By many measures, the most critical outcome of a university-industry research relationship is educating engineers and scientists for the company, its customers, suppliers and industry partners.  Rice has an outstanding record of accomplishment in educating first-rate students and placing them in the global marketplace.

The diverse yet synergistic research interests, centers, groups and the scope of multi and interdisciplinary research collaborations are virtually unmatched among universities throughout the world. In fact, our department is internationally known for its extensive reach across the many engineering disciplines ranging from designing the next generation of wireless networks and embedded systems architectures to nano photonics and terahertz laser spectroscopy.

Research awards and expenditures have climbed steadily throughout past several years with current major research grants nearing the $10 million mark. The Center for Multimedia Communications, DSP Group, Rice Networks Group, MURI Center for Nanoshell Design, and the Laboratory for Nanophotonics contribute in significant ways, and are firmly supported by several government agencies and industrial partners-- NSF, DARPA, Intel, ONR, TATP, Nokia, National Instruments, Texas Instruments, Xilinx, and a host of others.

It is the endeavor of each ECE faculty member to ensure that our students learn how to learn and how to become leaders and pioneers, emphasizing fundamental principles as well as practical applications that respond to challenges and revolutionize technology. The faculty is actively working on revolutionary changes in ECE curriculum which will make a global impact in the way we educate undergraduates and integrate them into our world class research. Connexions®, a forward-thinking innovative departure from traditional teaching methods extends far beyond traditional borders to transform the way our students learn.

Several companies look to ECE for recruiting and internships, further supporting our goal to prepare students for successful senior level technical leadership positions throughout industry. Demonstrating their leadership potential, this year, several students have earned honors and awards from such organizations as the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, the Chinese government, and the National Science and Engineering Research Center of Canada.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is committed to excellence and is on an exciting mission toward making major strides. We remain strongly committed to making an enduring impact on electrical and computer engineering research and education and the future of society and our community in Houston, whether it involves making the internet widely available to low-income communities or nano shell cancer therapy.

Please check our website frequently to stay abreast of all of the growing number of exciting newsworthy accomplishments.

Behnaam Aazhang
J.S. Abercrombie Professor and Chair, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering