Research & Projects
Students in the electrical engineering program have many opportunity to participate in undergraduate research, student competitions, and hands on projects as part of their program. Below is a small sample of current activities.
Iris Detection Research
Iris recognition refers to the automated method of identifying or confirming the identity of a subject by analyzing the random pattern of the iris. Iris patters are formed randomly, even genetically identical twins will not have the same iris patterns. Iris recognition is a relatively new field, being only commercially developed the last decade. Dr. Anihita Zarei has been working in this field and involves both undergraduate and graduate students in her research. Her current project focuses on using computational intelligence to discover iris patterns and find natural groupings based on iris texture. She also is exploring the capability of artificial neural network in finding iris texture classes associated with demographic attributes.
DC Motor Control Independent Research
In one independent research project under the direction of Dr. Cherian Mathews, a student worked on modeling and real time speed control of a DC motor. The motor was powered using a full bridge converter on a power electronics board (depicted below). The control algorithms, implemented via block diagrams via Simulink, were run on a DSPACE ACE 1104 kit. Motor speed and current were fed to the DSP (digital signal processing) ACE card, and the control algorithms generated the duty cycle signals fed to the inverter board, which controlled the average voltage applied to the motor. The student graduated and used this experience to land a job at Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore Ca.
Northern California Solar Regatta 
An ECPE Student Team competed in the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD) Northern California Solar Regatta 2014. The competition was composed of three races, each with a different objectives: an endurance race using only solar panels, a maneuverability slalom race using batteries, and a speed race using only solar panels. The team needed to design a boat that balanced these different goals as well as focusing on sustainability. For the Pacific boat, students focused on a well-designed and well-implemented power system with sensors providing key measurements of the power system. Testing of the boat took place in the Pacific swimming pool, and yes not all runs were dry.
Renewable Energy
Dr. Cherian Mathews takes his students in ECPE 165 (Power Systems) to the Shiloh Wind Farm in Birds Landing, CA. Wind energy accounts for about 6.6% of California's energy production. Energy generated by California wind farms could power over 1.9 million average Californian homes. Students study the theory of power transmission in the classroom, and see first-hand the production-size facility.
