The is the official page for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Florida. http://www.ece.ufl.edu and Harlan Y.
From nanoscale devices to cell phones...from bioelectronics to secure computing...from robots to airplanes...from the power grid to the internet...ECE is everywhere! UNDERGRADUATE
An undergraduate degree in electrical or computer engineering from UF can allow you to pursue a job in almost any industry you can think of. After all, nearly everyone uses computers, electricity and electrical devices,
so industries demand skilled professionals to build, repair, and improve these devices. Many students use an ECE degree as a stepping stone to pursuing graduate degrees in law, medicine, business and engineering. GRADUATE
The Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate program at the University of Florida has a lot to offer students looking for the best education money can buy. Our graduate program is among the twenty largest ECE graduate programs in the United States. We offer more than 80 graduate courses each year in ten sub-areas of specialty. Our larger program allows students more flexibility in selecting their course work and research direction. Graduates from the ECE program at the University of Florida enjoy the privilege of job security and satisfaction. More than 95% of our students admitted to the Master's program graduate successfully and the graduation ratio for the Ph.D. students is similar. Recruiters from top companies in the U.S. offer many of our students internship opportunities. Our graduates are employed by some of the largest, technologically advanced companies, including Motorola, GE, IBM, Harris Corporation, Nortel, Hewlett Packard, Texas Instruments, Ericsson, and many others. Starting annual salaries for our graduates average about $65,000 for students with a Master's degree and about $85,000 for students with a Ph.D. ALUMNI
ECE has a huge network of passionate alumni with over 8000 graduates and there has been a lot of alumni activity recently. For instance, at the college’s Leadership Summit on Oct 19, 2012 we had two of our notable department alums participatied: Lesa Benton Roe (BSEE ‘86, Director of Langley Research Center, NASA) and Linda Rae (BSEE ‘87, President of Keithley Instruments). This past year Power Grid Engineering President Michael Wright (BSEE ‘98) has supported speakers for our department seminar to discuss power systems. These seminars have renewed the interest of our students and faculty in this vital area. We are also grateful for Carole T. Harrell, Jr. (BSEE ‘61) for supporting an endowed fund for engineering ethics in our department. Chris Malachowsky (BSEE ‘83, Co-Founder of nVIDIA) was the commencement speaker at our Spring 2013 commencement ceremony. These are just a few of the many alumni that are making an effort to get invoved in our department and give back. It is wonderful to have such successful alumni and fantastic that they continue to help us further our mission. SCHOLARSHIPS
Undergraduate scholarships are offered through the College of Engineering and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. ECE students interested in applying for a scholarship will fill out a College of Engineering (COE) Undergraduate Scholarship Application online. The COE Undergraduate Scholarship Application is available during Fall semesters. COE representatives will email a link to all COE undergraduate students when the scholarship application is available. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of financial need, academic performance, geographical location, student activities, and/or area of specialization. Scholarships are limited to US citizens and Permanent Residents and some are limited to only Florida residents. All scholarships require the student have an upper division grade point average from the University of Florida. It is not necessary to directly contact the department regarding eligibility for the scholarships listed below. The COE application data is evaluated to determine eligibility and award ECE scholarships. RESEARCH LAB
From world renowned lightning research to brain-machine interfaces to the development of nano-devices, research by ECE faculty, staff, and students is carried out in these interdepartmental laboratories, centers, and programs.
06/23/2026
Researchers and students are invited to join a virtual seminar connecting faculty from the University of Florida Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Khalifa University.
The session will provide an opportunity for faculty from both institutions to introduce their research, discuss current projects and explore future collaboration opportunities in research and education.
Big congratulations to two members of our ECE faculty on their well-earned achievements.
👏 Swarup Bhunia, Ph.D. has been awarded the distinction of Distinguished Professor, one of the University of Florida’s highest faculty honors.
👏 Nicholas Napoli, Ph.D. has been promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure, recognizing his accomplishments in research, teaching and service.
These milestones reflect their dedication to advancing knowledge, mentoring students and shaping the future of engineering.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Bhunia and Dr. Napoli on these outstanding achievements. 🎉
06/15/2026
Steve Blum's journey began in ECE classrooms at the University of Florida.
Since graduating in 1987, he has built a career focused on using technology to solve real-world challenges, rising to become executive vice president and COO of Autodesk and a recognized leader in construction innovation.
