News Release
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December 2, 2005
State Board Approves New Doctoral Program in Electrical and
Computer Engineering at Boise State
The State Board of Education on Thursday unanimously approved a new doctoral
program in electrical and computer engineering at Boise State University,
and university officials say they will admit the first students to the
program in spring 2006.
The new Ph.D. is the third doctoral program to be offered at Boise State.
The university already offers a Ph.D. in geophysics and an Ed.D. in
curriculum and instruction.
President Bob Kustra said the new Ph.D. program in electrical and computer
engineering will bring many benefits to the Treasure Valley and to Idaho,
and is an important step forward for Boise State as a metropolitan research
university of distinction.
“If we truly are to become a research university, we must be able to attract
high quality faculty and retain our own students to pursue graduate work in
Idaho,” Kustra said.
Learning and research opportunities for undergraduate and master’s degree
students will be greatly enhanced by the addition of this doctoral program,
Provost Sona Andrews said. “The current talents and expertise of our
exceptional faculty have positioned us well to initiate this program,” she
said.
The degree will also provide new opportunities for partnerships with
industry, government agencies and other Idaho universities, said Cheryl
Schrader, dean of the College of Engineering.
“Companies are relying more on university research and less on their own R &
D. This is an opportunity to partner and provide the basic research
component,” Schrader said.
The new Ph.D.is a research-intensive degree, and doctoral candidates will
work with faculty on funded projects in areas such as sensors, advanced
integrated circuitry, image processing, memory materials and robotics, said
R. Jacob Baker, chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering. The projects are funded by the Department of Defense, the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and other
agencies.
The research has many practical applications and could lead to everything
from smaller iPods to ATMs that use fingerprint scans to identify users to
the development of new materials for storing digital information, Baker
said.
University officials expect to enroll 10 doctoral students in the first year
of the new Ph.D. program, and plan to grow to about 50 students during a
six-year implementation phase.
The start-up costs for the program are being funded by grants, university
and state funds, and contributions from private and corporate donors. The
Micron Technology Foundation invested $320,000 for early work in forming the
doctoral program and Boise State officials recently announced the program
had received an anonymous $200,000 gift. Micron has also expressed interest
in continuing to support the doctoral program at a leadership level. The
university is actively seeking partners for rapid implementation of the
program.
After the six-year implementation phase, costs of running the Ph.D. program
should be covered by research grants that provide student fellowships,
faculty salaries, lab equipment and facilities and other costs, Baker said.
“We will be able to leverage the investment we make now into the future.
Once fully implemented, the doctoral program will be self sufficient,” said
Baker. “It’s one of the few perpetual motion machines that work.”
Two new electrical and computer engineering professors, Kris Campbell and
Wan Kuang, joined Boise State’s faculty in fall 2005 as part of the
program’s early start-up, and the university plans to hire four more faculty
with proven experience in the development of doctoral-level research
programs during the next four years.
The new Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering is the 14th degree to
be offered in the university’s College of Engineering. The college offers
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering, computer science,
electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, and mechanical
engineering; bachelor’s degrees in construction management, and master’s
degrees in computer engineering and instructional and performance
technology.
Established in 1997, the College of Engineering enrolls more than 1,400
students in its graduate and undergraduate programs. In 2004, 68 percent of
the engineering graduates from Boise State obtained employment in Idaho
industries, according to statistics gathered by the college.
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Contact: Cheryl Schrader, College of Engineering, (208) 426-1153,
schrader@boisestate.edu,
and Jake Baker, College of Engineering, (208) 426-5715,
jbaker@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Janelle Brown, Communications, (208) 426-1790,
jbrown2@boisestate.edu
The Office of Communications and Marketing
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email communications@boisestate.edu
Last reviewed on Wednesday, February 01, 2006