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Courses 2018-2019
2018-19 NEW COURSES,
look for them below.
Resources: ECE Official Course Descriptions (UCSD Catalog)
For ECE Graduate Students Only: ECE Course Pre-Authorization Request ("Clear Me") Form
News
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June 30, 2025Meet Phuong Truong: alumna, lecturer, adjunct faculty, education specialist, and mom
Phuong Truong has done it all at UC San Diego: from an undergraduate student in structural engineering, to master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering and now an adjunct lecturer and education specialist, Truong has been a strong presence at the Jacobs School of Engineering for more than a decade. Full Story
June 25, 2025
Sensitive Yet Tough Photonic Devices Are Now a Reality
Engineers have achieved a long-sought milestone in photonics: creating tiny optical devices that are both highly sensitive and durable. This work could lead to a new generation of photonic devices that are not only precise and powerful but also much easier and cheaper to produce at scale. Full Story
June 12, 20252025 Jacobs School Award of Excellence Recipients
The Jacobs School of Engineering will celebrate the undergraduate students in the class of 2025 at its annual Ring Ceremony on Friday, June 13. Six students were selected from the nearly 1,500 students receiving bachelor’s degrees from the Jacobs School of Engineering to receive an Award of Excellence from their academic department. Full Story
June 10, 2025
Reimagining RFID: UC San Diego Researchers Develop Award-Winning Real-Time, Battery-Free Sensors
UC San Diego engineers' award-winning SenSync system turns conventional RFID technology into a reliable sensing platform without using wires or batteries or requiring calibration. Full Story
Grid Resiliency Against Wild Fires
Seminar Speaker
Chris Christopher
Steven Vanderbug
The students of the Power Grid Resiliency for Adverse Conditions Course would like to cordially invite you to a seminar by San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E). The 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season on record in California, with a total of about one thousand fires burning an area of about two million acres, the largest amount of burned acreage recorded in a fire season. The fires have caused more than $3.5 billion in damages and destructed homes, businesses and infrastructures, including power transmission and distribution lines.
Seminar Contact
Bethany Carson <bacarson@eng.ucsd.edu>
Slide 4 2016
2nd Annual Design Competition
Design a device or platform that improves the quality-of-life for senior citizens.
Slide 3
2nd Annual Design Competition
Design a device or platform that improves the quality-of-life for senior citizens.
Slide 2 2016
2nd Annual Design Competition
Design a device or platform that improves the quality-of-life for senior citizens.
Slide 1 2016
2nd Annual Design Competition
Design a device or platform that improves the quality-of-life for senior citizens.
News/Annoucements
Reimbursement
If you need to be reimbursed for Design Competition related expenses (ie. traveling to Meet & Greet off campus or purchasing supplies), please follow the instructions below.
Reimbursement Instructions
2nd Annual Design Competition Showcase
Check out the media coverage and photos from our event!
Events/Workshops
2nd Annual Design Competition Showcase!
Thank you for attending! We hope to see you again next year!
Contact
Nikki Hsueh
Sponsors
Objective
Design a device or platform that improves the quality-of-life for senior citizens.
Info Session
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
7PM in Jacobs Hall, Room 2512
Booker Conference Suite
Timeline
Dec 15
Letter of Intent due
Jan 16
Final Proposal due
Jun 10
Prototype Demo & Design Competition Showcase
Prizes
1st Place - $4,000
2nd Place - $2,000
3rd Place - $1,000
Earn Credits
- ECE 190, ECE 191, ECE 198
- BENG/COGS/CSE/MAE/SE 198
Others
- Receive Certification of Participation
- NSF I-Corps Program
Meet the Teams
| Team Name | Product Name | Product Description | Tagline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team IndeGO Popular Prize |
The IndeGo Walker | The IndeGo Walker is revolutionizing the classic walker through improvements in ergonomics and safety. By integrating engineering and human centered design, the IndeGo Walker has numerous features that make its usage effortless and safe. This includes a comfortable new design, a GPS tracker, and lighting system that come together to maximize the well-being of any user. | Independence, on the go. |
| Little Einstein's | Elly | Elly is a calendar system that is split into two separate components: a calendar app and digital wall calendar that can sync events. This system allows seniors to schedule events with ease and share events with friends and housemates through a simple and intuitive interface that you can speak to. | A senior citizen friendly interface that supports their active, independent lifestyles. |
| Senior Solutions | LiftAssist | LiftAssist is a seat cushion that lifts and tilts to help seniors who cannot stand up on their own easily transfer from sitting to standing. With the help of medical professionals, we have designed a dynamic cushion that encourages proper standing technique while assisting the senior with the transfer. Often, it is easier for seniors to walk than to get out of a chair; this device empowers them to be more independent and walk whenever they wish. | Empowering seniors to stand tall and proud. |
| Team Magicians | Plug-N-Talk | Plug-N-Talk is an affordable solution to the pricey hearing aids market. Just fire up our smartphone App and plug in a pair of earphones and microphone, you can enjoy conversations with friends in an improved hearing quality! | An affordable alternative solution of hearing aids to make conversations easy for senior citizens with hearing loss. |
| HKN | Night Buddy | Night Buddy is a product that will softly illuminate a path to the bathroom in the middle of the night. A bedside remote is touched to turn on all light units along the path to the bathroom with the intention of helping reduce/eliminate senior falling injuries. | Prevent falls with a bedside remote that illuminates your path. |
| SpeakView | SpeakView | We are SpeakView; our mission is to return independence to people with hearing loss by providing an optical solution to an auditory problem. Our product provides real-time subtitles for everyday conversations using a wearable device and your smartphone. Today, we have several form factors for you to interact with. | Communicate with Confidence! |
| KiWi 1st Place |
KiWi Attention Companion | Distractions are inevitable while walking. Sneaky steps, slopes, and uneven surfaces are everywhere and can often catch us by surprise. What if you could see them coming to reduce your chance of slipping, tripping and falling? Meet KiWi - your Attention Companion! KiWi uses sensors to detect fall hazards. You can choose a friendly voice, light or vibration as your alert so you can walk safely. Take KiWi on your next walk - feel more confident and enjoy being active. | Age is just a number! Stay active and safe with KiWi Attention Companion. |
| Project Purple 3rd Place |
Caregiver Collective | Are you caring for a loved one with dementia? Tap into a wealth of knowledge and support from experienced caregivers that will not only improve your mental health, but also the health of your loved one. Are you a veteran caregiver? Lend your experiences to guide and build a community with those around you. This flexible, personal, and mobile support group will connect caregivers of all experience levels to promote health for everyone. | Fostering a community for unsung heroes |
| HKN Team B | O2Reel | O2Reel is a oxygen tubing management device for COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patients who rely on oxygen concentrator to breathe at home. O2Reel allows the length of tubings to be adjusted appropriately and effectively minimizes tripping hazards caused by the long, easily tangled tubings. O2Reel will be a significant and impactful solution to oxygen concentrator users who have been facing the challenge of managing their 50-feet-long tubings at home in their daily lives. | Manage oxygen tubing to untangle your life. |
| Team Shuffle 2nd Place |
smartSole | smartSole is a revolutionary, real-time gait analysis tool that was carefully designed to be low-profile, low-maintenance, and give you the confidence to walk independently. Our comfortable smart insole easily inserted into your shoes and equipped with an array of sensors and powerful algorithms that analyze your walking patterns in real-time and detect unhealthy walking habits. smartSole works side by side with your doctor, improving upon the traditional in-laboratory gait tests by providing real world data for a more accurate diagnosis. | smartSole, walk with confidence. |
Team Formations and Process
- At least one team member from Jacobs School of Engineering and one team member from Social Science
- At least one team member has taken ONE of the following courses by the end of Winter Quarter, 2017:
ECE 180
Entrepreneurship for Engineers (FA 2016)
ECE 180
Successful Entrepreneurship for Microsystems (WI 2017)
CSE 190
Human-Computer Interaction for Health
MAE 154
Product Design & Entrepreneurship
DSGN 1
Design of Everyday Things
COGS 120
Interaction Design
Resources
Student Certification for Business Related Travel Form
3rd Monthly Update Meeting - 01.25.2017
2nd Monthly Update Meeting - 11.30.2016
1st Monthly Update Meeting - 10.26.2016
Reimbursement Instructions
Info Session Presentation - 9.28.2016
Media/Photos
Media Articles/News Releases
- Seniors lend expertise on aging-related products (San Diego Union Tribune, 2017)
- Baby boomers fuel wave of products meant to help them live longer and better (San Diego Union Tribune, 2017)
- Residents serve as ultimate focus group for next-generation technology (McKnight's Senior Living, 2017)
- Alert system for seniors who want to stay active takes first place at 2nd annual Design Competition (Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego, 2017)
- UCSD students create products for senior citizens (San Diego Union Tribune, 2016)
- Students, seniors meld ideas to engineer new inventions (The Coast News Group, 2016)
- UCSD Students, La Costa Glen Residents Collaborate on Next Gen Products for Older Adults (La Costa Glen, 2016)
- UC San Diego Students Fabricate Device to Protect Seniors from a Fall (Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego, 2016)
Photos
- 2nd Annual Design Competition (Credit: Shanni Jin and Alex Matthews, UC San Diego, 2017)
- 2016 ECE Alumni Weekend (Credit: Anna Liza Smith, UC San Diego, 2016)
Slide 1
Annual Design Competition
Improving the quality of life for people living with
Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers
Assistant Professor Siavash Mirarab Receives NSF CAREER Award
Jennifer Hollis, Qualcomm Institute Writer
Sensing the Physical World Using Pervasive Wireless Infrastructure
Seminar Speaker
Elahe Soltanaghaei
Department of Computer Science
University of Virginia
The promise of IoT has been a future where connected devices work together to automate the world. That means a home that monitors your activities and health status, learns your habits and preferences, and automatically controls lighting, air conditioning, and more. One of the pillars of success for IoT is an efficient and robust mechanism for sensing people and the physical world around them. Recent advances in wireless technologies present new promising possibilities to extend the use of this communication vehicle to a pervasive sensing infrastructure.
Seminar Contact
Wyn Hughes <whughes@eng.ucsd.edu>