The School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science prides itself on being a national leader in research and development in the areas of electrical engineering, computer science, and computer engineering. In the past year, we have identified two major research areas as the cornerstone of research activities in the coming years.

Through our intelligent networks initiative, we are working to become a leader in research and development in wireless sensor networks, pervasive computing, and intelligent systems that will some day provide monitoring, prediction, reporting, and other services for a wide range of applications, including homeland security, telemedicine, bioinformatics, and defense. Through this initiative, we are bringing together our computer science and engineering faculty with expertise in sensor network technologies, wireless communications, artificial intelligence, software engineering, and computer systems to solve grand societal challenges in these areas. We have had recent success with our efforts, including a new grant to design and develop sensor network systems to monitor volcanic activities on Mount St. Helens and a grant supporting undergraduate research in helping to develop “smart” environments. Ben Belzer also received a National Science Foundation grant to improve bit error rates (BERs) in next-generation magnetic and optical storage systems.

In power system engineering, we are working to develop and incorporate new technologies aimed at improving the efficiency and reliability of electric power and energy systems. The electric power industry in the United States is undergoing major changes in the next decade that will greatly impact our society. Load demands are growing continuously. At the same time, dependence on fossil fuels for electric power generation is becoming of increasing concern for economic, geopolitical, and environmental reasons. With a research initiative in power systems engineering, we will work to develop technologies for solving the upcoming technical challenges while ensuring that the power grid continues to run reliably and economically. As many of you know, the electric power program at WSU is considered among the best in the world in power engineering education and research. One of our researchers, Kevin Tomsovic, was recently named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), cited for his contributions to intelligent systems in power engineering. Anjan Bose also recently spent time on his sabbatical serving in an advisory capacity to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates and oversees U.S. energy industries. Our research efforts in this area continue on projects to develop the next generation of communication and control that overlay the power grid to improve its security, reliability, and efficiency. Gridstat is a new communication architecture developed here to move real time grid data faster and more securely. We are working with utilities in the Northwest to install control systems over wider areas of the grid.

Finally, an emerging area of research excellence in the School of EECS is in the area of microelectronics. George La Rue has received a grant that will help sleep researchers better understand the way that humans sleep. His first effort for the group is in developing tiny, lowpowered integrated circuits that will be fit on mice to measure their brain responses and to monitor metabolic responses while not disturbing their ability to sleep comfortably.

I’m pleased to report that our research expenditures during the last three years have averaged about $2.8 million per year while our average, annual active research funding in the department is about $7 million per year.

I would love to hear from you as we begin to take on these exciting and important research efforts. Please feel free to contact me and drop by for a visit when you’re visiting WSU.

Behrooz A. Shirazi, Director
Huie-Rogers Chair Professor in Computer Science