nga
so, what does an ECE grad
do after graduation?
department of
electrical &
computer
Matt Rosato, ECE’04 grad:
•
COM DEV, based in Cambridge Ontario, is the largest Canadian-based
designer and manufacturer of space hardware subsystems. COM DEV
manufactures advanced products that are sold to major satellite prime
contractors for use in communications, space science, remote sensing
and military satellites. Since there is only one shot at getting a system
right, testing is a large portion of the space business.
•
My job involves the design of custom test and measurement hardware
used in the testing of our flight products. My responsibilities include
designing, developing, modifying and evaluating complex digital
circuit systems, as well as implementing DSP and FPGA solutions.
engineering
Derek Yee, ECE’02 grad:
•
Raytheon is a great place to work at. It is an industrial leader in defense
electronics, surveillance radar, and other technologies.
•
At the Waterloo facility, I am a systems engineer who contributes to
the development and support of various signal processing algorithms
typically employed by Raytheon Canada radar systems.
•
Other responsibilities include the investigation of opportunities to
update and optimize the system to meet specific customer
requirements. Finally, I may also need to define specifications,
development plans and other reference documents among other
tasks.
Jean-Rene Larocque, ECE’01 grad:
•
My company, Siemens Milltronics Process Instruments Inc., designs
and manufactures instruments for automatically measuring levels in
vessels. These instruments are based on radar and ultrasonic
technologies.
•
My job is to supervise and participate in all signal processing activities.
This includes the research programs for development of new
technologies, product development, verification and maintenance,
impact analysis of changes, and collaborative efforts with external
partners."
Sabir Pasha, ECE ‘00 grad:
My company, Intratech Inline Inspection Services Ltd. designs and
builds equipment for testing the integrity of oil and gas pipelines. This
is a technology intensive initiative, which involves the generation and
storage of magnetic images, that show whether any potentially
hazardous defects exist in the pipe wall.
•
My job is to oversee all software development for this process,
development of mathematical sizing models, and assistance in the
area of data analysis to produce an integrity report to the customer."
•
electrical &
computer
engineering
and everyone wants to know…how
much money do our engineers make?

As of 2004, the median entry level salary for a graduate was $46,000
based on 35 observations. (Ontario Society of Professional Engineers)
1280 Main Street West
ITB A111
Hamilton, Ontario
Canada
L8S 4K1
www.ece.mcmaster.ca
what’s the difference
between electrical, computer,
and biomedical engineering?
what are the
ECE disciplines?
The ECE disciplines (electrical, computer and
biomedical engineering) are all associated in some
way with harnessing electricity for useful purposes.
Electricity is such a useful phenomenon because at
high intensities it can be used to convey power that is
used for lighting, motion, heating, cooling, etc. At
lower intensities, it can be used to convey information
in the form of signals.
For example, the acoustic
vibrations of a voice or music signal can be easily
converted into an electrical signal by a microphone. It
can then be amplified, stored and replayed on various
Biomeds deal at the interface between electrical engineering
and medicine. As such, they need a stronger background in the
life sciences, namely biology, chemistry, anatomy, and
physiology. Biomeds take all core electrical and computer
engineering courses, as well as related medical courses. As a
result, the biomedical program is heavier than either the
computer or electrical engineering programs.
types of media or broadcast over the airways.
Electrical signaling is the foundation of computers and
computer hardware.
So, to be an engineer and to be able to perform these
remarkable feats, one must have the required
education and background. Let’s first take a look at
the common elements of an electrical, computer or
biomedical engineering education.
Then we will
describe what is specific to each of these disciplines.
the ece
“Deciding to select McMaster’s ECE
program gave me an opportunity to grow
as an individual, meet incredible people,
and share my passion for electronics and
power related fields.”
student groups
WISE (Women in Science
and Engineering)
ECES (Electrical and Computer
Engineering Society)
-DAVID ROSATO, ECE ’08 GRAD,
CURRENTLY WITH PRA XA IR CANADA, INC.
IEEE Student Branch
“Although sometimes it
feels as though I have
been a student all my
life, if I could do it all
again I would not alter
my choice of undergrad
engineering in ECE.”
-DR. LAURA STOVER,
ECE ‘92 GRAD,
CURRENTLY CHIEF
RESIDENT OF THE
ANESTHESIA
RESIDENCY TRAINING
PROGRAM AT
MCMASTER.
entrance cutoffs:
Electrical ~ 6
Computer ~ 4
Biomedical ~ 9
BEAMS (Bioengineering at McMaster
Society)
It may be said that computer engineers are electrical engineers
with a specialization in computer systems. The computer
engineering discipline may also be considered to lie between
computer science and electrical engineering.
