ELEC 471: Probability with Applications
in Electrical Engineering

Bucknell University, Fall 2010

Overview:

This is an introductory course in probability and statistics for undergraduate and graduate students. Our goal is to study and understand the basic concepts and tools of probability and statistics. We will provide hands-on experience with the course material through demonstrations and projects using MATLAB. We will also strive to convey the relevance and usefulness of probability and statistics in practical engineering problems.

Instructor and Office Hours:

Richard J. Kozick
Office: Room BRKI 065
Phone: (570) 577-1129
FAX: (570) 577-1822
Email: kozick@bucknell.edu
Web: http://www.linux.bucknell.edu/~kozick

Office hour schedule for Fall, 2010 is 

Tuesday:  10 - 11 AM and 1-2 PM
Wednesday: 2 -  3 PM
Friday:    2 -  3 PM
Other times can be arranged - talk to me in class, send email, or call.
(Refer to the cours home page for the most up-to-date office hours.)

Prerequisites:

MATH 211 (multivariable calculus) and ELEC 320 (Signals and Linear Systems), or equivalent.

Required Textbook:

Probability and Stochastic Processes: A Friendly Introduction for Electrical & Computer Engineers (Second Edition), Roy D. Yates and David J. Goodman, John Wiley Publishers, 2005.

** PLEASE BRING THE TEXTBOOK TO CLASS **

Other Books:

Many books are available on the subjects of probability and statistics. The books take many perspectives: some are mathematical, while others are oriented toward engineering, science, business, social science, etc. I can recommend other books with an electrical engineering flavor, if you are interested.


Course Home Page:

The home page for the ELEC 471 course is
http://www.linux.bucknell.edu/~kozick/elec47110
It can also be accessed by following the link from my home page at
http://www.linux.bucknell.edu/~kozick

The course home page contains the homework assignments, syllabus, sample MATLAB programs, and other course information. Solutions to homework problems and exams will be posted on Blackboard.

Grading: 

8 to 10 quizzes (<= 20 minutes)           20%
2 1-hour exams at 15% each                30%
Final exam                                20%
Homework and projects                     20%
Presentations                             10%

Quizzes and Exams:

We will have two exams on the following dates:
Exam 1: Wednesday, October 6           Exam 2: Wednesday, November 10

Our exams will be on Wednesday afternoon, 3:00-4:22 PM in Dana 221. The exams will be designed for one hour but you can work until 4:22 on Wednesday.

We will also have approximately 8 to 10 short quizzes during the semester. These quizzes will follow closely with the material from the previous class sessions and the homework assignments. Missed quizzes cannot be made up, so it is important that you attend all class sessions.

Some quizzes may require you to use MATLAB. The course will conclude with a final exam.

Homework, Projects, and Presentations:

Homework will be assigned weekly. A subset of the homework problems will be collected and graded. You are responsible to understand all of the homework problems, since the quizzes will be based primarily on the homework assignments and class notes.

There will also be "project" assignments that provide hands-on experience with the course material, often involving processing with MATLAB.

Each student will be asked to prepare at least one presentation to the class. The presentations will be done in groups of 2 or 3 students, and I will assign the groups and the topics. In many cases, the groups will present their solution to a homework problem. Your presentation should be well-prepared and clear.

Late homework and project assignments will not be accepted, since we will review the solutions during class on the due date. You are encouraged to work on the homework and projects with groups of your classmates. However, the work that you submit for grading must be written individually.


Course Topics:

Our goal is to study the following topics related to probability and statistics. In the Yates/Goodman text, we will study chapters 1-5 and selected topics from chapters 6, 7, 9, and 10. Above is my "wish list" of topics for the ideal course, but we will not be able to discuss everything on the list.