RU ACADEMIA

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Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering


Specialization: Communications


Current Research:

WINLAB (Wireless Information Network Laboratory) says it all. It is one of the top five research labs in the nation in the field of wireless communication. The list of ongoing projects can be found at:  http://www.winlab.rutgers.edu/pub/Index.html . Other than these, you might be able to work on some new innovative project if some prof likes your idea. However that will happen mostly near the end of the first year itself. Quite a bit of research related to computer engineering in WINLAB too. And also a couple of FPGA related work goes on there. ‘Cognitive Radio’ is one of the active projects in recent times.

 
Faculty:

A lot of the faculty comes from WINLAB itself. Networking courses profs might change this year round as one is on a sabbatical and the other left Rutgers. You still might be able to experience the expert guidance of Dr. Roy Yates (Stochastic signals) and Dr. D. G. Daut (communication theory).

 
Books:

Most of the books depend on the prof who will teach you and cannot be generalised.

However the books we used last year were :

Stochastic signals and systems (Core course for wireless):
Probability and Stochastic Processes -- by Roy Yates and David Goodman.

Communication Networks I & II :

Computer Networks - Jim Kurose and Keith Ross (e-book available) DO NOT BUY.
Computer Networks - Peterson and Davie (Ebook available here too)

Moreover, both professors for Comm nets I && II are going to be changed. So Books might change anyway.

Communication Theory:
Introduction to Digital Communication, Second Edition, 2001
Authors: Rodger E. Ziemer and Roger W. Peterson
Publisher: Prentice-Hall (Pearson Higher Education)
ISBN: 0138964815
Available for $9 here. Carry it if only you get a better Bargain.

All other books depend on individual courses you take.

 
Job scenario:

The job prospects revolve around the infrastructure department. However you will be doing a lot of programming too and some application development jobs can also open up. But you do need to apply to many places to get job interviews.

 
Advice: Good major to take up. However don’t take a major based on what everyone else is taking or what is currently the best in the university. You will be bounded to that stream even after graduation so choose something which u would like to study and work on for years!


Contact:

Mohnish Kulkarni

Degree: Masters

Email: mohnishk[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu



Snehapreet Gopinath

Degree: Masters

Email: snehag[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu




Specialization: VLSI


Current Research: Research is focussed on fault tolerance, low power design and testing (DFT). The place is not for architecture, design for manufacturability and process engineering.

Faculty: Michael Bushnell and one visiting lecturer from bell labs (Tapan chakraborty). These are the only people for VLSI specifically.


Books:

Verilog Hardware Description Language - Philip R. Moorby

CMOS VLSI design - Weste and Harris

Introduction to design and algorithms - Anany Levitin


For rest all the books soft-copies are available.


Job scenario: Not very good currently (mainly because of recession and location disadvantage. Places nearer to California are easier for getting jobs).


Advice: Prefer California universities over anything for VLSI design. VLSI courses at Rutgers are not too many. The funding chance is very bleak (May improve next year). The courses are not very easy to get through and lots of hard work needed for good grade. If you are still confident of coming, do read and practice C language.


Contact:

Mohit Wani

Degree: Masters

Email: wmohit[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu



Onkar Sarode

Degree: Masters

Email: onkars[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu




Specialization: Embedded systems/Computer Architecture


Research:
Most of the students are associated with TASSL lab in Caip center (http://www.caip.rutgers.edu). Professor Manish Parashar handles the research in the field of Distributed and
Parallel Computing. One of the projects involves working on an application based on
TupleSpaces and Linda Spaces. The work includes some coding a LOT of
reading about different concepts ranging from simple distributed
applications to cloud computing. Further, there is good research related to peer to peer networking, building I/O applications on various platforms using RDMA support etc.


Faculty:
Professor Parashar is very good, knowledgeable but dont expect him to come
 sit with you and look into your code. He would push you enough to get
things going, but he would expect you to do most of the work,
come up with an idea, and then he would streamline it. You will never get
anything ready on the platter. His webpage has more info which I suggest you should go through
http://www.caip.rutgers.edu/~parashar/

Books:
In general if you want to major in Computer Engineering, get the latest editions of the following books:

Computer Architecture – Hennesey, Patterson

Data Structures and Algorithms – Cormen

Linear Algebra - Gilbert Strang

Parallel and Distributed Computing - The one in spring does not need a text book, and one in fall requires Parallel Programming: Techniques and Applications Using Networked Workstations and Parallel Computers, Barry Wilkinson and Michael Allen, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, 2006, ISBN 0-13-140563-2.  

(The course was not offered in fall 2007)


Job Scenario:

USA is under a recession, so job scenario in any field is as bad as any other. And the fact remains that if you try hard enough and with a little bit of luck you would land up with an internship / fulltime.


Advice:
Frankly there are very few professors in the Computer Engineering field at Rutgers. So I would suggest go through every Professor's website, They have all the info about their interest and work. Read up on things you find interesting. Approach the professors once you are here and then take on from there. If you show that you are interested and put in some effort in the work
entrusted you could get a hourly job with any professor or a RA/TA after
the first year.


Contact:

Shivangi Chaudhuri

Degree: Masters

Email: shivangc[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu



Specialization: Control systems

Research:
The research in control systems is not very encouraging at time due to lack of students. There are many opportunities in various other fields to apply control systems.

Wireless networks: Very good research. Eg. Zigbee is a recent and very popular technology for wireless communication in industry. One can do some implementation using it or customize it to suit your needs.

Biomedical Engg

Mathematics dept: Offers research in bio-modelling on human body. Called Systems Biology.

There are two courses offered every year. Pursuing non-thesis would not be possible.

Faculty:


Job scenario in Controls: Bleak.


Advice:

It will be a struggle at the start, but if you have some real passion for controls you will end up doing some real nice and innovative research. I would like to suggest that if you are interested in doing research in controls have some basic idea of Matlab's, Control System Toolbox and the Robust Control Toolbox, they will come in handy in your research. It will also help you if you come up with some good innovative ideas with which you can convince the professor to do research in your area of interest. The research in Controls at Rutgers is very open to integration with other fields unlike other universities. I wish you luck in your future endeavors.


Contact:

Indraneel Kulkarni

M.S. in Electrical Engineering

Email: neelk[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu



Specialization: DSP

Research:

Speech recognition (Robustness), Text to speech - Speech to text conversion, Application of optimum signal processing in time series for financial, geographical and real world problems, Image classification using machine learning, Image labelling, Online Speech libraries and their usage using bayesian and gaussian methods.

Most of the research is done in computer science dept. But ECE students are allowed to participate.

Faculty:
Dr Rabiner, Dr Orfanidis, Dr Dana, Dr Mammone and Dr Silver. These are most of the people in ECE dept. Rabiner is the best you can get anywhere in the world for signal processing, so is Orfanidis. He has won the best teacher award. Dana is a good prof with current research in robotics and machine learning and computer vision techniques. Dr Vladimir Pavlovic, Dr Ahmed Elgammal are the 2 machine learning profs in the comp science dept. You can visit their web pages for their current research interests. But the main field of interest is Image and Data classification using various ML techniques. A very good field if you get into it.

Books:
Dont buy any books when you come. If you have a copy of Proakis for DSP and Gonzalez for Image processing, its good. Most of the books can be procured online or from seniors. Also write notes which are helpful. Most of readings and other stuff is provided by all these profs once you take their course.


Job Scenario:

There are companies who require some signal processing guys like Motorola, Avaya, Qualcomm, IBM and lot of finance companies. These are the ones that come on campus. However if you keep your options open, you will find a job in any field. One should apply to lot of companies with timely preparation. Dont wait for things to happen with the job scenario. You have to take steps.


Advice:
Enjoy what you learn then you will surely do well. Also take subjects that you are good at. Dont be scared of some profs. Enjoy your time at Rutgers. Get involved in sports and other cultural activities organised by RIGSA. Go out and roam around in USA. If you do this and manage your studies, you will be much happier and you will also learn lot of things. Finally, as said in Waynes world "Party on" :)


Contact:

Amey Rairikar

Degree: Masters

Email: ameyr[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu




Major: Civil and Environmental Engg


Research and faculty:

Civil Engg dept: 2 full time profs have various projects going on. Not enough scope for student participation. Dr.Guo has just completed a project and will be on the lookout for new projects. If he gets one, which means 1-2 of the Fall Civ Engg students will get an excellent research job. No fee waiver though.

Environmental Sciences Dept: Has a lot of research going on and is bigger than the Civil Engg Dept. One can always contact the profs there for jobs/research options. Courses taken in this dept count towards your core requirement of 4 courses from the same field.


We have got 2 full time and 1 visiting prof, who is legendary in the field, Dr.Steven Medlar.


Books suggested for Fall/Spring:

You can always order books from India. But get ‘Wastewater Engg’ by Metcalf and Eddy. That is the Bible for Env Engg. Most books are also available in the library.


Job scenario: Good, but starting salary is less as compared to others. But there is a lot of growth potential. Civil Engg is considered a very noble and prestigious profession here.


Advice: Try to learn AutoCADD, Primavera, ArchiCADD, MSP, etc. Not only will they look good on your resume, they will also include your options and chances of landing good jobs both on and off campus.


Contact:

Arjun Adimari

Degree: Masters

Email: arjunra[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu


Teja Indrakanti

Degree: Masters

Email: tejaits[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu




Major: Urban Planning and Policy Management


Research: Transportation Planning, Planning and Zoning in New Jersey.


Faculty: Faculty information and course syllabus available on professor's website –

http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/

Books :

Books are easily available from seniors. Course material is also available on the server and common drive in the computer lab. Bloustein school has its own computer lab which is open 24x7.

Job Scenario:

Urban Planning Program Ranked #4 in the Nation –

http://www.planetizen.com/education/planning
Bloustein school has its own career services. For more information, check the website –

http://policy.rutgers.edu/students/careers.php

Contact:

Swena Gulati

Degree: Masters

Email: swena[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu




Major: Mathematics (Math-fin, Fin-math)


Program:

The Mathematical Finance (MSMF) program at Rutgers University is jointly hosted by the Mathematics, Statistics and ECE departments. The program is very math centric with the focus being more on the mathematical concepts in finance.

 

Faculty:

 The faculty consists of some of the most reputed professors in the math and stats departments with creditable research work in their field. The visiting faculty comprises of industry professionals from leading Wall Street firms. The program is still in its formative years and it intends to impart a right blend of theoretical as well as practical knowledge thereby allowing the students to either opt for a corporate career or further research depending on their interests.

 

Books:

 For newly admitted students, the following books are a good read before starting the program

  1. Options, Futures and Other Derivatives  - John C. Hull

This particular book will especially help the students who are making a transition from other streams to finance. The book explains the various types of derivative instruments, the math behind which you will be learning in this course.  

  1. The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance – Mark Joshi

This is a very good book about what you will be learning in this course explained in the most lucid language. The book is not very heavy on the math content and should be helpful to students while they try to understand the financial meaning of the mathematical equations.

The actual book used in the course “Stochastic Calculus for Finance I & II” by Steven E. Shreve assumes a particular prior level of math which students from engineering and other non math majors find difficult and hence reading “The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance” book is highly recommended.

  1. Stats, Data and Models  - Richard D. De Veaux, Paul F. Velleman, and David E. Bock

The mathematical finance program has three core courses in statistics and this book will not only help in establishing the base required for these courses but also make it interesting, as the authors show how to apply statistical methods to everyday problems

 

Apart from these books there are a few others recommended by industry professionals and faculty members which can be found on the website http://www.markjoshi.com/

 

Job Scenario:

 Rutgers being is one of the oldest and most reputed universities in US draws a lot of Fortune 500 employers to campus. However the proximity to New York City is a very big advantage. Students have greater access to the Wall Street firms and applying and giving interviews becomes easier. Employers also prefer local candidates for internships and full-time jobs. Given the current economic condition, the location becomes a big factor.

 

Advice:

 The MSMF program is a very intensive program spanning over 3 semesters. It requires a good amount of effort on part of the students especially with non-finance backgrounds. It is also important that the students are well read and informed about the topics and fields in finance since the course does not cover them. Hence is it the prerogative of students to read books and journals apart from their course material since they that is what will be expected from them in interviews and jobs.


Contact:

Tejas Joshi

Degree: Masters

Email: tejasj[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu


Mayank Khanna

Degree: Masters

Email: mayankk[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu




Major: Computer Science


A Systems View

Research:
There is exciting Systems research going on here at Rutgers. The major Systems labs include:
a) DiscoLab: Headed by Liviu Iftode and currently focuses on mobile, vehicular, social networks. Some prior and other current projects deal with file system security, rootkit detection, Transactional memory introspection.
b) Dark Lab: Headed by Ricardo Bianchini and the DARK group is currently focused on three different aspects of large-scale Internet services: (1) power, energy, and temperature management; (2) system management and availability; and (3) performance.
c) Panic Lab: Headed by Thu Nguyen and Rich Martin. They work on everything- from OS to networks to Database.
d) ProLangs: Headed by Barbara Ryder (will move to VTech this fall). The PROLANGS group does research in the area of static and dynamic analysis of object-oriented programs. Current work focuses on practical and efficient analyses for object-oriented languages (C++, Java) and their use in the testing and debugging of Java programs.
e) EEL: Headed by Uli Kremer and currently investigate compiler-time power and energy optimizations that will be complementary to current hardware and OS techniques. (More on the web page).
f) Other labs work in computer vision and e-commerce.

