Electrical Engineering

Engineering Projects Expo 2025: Explore new inventions and technologies created by CU Engineering students

Michelle Wiese — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 15:45:18 +0000

Engineering Projects Expo 2025: Explore new inventions and technologies created by CU Engineering students Michelle Wiese Mon, 04/21/2025 - 09:45

On Friday, April 25 at the 51�Թ��, engineering students will present their capstone design projects at the annual Engineering Projects Expo. This year's event will feature projects from mechanical engineering; computer science; electrical, computer and energy engineering; biomedical engineering; and civil, environmental and architectural engineering.

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As AI explosion threatens progress on climate change, these researchers are seeking solutions

Susan Glairon — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 22:31:53 +0000

As AI explosion threatens progress on climate change, these researchers are seeking solutions Susan Glairon Fri, 04/18/2025 - 16:31

Kyri Baker, associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, and her colleague, Bri-Mathias Hodge, professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering, suggest that if future data centers are placed in the right location and equipped with energy storage technologies, they can run on 100 percent clean energy.

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51�Թ�� leading 10-university uncrewed aerial systems communications project

Jeff Zehnder — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 21:15:44 +0000

51�Թ�� leading 10-university uncrewed aerial systems communications project Jeff Zehnder Thu, 04/10/2025 - 15:15

Jeff Zehnder

Eric Frew is heading a major project to improve drone communications in anticipation of a future when autonomous aircraft regularly whizz overhead for everything from product deliveries to emergency response.

A professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the 51�Թ��, Frew is the principal investigator of an $8 million, four-year NASA University Leadership Initiative grant to ensure safe and assured operation of commercial autonomous aircraft in populated areas.

“These are complex scenarios -- a drone flying from Denver International Airport to 51�Թ�� to drop off a package or using drones to monitor wildfires. Consider the benefit if the 51�Թ�� Fire Department could dispatch a drone the moment there’s an incident t so it gets there before police or fire crews,” Frew said.

Communications with consumer-grade quad copters are fairly standardized, but Frew’s team will be studying a much more complex problem – drones that navigate miles from their operator across challenging terrain where line-of-sight communication with a base station is no longer possible.

In such cases, cellular networks are the most likely solution for controlling the drone, but that presents unique challenges.

“Wireless communication is hard,” Frew said. “We’ve all had cell phone signals drop out. That’s fine on the phone with a family member. But if you’re commanding a flying drone, that’s a problem.”

The project team comprises some of the best minds in drones, radio signaling and computer science across 10 universities and colleges; the Center for Autonomous Air Mobility and Sensing research partnership; Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences; and the nonprofit Charles Stark Draper Laboratory.

Ismail Guvenc is a partner on the project. An electrical engineering professor at North Carolina State University, he leads a major aerial experimentation laboratory that will offer the team opportunities to develop and test uncrewed aerial system concepts in a real-world outdoor testbed.

“This is advancing the state of the art in an area of critical and timely significance for the United States. We’ll be modeling the behavior of agents, interference, and data in hybrid airborne-terrestrial networks and their impact on the overall performance of the communication network. We will also be supporting real-world experiments and testing needs of project partners at Aerial Experimentation and Research Platform for Advanced Wireless (AERPAW),” Guvenc said.

Part of the research will focus on designing flight corridors that ensure continued communication. In the case of a trip from DIA to 51�Թ��, that could mean designing a pathway that stays close to cell towers, rather than following the most direct route. Another possibility is using multiple drones as a mesh relay network.

“The transmission would multi-hop back through each drone. We can’t control the ground communications, but we can exploit our own,” Frew said.

Relay networks will be particularly important in sparsely populated areas with fewer cell towers, like during wildfire response in the Rocky Mountains.

This is part of a larger vision of how our work can help society. The goal is to provide tools to industry to understand and exploit the dynamic communications environment in urban, suburban, rural and remote areas.” - Eric Frew

“How do we organize stakeholders in that environment? We want to be able to manage team formations, routing and planning so we can work in a hybrid communications system that alternates between air-to-air and air-to-ground communications seamlessly,” Frew said.

Managing that complex interplay will be an area of study for multiple partners on the project, including Philip Brown, an assistant professor in computer science at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. His work focuses on using game theory to inform the design of networked control systems.

“My lab studies the way that network structure impacts team performance for loosely connected teams, which is what a group of drones are in this case. We’re evaluating and predicting the performance of network structures, and also using network structures to inform the decisions made by individual autonomous aircraft,” Brown said.

A key objective of the project is technology transfer to industry. While some grants focus more on early stage research, Frew emphasized their plan to develop software and data to assist business and government going forward.

“This is part of a larger vision of how our work can help society,” Frew said. “The goal is to provide tools to industry to understand and exploit the dynamic communications environment in urban, suburban, rural and remote areas.”

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Electrical and computer engineers spark STEM curiosity at 2025 Denver Metro Science Fair

Charles Ferrer — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 15:10:34 +0000

Electrical and computer engineers spark STEM curiosity at 2025 Denver Metro Science Fair Charles Ferrer Mon, 03/10/2025 - 09:10

Faculty and students from the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering volunteered at the 2025 Denver Metro Science Fair and engaged with middle and high school students with hands-on activities such as building paper circuits and changing LED colors. The event sparked curiosity and excitement, inspiring young aspiring engineers.

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NSBE helps CU Engineering student land internship at Medtronic

Charles Ferrer — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 17:58:53 +0000

NSBE helps CU Engineering student land internship at Medtronic Charles Ferrer Mon, 02/10/2025 - 10:58

Charles Ferrer

Nathan Mahary is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering Department. He interned at Medtronic, a global medical device company, and has been heavily involved with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) during his time at 51�Թ��.

Medtronic treats about 70 health conditions and their technologies include cardiac devices, surgical robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools and patient monitoring systems.

Nathan Mahary interns at Medtronic, a global medical device company, with their surgical operations software team.

How did you first get interested in electrical & computer engineering?

Growing up, I loved playing with electronics either if it was taking apart RC cars and helicopters and putting them back together. That curiosity naturally led me to engineering. I joined a robotics program in high school, which helped me realize how much I enjoyed the combination of electrical and software engineering. When I started college, I initially entered as an open engineering major to explore my options, but inevitably knew I’d end up in electrical and computer engineering. I just love how the two fields complemented each other, allowing me to work in both hardware and software.

How did you find out about the internship with Medtronic?

Through NSBE, we had a connection with Medtronic. Medtronic invited NSBE members to visit their facility, and they asked for resumes for anyone interested in learning about their career opportunities. I submitted mine and then received an email inviting me to an interview. I wouldn’t have had that opportunity to learn about Medtronic without NSBE.

What was it like knowing that NSBE played a role in securing your internship?

It was surreal. Glory to God! Our goal in collaborating with Medtronic was to open up opportunities for NSBE members. When they mentioned internship opportunities, I figured I had nothing to lose by submitting my resume. Medtronic was an opportunity to work in an area that had matched my skill set and gave me an opportunity to strengthen those skills.

What kind of projects did you work on during your internship?

My role was primarily in software engineering. I developed a testing application for the surgical operations software team using a programming language of my choice. I wasn’t very strong in Python at that time, so my mentor encouraged me to work on that and by the end of the summer, I had significantly improved my coding skills. It was an eye-opening experience because I never saw myself working in the medical field. My true passion has been space technology, but this internship showed me how impactful and rewarding medical technology can be.

Beyond technical skills, what did you learn from the internship?

One major takeaway was learning to work on a larger team. In my school projects, I had worked with at most up to four people. At Medtronic, I was part of a much larger team, and I had to learn how to do my part while integrating my work into a bigger system.

Another incredible aspect was being able to shadow other engineers. Since I have an electrical background, I was honest with them and wanted to explore both software and hardware. One of the managers connected me with a hardware engineer who I got to work with in the lab where I soldered components and learned more about the hardware. That hands-on experience helped me stay connected to my electrical engineering roots.

Nathan Mahary and fellow society members from the 51�Թ�� chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers at their 2024 national convention in Atlanta, Ga.

How has NSBE influenced your professional development?

NSBE has played a huge role in my college journey. Before 51�Թ��, my cousin, who was on the NSBE board, encouraged me to attend a meeting. At first, I was only focused on academics—getting good grades and doing well in class. But NSBE introduced me to the professional side of engineering: how to market myself, build a resume and practice for interviews. That changed everything for me.

During my sophomore year I became the media chair and helped promote events to our members. I wanted to give back more to NSBE and thankfully became vice president my junior year, which gave me the platform to help others in the same way NSBE had helped me. Leading NSBE meetings and connecting our members with more opportunities helped grow my leadership tremendously.

What was your experience like at NSBE’s professional conferences?

The NSBE National Convention is an incredible opportunity, and I always encourage students to attend. Over 300 companies and grad schools participate, and the career fair alone is a game-changer. At home, you might apply to two or three jobs a day, but at the conference, you have hundreds of companies right in front of you. It’s one of the best ways for students to land internships and jobs.

What are your post-graduation plans?

I have two major goals. God willing, first, I’m returning to Medtronic in the fall as a software engineer, which is a huge opportunity for me. Second, I’m working with a few other students on a potential startup. My business minor has been incredibly valuable in that process, and I’ve always been passionate about the business side of engineering. I even took an engineering management course this year to sharpen my skills. Whether it’s through Medtronic or this startup, I’m excited about what’s ahead!

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Electrical Engineering

Engineering Projects Expo 2025: Explore new inventions and technologies created by CU Engineering students

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As AI explosion threatens progress on climate change, these researchers are seeking solutions

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51�Թ��� leading 10-university uncrewed aerial systems communications project

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Electrical and computer engineers spark STEM curiosity at 2025 Denver Metro Science Fair

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NSBE helps CU Engineering student land internship at Medtronic

How did you first get interested in electrical & computer engineering?

How did you find out about the internship with Medtronic?

What was it like knowing that NSBE played a role in securing your internship?

What kind of projects did you work on during your internship?

Beyond technical skills, what did you learn from the internship?

How has NSBE influenced your professional development?

What was your experience like at NSBE’s professional conferences?

What are your post-graduation plans?

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51�Թ�� leading 10-university uncrewed aerial systems communications project