Chair's Welcome

Welcome to the Department with a fresh and a new look! Yes, the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ELCE) Department has been undergoing tremendous transformation in the past decade or so, a transformation from a Diploma granting program to a full fledged Doctoral degree granting program. Our favorite home, the Eric Palin Hall which housed the gestation of the above transformation will become our neighbor when the members and facilities of the Department migrate in Fall 2004 to a new glassy and classy $65 million facility on 245 Church Street, currently named as the Centre for Computing and Engineering and commonly referred to as ENG (Engineering Building).

The Department with a fundamental objective that the faculty and staff members are here primarily for the purpose of providing our students with an education, as well as providing them with personal and professional growth experiences, offers Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) in Electrical Engineering, B.Eng. in Computer Engineering, Master of Applied Science (M.A.Sc.) and Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Our undergraduate program in Electrical Engineering is accredited by the national body; the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), with the new program in Computer Engineering scheduled to undergo its first CEAB evaluation in Fall 2005. The Masters Program started in Fall 2001, and the Ph.D. program started in Fall 2004 are both appraised and approved by the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies (OCGS).

“the faculty and staff members are here primarily for the purpose of providing our students with an education, as well as providing them with personal and professional growth experiences”

With around 1,100 Undergraduate and Graduate Students, 37 full-time faculty members and 11 support staff the Department is one of the largest academic units in Ryerson. We have been working diligently in recruiting high quality faculty members to further strengthen both our Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering programs. Our students, faculty members, and staff are continuing to excel at National and International Levels by winning noteworthy awards and recognition. We are privileged to have the first Canada Research Chair in Ryerson, 3M Teaching Fellow, Scholars with International Recognition in the fields of Power Electronics, Wireless and Optical Communications, Microelectronics and VLSI, Signal and Multimedia Processing, and Computer Systems Engineering, award winning students in Robotics competitions, Ontario Engineering competitions, and IEEE Student Branch Competitions. I have no doubts in my mind that with the new Centre for Computing and Engineering building, and the exciting B.Eng., Masters and Ph.D. programs in place, soon we all can dream and relish that our Department is poised to make ground-breaking contributions in high quality education and research with societal relevance. May I wish you all the best, and please do feel free to drop by my office and chat about your career goals, achievements, and any problems you might be facing (I am here to listen and act!). I look forward to meeting each and every one of you in some way in near future time.

I also take this moment in urging you that besides your studies also allocate some time to involve in extra-curricular activities through student organizations such as IEEE, RECESS, WIE, Sumo Robotics, RyeHam and ELCE GSA. The message is clear; increasingly employers ask not only about the student's academic performance but are also interested in knowing about interpersonal and communication skills as demonstrated through extra-curricular involvement by participating in the organizational activities.

Keep monitoring our 'official notice board' the Department website (www.ee.ryerson.ca) for any current events, breaking news and seminars. I am sure our faculty and staff friends will make your studies and stay in the ELCE Department and Ryerson a happy and a fulfilling journey. Enjoy!

Warm regards,
Dr. Sri Krishnan, P.Eng.
Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept.