Computer Engineering @ USNA

Computer Engineering at USNA is a new major.  The major is filled with fascinating courses, motivated students, and a fervent faculty. The material on this page introduces the Computer Engineering program in general and explains the program here at USNA..

CE Matrix

What Is Computer Engineering?

Computer Engineering is a discipline that combines fundamentals from both electrical engineering and computer science. Computer engineers understand different aspects of a computer, ranging from low-level physics to high-level computer software. Computer engineers design, implement, analyze and evaluate computer systems and devices. We are in the midst of the digital age, and as a computer engineering student, you will learn how the discovery of the transistor sparked an unprecedented growth in digital processors, creating an extraordinary need for computer engineers. Digital processors are everywhere, including PCs, laptops, cell phones, PDAs, iPods, Playstations, Tivos, the backbone of the internet, etc. Below, you'll find a non-exhaustive list of the computer engineering sub-disciplines found at the Naval Academy.

 💻 Algorithms and Coding

Computer engineering majors learn to develop methods of writing efficient software code in high level programming  languages such as C, C++, Java, etc. The 'under-the-hood' understanding of a computer that comes with being a  computer engineer is very useful for writing efficient programs..

 💻 Computer Architecture Organization and Parallel Processing

Computer architecture organization encompasses a broad spectrum of design techniques that address different aspects of performance, power consumption, reliability and efficiency. Specific topics include processor fundamentals, super-pipeline architecture, systolic and parallel designs.

 💻 Computer Networking

This discipline concerns creating  integrated environments for computers and other communication devices to access information efficiently. The focus is on developing hardware and software components that link devices together, wired or wirelessly, to form a network..

 

 💻 Digital Logic Design

Digital logic circuits evaluate the truthfulness of electronic signals using Boolean algebra expressions (those with terms like AND, OR, and NOT). Logic circuits are used in most electronic systems including computers, cell phones, game consoles, etc.

💻 Embedded Systems

Imagine yourself understanding how a Sony PlayStation or a Nintendo Wii works. Embedded systems are special-purpose computers that are designed to perform a few dedicated functions usually as part of a larger system. Other interesting projects include embedded systems for computer vision, image processing and robotics.

 💻 Integrated Circuits and VLSI Design

Computer engineers working in this area focus on enhancing speed, chip area, reliability and energy efficiency. Very-large-scale-integration (VLSI) circuits are created by combining millions of transistors into a single chip that is designed to perform special tasks.

💻 Operating Systems

An operating system is the software responsible for managing activities and hardware resources of a machine. Most computer systems including handheld devices, PCs, supercomputers, and video game consoles use an operating system. Thanks to their understanding of both hardware and software, computer engineers make great operating system designers.