This week, Blum was elected to the National Academy of Construction's Class of 2026, an honor recognizing individuals whose work has advanced the construction industry through leadership, innovation and lasting impact.
Beyond his professional achievements, Blum continues to invest in the future of engineering education through his support of UF students, faculty and the university's growing industrialized construction engineering initiatives.
Congratulations to Steve on this outstanding achievement and continued legacy of leadership.
Preparing the workforce of tomorrow requires expanding who has access to opportunity today.
The PATHS (Preparing the Autistic Population Toward Hardware Security) program, led through a collaboration that includes UF Electrical & Computer Engineering, provides neurodivergent students with specialized training for careers in semiconductor manufacturing.
Participants engage in virtual reality-based learning, hands-on cleanroom experiences, professional development and mentorship from industry experts. The program is designed to help students build confidence, develop technical skills and pursue careers in one of the nation's fastest-growing technology sectors.
As demand for semiconductor talent continues to grow, programs like PATHS are helping create innovative workforce solutions while fostering a more inclusive industry.
AI is shaping the future of healthcare — and collaboration is driving what comes next.
Researchers, clinicians, industry leaders and innovators recently came together for a collaborative co-design workshop focused on some of the biggest challenges in AI-driven healthcare.
The event brought together participants from multiple colleges across the University of Florida, including UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, UF College of Medicine, UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, alongside collaborators from Georgia Tech, Tulane University and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Together, participants explored topics including:
🔹 Human-AI Augmentation
🔹 Privacy-Preserving AI
🔹 High-Confidence AI
🔹 Remote & Home Health
Through collaborative discussions and co-design sessions, attendees developed 17 new project concepts aimed at advancing healthcare innovation and future research collaboration.
06/04/2026
Congratulations to Zoleikha Biron, Ph.D., on receiving a new research award. 👏
Biron will serve as PD/PI on the project, "Self-Healing Methodology for Naval Ships with a Smart Distributed-Linked Control Strategy," advancing research that could improve the resilience, adaptability and operational reliability of future naval systems.
06/01/2026
🌊📡 What if underwater robots could talk to each other in real time?
Researchers in UF Electrical & Computer Engineering have developed BlueME, a compact communication system that allows underwater robots to exchange data over distances exceeding 700 meters while using minimal power.
The breakthrough could improve ocean exploration, environmental monitoring, offshore infrastructure inspections and autonomous marine operations by enabling robots to share information without returning to the surface.
Congratulations to Ivan Ruchkin, Ph.D., on being named the recipient of the IEEE TC CPS Early-Career Award.
The award recognizes outstanding early-career contributions to the field of cyber-physical systems — an area at the intersection of automation, autonomy, safety-critical systems and control.
Ruchkin’s research focuses on improving the safety and reliability of learning-enabled cyber-physical systems, including trustworthy monitoring, system verification and neural-network controller repair.
This recognition highlights the growing impact of ECE research in shaping safer, more reliable intelligent systems.
05/27/2026
Congratulations to Dillon Vann on being awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program supports graduate students who demonstrate exceptional potential for impactful research and innovation. Vann was among 15 Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering students selected this year.
A first-year doctoral student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vann conducts research in the Photonics Lab led by Volker Sorger. His work focuses on silicon photonics, Fourier optics and solid-state physics applications through the Florida Semiconductor Institute.
We look forward to seeing the impact of his research in photonics and semiconductor science.
Today, UF ECE had the pleasure of hosting our first collaborative webinar with Beirut Arab University. The session was intentionally designed as an introductory and collaborative “get to know you” discussion rather than a traditional research seminar. Our goal was to help identify shared research interests, spark new ideas, and lay the groundwork for future collaborations, workshops, and more focused seminars involving faculty, researchers, and eventually students from both institutions.
One of the many ways UF ECE continues to stay ahead of the curve is through our strong emphasis on experiential learning, global engagement, and creating meaningful opportunities for faculty and students to connect beyond the classroom and across international borders.
We had an excellent discussion and have already begun planning future collaborations, including UF ECE’s own Dr. Laura Kim being invited by BAU’s Dr. Ali Haidar, Chairman of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, to present a future webinar to BAU graduate students.
It was also especially wonderful to see a familiar Gator connection on the call, with UF alumnus Dr. Ziad Osman, now a professor at Beirut Arab University, joining the discussion as well.
Excited to continue building these international relationships and creating new opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and experiential learning for our UF ECE community.
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