Professor of Electrical Engineering · Associate co-Dean for Mission, Culture and Inclusion
SCDI 4025-O · ☎ (408) 554-2394 · azecevic@scu.edu
Professor of Electrical Engineering · Associate co-Dean for Mission, Culture and Inclusion
SCDI 4025-O · ☎ (408) 554-2394 · azecevic@scu.edu
I teach a number of undergraduate and graduate classes, mainly in the areas of circuits and control. Syllabi and other course materials are available below.
Physical basis and mathematical models of circuit components and energy sources. Circuit theorems and methods of analysis applied to DC and AC circuits. Laboratory. (Undergraduate core course.) Co-requisite: PHYS 33. (4 units)
Continuation of ECEN 50. Sinusoidal steady state and phasors, transformers, resonance, Laplace analysis, transfer functions. Frequency response analysis. Bode diagrams. Switching circuits. Laboratory. Prerequisite: either ECEN 50 or PHYS 70. Co-requisite: AMTH 106. (4 units)
Approximation and synthesis of active networks. Filter design using positive and negative feedback biquads. Sensitivity analysis. Fundamentals of passive network synthesis. Design project. Prerequisite: ECEN 110. (4 units)
Introduction to algorithms and principles used in circuit simulation packages (such as SPICE). Formulation of equations for linear and nonlinear circuits. Detailed study of the three different types of circuit analysis (AC, DC, and transient). Discussion of computational aspects, including sparse matrices, Newton’s method, numerical integration and parallel computing. Applications to electronic circuits, active filters, and CMOS digital circuits. The course includes a number of design projects in which simulation software is written in MATLAB and verified using SPICE. Also listed as ECEN 219. Prerequisites: ECEN 21, 100, and 115. (4 units)
Limitations of science are examined in the framework of nonlinear system theory and metamathematics. Strange attractors, bifurcations and chaos are studied in some detail. Additional topics include an introduction to formal systems and an overview of Godel’s theorems. The mathematical background developed in the course is used as a basis for exploring the relationship between science, aesthetics, and religion. Particular emphasis is placed on the rationality of faith. Also listed as ECEN 217. Prerequisites: AMTH 106 (or an equivalent course in differential equations), and a basic familiarity with MATLAB. (4 units)
Beauty is examined from an interdisciplinary perspective, taking into account insights from mathematics, physics, engineering, neuroscience and psychology, as well as philosophy, art history and theology. Technical topics include information theory, quantum computing, fractal geometry, complex systems, cellular automata, Boolean networks and set theory. Prerequisite: AMTH 106 (or equivalent). Familiarity with basic concepts in probability theory is expected, as is some experience with MATLAB. Co-requisite: ECEN 161L (4 units)
Quantum and parallel computing are explored as paradigms for high performance scientific computing. Particular emphasis is placed on quantum algorithms and graph-theoretic methods for parallelizing the solution of large sparse systems of equations. Since a proper understanding of these topics requires a background in matrix theory, functional analysis, cryptology and number theory, these areas are covered in some detail. Prerequisites: MATH 53 or equivalent, and familiarity with MATLAB. Corequisite: ECEN 162L (4 units)
Graph theory and its applications to network matrix equations. Network component magnitude and frequency scaling. Network topology, graph theory, graph matrices, oriented and nonoriented graphs. Fundamental network laws. Topologically dependent matrix equations. Circuit simulation. N Planar and dual graphs. Nondegenerate network state equations. Prerequisites: AMTH 246 and knowledge of Laplace transforms. (2 units)
Concept of state-space descriptions of dynamic systems. Relations to frequency domain descriptions. State-space realizations and canonical forms. Stability. Controllability and observability. Discrete time systems. Prerequisite: ECEN 210 or its undergraduate equivalent of ECEN 110. (2 units)
The limits of scientific knowledge are examined in the framework of nonlinear system theory, metamathematics and modern physics. The technical background developed in the course is used as a basis for exploring the relationship between science, aesthetics, and religion. Particular emphasis is placed on the rationality of faith, and on controversial questions where the views of scientists and theologians appear to conflict. Prerequisite: Basic familiarity with differential equations. (2 units)
The limits of scientific knowledge are examined in the framework of nonlinear system theory, metamathematics and modern physics. The technical background developed in the course is used as a basis for exploring the relationship between science, aesthetics, and religion. Particular emphasis is placed on the rationality of faith, and on controversial questions where the views of scientists and theologians appear to conflict. Prerequisites: MATH 12 or MATH 31. Honors students or permission of Instructor. (4 units)