Computer
engineers design both computer software and hardware and
consider their interface. Ccomputer science and software
engineering deal with the development of software, whereas
computer engineers deal both hardware and software.
Electrical is a broad classical discipline; both computer
engineering and biomedical engineering grew out of electrical
engineering. Electrical engineering is focused more heavily on
the physical design of electronics, electromagnetic and
communication systems.
In addition, power systems,
sustainable energy, and computer hardware/software are
integrated into the program.
There are significant
opportunities for specialization in the EE program.
THE COMMON CURRICULUM
In second year, you start to think like a real electrical, computer or biomedical
engineer. Here is a summary of what you learn:
How do electrical circuits work? How can they be built to achieve a useful
purpose?
The latest techniques in computer programming. Computer programming
is essential to control computers and to simulate how the systems we design
will behave..
The basics of digital logic, such as AND, OR and NOT gates. This is an
important area since digital logic is the foundation of all computer hardware.
Microprocessors are small computers that are present in any cell phone,
iPod, or automobile.
They are the heart behind many modern
instrumentation
systems,
such
as
electrocardiograms
(ECGs),
telecommunication equipment, power apparatus, manufacturing systems,
robotics, etc.
Electromagnetics: What is an electric or a magnetic field? How do they
behave? How can they be applied to useful purposes? Understanding
electromagnetic fields is the key to understanding how antennas can radiate
electromagnetic energy.
Electronics: this is the art of using transistors and other devices to build
useful devices such as amplifiers and other devices used in radios and TVs.
Every mp3 player has an amplifier to bring the sound level up to audible
levels.
what makes the ece program
at mac so awesome?
In the third year, your knowledge becomes more sophisticated and you start to
become more specialized. Here are the major common level III courses:
Controls Systems: How does cruise control on a car work? The car
automatically maintains the same speed regardless of whether it is going
up or down a hill. How do we apply the side-thrusters on a rocket to keep
it on a straight trajectory and keep it from falling down?
Probability: This is a branch of mathematics that enables us to model
random events and systems. It enables us to model the behaviour of
electronic systems in the presence of random interferences, called noise.
This is of fundamental importance in the communications course.
Communications: How do radios and TV work? How do the bits get
from a remote computer site to your computer when you download a file?
How do we encode and transmit data reliably on wired and wireless
networks?
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
Electronics: Engineers take a second level electronics course that
enables a deeper understanding of how electronic devices behave and
how to use them effectively.
The fourth year courses are specific to the sub-discipline and allow for
specialization in a chosen area.
FINAL YEAR CAPSTONE DESIGN COURSE
Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical all have a final year project course. You as part of a team will undertake a year long engineering design course where you will
complete an open-ended project under the supervision of a faculty member. This course is the culmination of your undergraduate experience at McMaster. You will use all
your engineering skills to the utmost to investigate an area of electrical engineering that is appealing to you. In the past these projects have even spawned successful
start-ups!
Did you know…Nikola Tesla, Dilbert, Alfred Hitchcock, Steve Wozniak (Apple Computer), Willis Carrier
(inventor of air conditioning)and Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) are all Electrical Engineers!




Common level I—students don’t have to decide what to
specialize in right away
Flexible Internships—4 or 16 months; optional as opposed
to the mandatory program at other Universities
O n l y s c h o o l t o o f f e r t he M a n a g e m e nt a n d
S o c i e t y o pt i o n s
E n r o l m e nt i n t h e 1 - y e a r M . E n g . p r o g r a m i s
a v a il a b l e u p o n g r a d u a t i o n
E n g i n e e r in g D e s i g n e x p e r i e n c e w it h t h e
C a p s t o n e Pr o j e ct
F ir st s c h o o l t o o f f e r B i o m e d i c a l E n gi n e e r i n g i n
Canada
o B i o m e d d e gr e e g i v e s y o u t he
p r e r e q u is it i e s t o a p p l y f o r M e d i c a l
School
o 1 y e a r - o p t i o n a l M as t e r s a v a il a b l e
o Careers in straight Electrical available
as well
F u l l y P E O A c c r e d i t e d f a c u lt y
H o m e t o o n e o f t h e f e w D i st i n g u is h e d
U n i v e r s it y Pr o f e s s or ’ s , D r . S i m o n H a y k i n
F a c u l t y a r e r e c i p ie nt s o f m a n y v ar i o u s
r e se a r c h gr a nt s a n d a w a r d s
O u r st u d e n t s d o a m a z in g t h i n g s b o t h i n si d e
a n d o u t o f c l a ss ; i . e . st u d e nt c l u b s s u c h a s
IE E E , W I S E , B E A M S , an d E C E S !
www.ece.mcmaster.ca