0:3)

Basic integrated circuit design & process technology, Design of simple analog & digital IC components in Bipolar & MOS technology. Modeling & simulation of integrated circuits, SPICE simulation, Fundamentals of Photo-lithography, Basic integrated circuit layout techniques, Applications & types of IC chips.

0403551 Advanced Digital IC Design (3-0:3)

Analysis & comparison of modern digital logic techniques in CMOS, Bipolar & BiCMOS process technologies, Design of digital IC building blocks, Registers, counters, Arithmetic & Logic Units, Calculation of speed & power consumption from layout & fabrication parameters, Inductive & capacitive effects in deep sub-quarter micron digital CMOS processes, VLSI memory design.

0403552 Logic Synthesis of Digital Systems (3-0:3)

Study of logic-level synthesis of digital systems, Two-level Boolean network optimization, Multi-level Boolean network optimization, Technology mapping for standard cell design & Field-programmable gate-array (FPGA) design. Introduction to VHDL, Retiming for sequential circuits, Applications of binary decision diagrams (BDDS). Problems in Logic-level synthesis.

0403553 VLSI Micro-chip Design (3-0:3)

CMOS VLSI Micro-chip design techniques, Application of VLSI CAD tools, Partitioning & Floor-planning, Clock distribution, Cell & Block Routing issues, Top-down & Bottom-up design considerations, Input & Output PAD design, Power dissipation & packaging considerations, Parasitics extraction, Layout

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0403559 Special Topics in Microelectronics and VLSI (3-0:3)

Advanced and emerging topics are selected from the area of Microelectronics and VLSI. Contents of the course will be provided one semester before it is offered.

0403650 Micro-devices and Micro-sensors in VLSI (3-0:3)

Physics of MOS & Bipolar devices in VLSI technology, Principles of Field Effect & Charge Coupled Devices, Design of solid-state sensors, Micro-sensors & Micro-actuator devices: capacitive, piezo-resistive, electrostatic, thermal, magnetic. Design of microsensors & micro-actuators using surface & bulk Silicon micro-machining techniques, Design of micro-electro-mechanical systems using CMOS VLSI technology.

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Independent Studies, Graduate Seminar, Research Project and Master Thesis

0403575 Independent Studies in Computer Engineering (3-0:3)

The student is expected to carry out an independent study on a current issue in a selected area of Computer Engineering. This study is to be supervised by a faculty member and requires the approval of the department. The student is required to produce a formal report, which will be evaluated by his instructor.

0403590 Graduate Seminar (1-0:0)

Students are required to attend seminars given by faculty members, visitors, and fellow graduate students. Each student is also required to present one seminar on a timely research topic.

0403598 Research Project (0-0:3)

Prerequisite: Department Approval

The student has to undertake and complete research topic under the supervision of a faculty member, conducts an individual study employing concepts and methods learned in the program to solve a problem of significant importance from a practical or theoretical standpoint. A final written report on the project is required.

0403599 Master Thesis (0-0:9)

Prerequisite: Departmental Approval

The student has to undertake and complete research topic under the supervision of a faculty member. The thesis work should provide the student with an in-depth understanding of a research problem in computer engineering. It is expected that the student, under the guidance of the supervisor, will be able to conduct research somewhat independently, and may also be able to provide solution to that problem.