1. On Monday October 09, 2006 the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Advisory Council assembled at approximately 12:00 P.M. in the University of Akron Martin Center.

2. The meeting was called to order and opening remarks made by Jim Stadelman, chairman of the Council. In the opening remarks, Jim welcomed everyone to the Fall 2006 Meeting and introduced Andy Creque as a new member of the ECE Advisory Council. Mr. Stadelman then presented the modified agenda for the meeting (see attached).

3. Ms. Deanna Dunn , from the College of Engineering Co-op Office, presented an update on the status of the universities’ co-op program during lunch.
   
   

   • She reported that 100% of the available Co-op class had successfully been placed last year. Some potential employers had to be turned down as all students were placed.
   • Generally, students were receiving pay in the range of $16 to $21/hr.
   • She reported that students seemed more receptive to relocating if necessary to take advantage of employment opportunities.
     

The following attachments were provided by the Co-op Office:
- Summer Session 2006 Co-op / Employer list
- Graduate Salary Information – August 2005


4. The Dean of Engineering, Dr. Haritos, was unavailable for this fall’s meeting due to a prior commitment.

5. Mr. Nathan Picot, University of Akron Electrical Engineering Department Graduate Team Leader, gave an update overview of Challenge X. Challenge X is the three year competition sponsored by the automotive and electronics industries and the US and Canadian governments to foster university research in energy efficient vehicle technologies. The goals of the program are 1) develop technologies for better fuel economy, 2) reduce automotive emissions, and 3) maintain or improve overall vehicle performance. Mr. Picot’s presentation covered the program’s current status and future plans as it embarks on its third year of a three year competition. The team’s approach was noted to be the most innovative approach of all participants in this competition. This past year the team took possession of a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox SUV from General Motors. The University of Akron team is made up of members from the ECE department and the ME department, including professors, graduate students, and a large number of undergraduate students. A complete copy of Mr. Picot’s Challenge “X” presentation is attached with these meeting minutes. Also attached are two Challenge “X” articles from the Cleveland Plain Dealer Newspaper.

6. Dr. Alex DeAbreu-Garcia thanked everyone on the ECE advisory council for continued support of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

• Alex indicated that salaries for last years’ BSEE graduates were very good and averaged around the mid $50k range.
• He also indicated that, once again, there has been a large increase in enrollment this year in the ECE program compared to a small overall decrease in enrollment across the state
• Alex indicated that there were 11 senior design projects planned for this academic year. The advisory council will review these at the spring ’07 meeting.
• Dr. John Welch indicated that ABET would be conducting an accreditation review of the ECE Department next fall. He also reviewed the recent Alumni Survey.
• Alex’s complete ECE department update presentation is attached to these meeting minutes.


7. The individual ECE Council Subcommittees held brief breakout meetings to summaries issues and status of their respective subcommittees.
   
8. Subcommittee Reports were then presented by the Chairman of the each subcommittee. The results were as follows:



• ABET Subcommittee – Tom Frey

It was reported that the subcommittee held a meeting in September 2006 and that the following topics were discussed:

• Objectives and Outcomes
• Keep in front of the students in the “Tools for Engineering” course.
• Incorporate into course syllabus
• A related poster will be done and posted to bulletin board.
• ABET Website
• Looking into the concept of an ABET website for posting appropriate information
• Could also be used for Senior Projects
• An article on “The Engineer of 2020” was distributed.
• The subcommittee reported that the next ABET review would take place in September 2007.
• Final Co-op Reports
• Uniform reporting format will be used
• Student holds responsibility to get report from employer
• Employer and Alumni survey report will be going out to graduates and employers in the coming weeks. The Advisory committee is being asked to assist in obtaining results.
• A copy of the subcommittee’s full presentation is attached for review.
• The Program Development and Enhancement Subcommittee – Jim Stadelman
• The subcommittee presented an outline and recommendation for a potential new course titled “Building Electrical System Design”. It is proposed to be a 3 credit hour elective. The subcommittee detailed the course topics, schedule, grading guidelines, and as well as prerequisites.
• Jim Stadelman asked the Advisory Council and ECE faculty to review and provide comments back to him on this recommended course.
• A copy of the Course outline is attached below.
• The Marketing Subcommittee – Rod Snyder reported for Jay Ruhe
• The Marketing Subcommittee reported they were re-evaluating the role of this subcommittee. Some discussion resulted and it was suggested that perhaps this subcommittee should serve as an “activities support” committee and perform more indirect marketing to the ECE department.
• With few members able to attend this particular meeting, it was decided to table for further discussion to a later time.
• Research Subcommittee – Jim Peters
• The Research Subcommittee reported the following:
• The Subcommittee met with Dr. Newcomb, University of Akron Vice President for Research, as well as other Akron University research groups to discuss Intellectual Property (IP) issues with an eye toward fulfilling Dean Haritos’s vision for a new Center for Industrial Research. The subcommittee did not see a clear path forward for its service in this area at this time.
• The subcommittee has reached the conclusion that it needs to re-evaluate how best to serve the interest of the ECE department within the recourses at its disposal.
• The subcommittee will meet in the coming weeks and recommend a new target to focus its activities on.
9. Jim Stadelman opened the election of new Officers for the ECE Advisory Council. By a process of written ballot of the Advisory Council, the following Officers were elected to serve for the 2007 – 2009 term:




Chairman	Mr. Thomas Fry
Vice Chairman	Mr. David Filicky
Secretary	Mr. James Eckman



10. The Advisory Council thanked Jim Stadelman for his outstanding dedicated service as its chairman for the past two years with a round of applause.
11. The next meeting of the ECE Council was set for April 09, 2007 at the University of Akron’s Martin Center. It will be a full day meeting beginning at 8 a.m..
12. Conclusion: Jim Stadelman thanked everyone for contributions to the Fall 2006 ECE Council meeting
13. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:10 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,
David J. Filicky - Secretary ECE Advisory Council
Web Page address:
http://ece.uakron.edu/advisory_council.html