Our Vision

KNOWLEDGE:

Our students acquire fundamental knowledge through lectures, tutorial periods, laboratory experiments, special assignments, seminars, technical presentations, computer based teaching and learning resources, Internet access to the global information base and discussions with faculty and staff members. Students also have exceptional opportunities to acquire state-of-the-art knowledge and experience as they undertake on-the-job work assignments as part of our highly integrated cooperative education program.

Mentoring with specialists and learning in an environment that nurtures a student's abilities by personal attention and teamwork enhances this knowledge transfer.

PROFESSIONALISM:

We provide an understanding of the engineer's duties and responsibilities to society. Within a professional engineering environment the student matures in order to enhance design, synthesis and professionalism. Opportunities for professional development and maturity are an integral property of our unique learning environment and experience.

LEADERSHIP:

Leadership developed through organizational ability, communication interpersonal and entrepreneurial skills, and the creation of a culture of ownership. Decision making within a strategic planning concept places the student within an advantaged position.

History

Digital signal processing (DSP) has been a major research focus for faculty members and graduate students in the department since 1970.

In 1984 a decision was made to extend the research to include the actual microelectronics implementation of DSP algorithms using integrated circuit technology. By 1988 a number of special purpose DSP processors using a systolic array architecture to enable data-driven arrays had been designed and fabricated. The research was carried out by faculty and graduate students working in the VLSI Research Group since 1984. The work of this group has evolved to include the design of three-dimensional microstructures using the latest microelectromechanical (MEMS) fabrication technologies.

The name of the VLSI Research Group was changed to the Research Centre for Integrated Microsystems (RCIM) effective January 1, 2001 to more accurately reflect the diverse nature of the research projects being carried out.

In the Fall of 2001, the RCIM group upgraded the design workstations. The workstations purchased from Sun Microsystems are the leading edge systems, providing greater speed and reliability, allowing for designs and simulations to be done faster.