Information
The unparalleled growth and development of UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science is one of those community success stories that can make us all justifiably proud. Chartered in 1963, the first students arrived in 1968, with initial enrollment numbering 188 in the College. In the fall of 2011, enrollment was 6,267, placing CECS 9th in terms of undergraduate enrollment and 40th in terms of graduate enrollment amongst engineering and computer science colleges around the nation. The charter faculty numbered 8, today that number is 120 tenure, tenure-track faculty and 13 lecturers. Three minority and three women students were enrolled in the charter class, in fall 2009 there were 2,218 minority and 1,063 female students.
At the first commencement in 1970, three Engineering Degrees were awarded. Since 1970 through Spring 2011, the college has awarded a total of 19,239 bachelor’s degrees; 5,900 Master’s degrees; and 885 doctoral degrees. Currently, there are more than 23,000 UCF engineering and computer science alumni serving in all areas of professional practice.
The College is the administrative arm of four engineering departments: Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering (CECE); Industrial Engineering and Management Systems (IEMS); Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE); and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). There are also two affiliate Army and Air Force ROTC units. There are 10 baccalaureate degree programs, 11 masters programs (with varied specialized tracks), and 9 Ph.D. programs within the College. Integrated B.S. to M.S. and B.S. to Ph.D. degree programs are also offered.
In 1968, the faculty and students were housed in the library and two “borrowed” laboratories in the Chemistry Building. Today, the College occupies over 270,000 sq. ft. of office, classroom, laboratory, and research space. The laboratory complex includes over 80 specialized facilities and nearly 12 million dollars worth of equipment. A third engineering building, The Harris Corporation Engineering Center (HCEC) added 75,000 square feet. HCEC includes 30 research labs for faculty and graduate students and two specialized research computer aided virtual environments (CAVEs) for virtual and augmented reality.
Research expenditures in CECS and affiliated university research centers were at $62.2 million in FY 2010-2011 and ranked 40th amongst U.S. engineering and computer science colleges in the nation. CECS participates in numerous interdisciplinary projects with the following affiliated engineering research center partners: Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center (AMPAC), Nanoscience Technology Center (NTC), , Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), Institute for Simulation and Training (IST), Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL), the National Center for Forensic Science, and the Biomolecular Science Center.
Sponsored research in CECS includes many projects covering a wide variety of topics: mechanics and materials, heat transfer, internal combustion engine optimization, laser machining, manufacturing, microprocessor development systems, power electronics, industrial engineering, digital signal processing, software engineering, microelectronics, antennas and microwaves, intelligent systems, computer vision, remote sensing, robotics and control, VLSI design, materials engineering, optical communication systems, modeling and simulation, drinking water treatment, air pollution control and air quality modeling, transportation systems, highway noise monitoring and control, water resources, structural engineering, affective computing, architecture, experimental algorithm design and analysis, genetic algorithms, graphics, mixed and augmented reality, natural language understanding, networks, parallel and distributed computing, and security and vision, etc. The college is also involved in the evolving areas of bioinformatics, entertainment engineering, digital forensics, and nanotechnology. The resulting work products (publications, reports, documents, and monographs) now number in the tens of thousands, including a number of significant books, copyrights, and patents.
The college is ranked 40th among public universities in the annual U.S News & World Report, 2012 America’s Best Graduate Schools for Engineering. For the past seven years, the college has been ranked in the top ten graduate engineering schools for Hispanics by the Hispanic Business magazine.
In fall 2010, CECS and affiliated engineering research center partners supported 126 Graduate Teaching Assistantships and 426 Graduate Research Assistantships.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science has a vision for the future that is made possible through the dedication of the faculty, staff associates, and administrators within the college who are committed to the students whom they serve.