Faculty:
Rutgers is more renowned for its Theory group (Szemeredi, Szegedy, Fredman, Eric Allender, Joe Kilian, etc) than its Systems group but a number of new faculty members have joined last year and some are returning back from sabbatical this Fall, so the course options are many more than fall/spring last year. Most faculty members are graduates from top 5-10 CS departments from the country and so you can expect the best from them. This also means that they can get pretty demanding for work/results.



Books:

The first couple of books are a *must have* if you are a Systems guy.

Operating Systems – Silberschatz, Galvin

UNIX Network Programming – Richard Stevens

Introduction to Algorithms – Cormen, Rivest, et al.

Databases - Raghu Ramakrishnan

In Systems, generally there is more emphasis on papers, so you can even do without most of the books.

Job scenario:

PhD students very likely get internships / job in core areas in research firms. Internship and Job ops in core areas are difficult for MS students, though with a good research background you can secure it. Since there are many financial firms in the area, most students do manage an internship. It is always a good idea to keep good grades as firms might be picky. Also, there are a number of ops in the department. Students mostly work as summer TAs/GAs. Usually, companies won’t be willing to take up your relocation and accommodation expenses for an internship. Full time job seekers have opportunities from Manhattan Investment Banks to Core CS Silicon Valley companies.


Advice:
Carefully choose the courses in Fall sem. If you intend to do research then interact with as many faculty members as soon as you can. Think twice if you want to research in theoretical CS as the professors will suggest you to move to systems if you are looking a good JOB after PhD.


Contact:

Mohan Dhawan

Degree: PhD

Email: mdhawan[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu


Ananth Addanki

Degree: Masters

Email: addanki[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu




Major: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering


Faculty & Current Research:
There are 4 fields of specialization here, Fluids, Thermal, Solid Mechanics & Design. Info about the faculty & their research can be found on http://mech.rutgers.edu/faculty.php
The research in Fluids, thermal & Solid Mechanics is noteworthy, but there is no research and just 3 professors in the Design Department (Prof. Langrana is now in the Biomedical Dept). So don’t come to Rutgers with a dream to foster your career in the Mechanical Design field.
You will be amazed to know that we have an array of projects going on when it comes to fluids, from Aerodynamics to Behavior of blood cells in veins, its all happening here! Thermal explores more of combustion & thermodynamics. The Solid Mechanics cabal also has funding but not so much as the earlier 2 depts. The Profs here are cool & they consider your busy schedule while giving out assignments & tests.


Books:

Most of the Profs here will provide you their own notes. But if you want to bring some then here’s the list:

1. Advanced Engineering Mathematics - Michael D Greenberg
2. Incompressible Flow - Ronald L Panton
3. Heat Conduction - M Necati Ozisik
4. Radiative Heat Transfer - M F Modest
5. Convective Heat & Mass Transfer - W.M. Kays,  M.E. Crawford & B. Weigand
6. Introduction to Physical Gas Dynamics - W G Vincenti & Charles H Kruger
7. Introduction to Robotics- John Craig

Job scenario:
You need to know a Computer Programming language if you want to be recruited. Anything you know more than the usual mechanical stuff makes your chances of getting a job brighter. New Jersey is not the place to search for Mech jobs, although you can land in a firm as a consultant in NY or NJ. So the bottom line is that you have to be ready for relocation. But yes there are jobs for mechies.

Advice:
Getting funded in Mech isn’t easy at all, unless you are an IITian or have a dual degree of some kind. So get ready to pay at least the 1st year tution fees by yourself. Apart from that do your work & assignments on time, start searching for Profs in your field of interest as the semester enters the second half, watch online movies on weekends, make full use of the awesome recreational facilities, & make your stay in the US a memorable one!


Contact:

Jay Takle

Degree: Masters

Email: jaytakle[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu


Srinivas Iyer

Degree: Masters

Email: sriniyer[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu




Major: Industrial and Systems Engineering


Contact:

Chandra Shekhar

Degree: Masters

Email: shekhar[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu





Major: Human Resource Management


Contact:

Sahana Mukherjee

Degree: Masters

Email: sahanam[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu


Sachin Bakshi

Degree: Masters

Email: sachinb[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu




Major: Chemistry


Contact:

Prasad Subramanyam

Degree: PhD

Email: prasads[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu


Vaibhav Doshi

Degree: PhD

Email: vdoshi[at]eden[dot]rutgers[dot]edu