ECE
634—C OMPUTATIONAL S ENSING : S PECTROSCOPY
S PRING 2011 C OURSE S YLLABUS
C OURSE D ESCRIPTION
Recent years have seen the growth of computational sensing—sensor system design that assumes full
integration of computational processing into sensor operation. The result is sensor system with capabilities
that are not possible with traditional methods. This course looks at this design mindset as it is applied to
the sensing modality of spectroscopy.
Optical spectroscopy (spectroscopy utilizing wavelengths from UV through IR), is an important sensing
modality for chemical/material detection and identification because the relevant wavelengths are those
that directly interact with the electronic and molecular structure of matter—thereby providing important
information about the constituents of a sample. There has been tremendous growth in this area, particularly
for medical and security applications. Unfortunately, the nature of spectroscopic signatures (manifestly
non-negative, strength variations of many orders of magnitude, etc.) make the problem of extracting
information from the measured spectrum especially challenging, and requires a highly-integrated approach.
This course is designed to provide exactly such an integrated view of the topic at the advanced graduate
level. The first half of the course covers spectroscopic fundamentals and traditional spectrometer designs,
while the second half looks at how signal processing/communication concepts (eg. channel coding) can
be integrated into the design process to produce computational spectrometers as well as how specific
detection/estimation techniques can be incorporated into the system design or used post-measurement to
extract information from the spectra.
C OURSE P REREQUISITES
There are no specific course pre-requisites, however, the course assumes a solid understanding of linear
system theory (eg. ECE 501), random processes (eg. ECE 503), and introductory optics (eg. ECE 559)
at the graduate level.
L OCATION AND T IME
Chavez 316
m 3:30–6:00pm
I NSTRUCTOR
Dr. Michael Gehm, Assistant Professor of ece
Office: ece 556f
Phone: 626-1120
Email: gehm@ece.arizona.edu
ECE 634, Computational Sensing: Spectroscopy
Spring 2011 Course Syllabus
O FFICE H OURS
To Be Determined.
C OURSE W EBSITE
www.ece.arizona.edu/∼gehm/634
R EQUIRED T EXTS
None. The course will utilize instructor prepared notes and readings from the published literature (available
through the UA library).
ATTENDANCE P OLICY
Attendance during lectures is at your discretion. However, habitual absentees will be shown absolutely no
leniency with regard to grading, late homework, etc. Attendance during examinations is mandatory and
no make-up examinations will be given unless prior arrangements are made with the instructor.
AUDIT P OLICY
Students are welcome to audit the course. However, an audit is intended to be a good faith effort by
the student to learn the material, albeit one without the pressure of a grade. To this end, a successful
audit requires regular course attendance and good faith efforts on the homework assignments (no exams
or project). If you have any questions about this policy, please see the instructor.
ACADEMIC H ONESTY
Your work in this course will consist of a mix of individual and group work, as described in sections below.
You are expected to conduct yourself in accordance with the University Code of Academic Integrity at all
times. Cases of academic dishonesty will be treated extremely harshly.
H OMEWORK P OLICY
Homework assignments will be due at the start of class one week after the assignment was given. On each
assignment, one problem will be randomly selected and graded. Solutions to the entire problem set will be
made available. Late homework will be penalized at the instructor’s discretion.
Each homework assignment will consist of a small number of problems designed to test (and improve!)
your conceptual understanding of the material as well as your ability to apply the material in real situations.
While you are encouraged to discuss the problems with others in the class, you are expected to work-out
and write-out your own solutions. Use of solutions from prior semesters or solution manuals is strictly
prohibited.
P ROJECT
In the latter half of the course you will be assigned a group project that requires you to apply the knowledge
you have gained to real-world problems. More information about the project will be provided later.
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ECE 634, Computational Sensing: Spectroscopy
Spring 2011 Course Syllabus
C ASE S TUDIES
We will occasionally look at journal publications relevant to our topics. When an article is assigned,
everyone is responsible for reading the article and coming to class ready to discuss the work. In addition,
a group will be assigned to provide a short (10-15 minute) presentation on the article, describing the work
and presenting the strengths and weaknesses of the work.
G RADING
There are no midterm or final examinations in this course. Your grade will be solely determined by your
performance on the homework and project, and your participation in class and the case studies.
The final course grade will be reported via standard letter grades. Percentage scores are assigned to
each grade component and combined in the proportions indicated below. The assignment of regular (letter)
grades based on the final percentage scores is based on a combination of absolute and relative performance,
taking into account the effective difficulty of the various assignments (which is only known fully ex post
facto).
Homework
Project
Class participation and case studies
35%
35%
30%
C OURSE O UTLINE
Below is an approximate outline of the course. This will likely change dynamically as we proceed through
the semester.
Week
1/24
1/31
2/7
2/14
2/21
2/28
3/7
3/14
3/21
3/28
4/4
4/11
4/18
4/25
5/2
Topic
Fundamentals of E&M/optics review
Electronic structure of matter, Light-matter interaction
Light-matter interaction, Types of spectroscopy
Types of spectroscopy, traditional spectroscopic designs
Traditional spectroscopic designs
Traditional spectroscopic designs, computational sensing principles
Design of computational spectrometers
SPRING BREAK!!
Design of computational spectrometers
Design case studies
Design case studies
Spectroscopic detection and estimation techniques
Spectroscopic detection and estimation techniques
Project presentations
Project presentations
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