Dr. Moshe Kam

Robert G. Quinn Professor & Department Head

Welcome to the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at Drexel University. As you and your children review college opportunities and different study majors, it is instructive to point out the wide range of skills and prospects accessible by graduates of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The common view of ECE graduates is that they practice in several traditional areas – power and energy, aerospace, measurement equipment, telecommunication, and computing devices. Many, as high as half, of our graduates are indeed employed in these fields. In spite of the occasional fluctuation in supply and demand, these graduates enjoy the continuous expansion of these industries, which are diverse and innovative, and have a growing market with considerable hunger for new devices and new technologies. Just think of the last 20 years, with the rapid expansion of Internet technology; the emergence of handheld devices such as cellular telephones, iPods and iPhones; and the increased effort to provide clean and affordable energy, from hybrid cars to new wind-based energy farms. All of these developments are fundamentally driven by the work of electrical and computer engineers, and, not surprisingly, we continue to see healthy demand for our graduates in all of them. Contrary to the headlines that announce from time to time that all ECE work had migrated to other countries, we continue to see strong demand for ECE engineers in Northern America, and large segments of the industry continue – and are likely to continue – much of their research and development work in the US.

We mentioned that about half of our graduates are employed in the “traditional” fields. Where is the other half? Due to the broad education that we provide our students, many have found work in industries that are not historically connected to ECE. We find many of our graduates in Law and Medicine. These graduates use their ECE degree as a strong leverage to develop professional interests in other fields, and have the advantage of deep understanding of the technology that other practitioners in their areas often do not possess. Then, there is a large contingent of our graduates who work in the financial industry. The background that we provide in mathematics, algorithms and programming, is used by these graduates to work with Wall Street firms on market analysis, forecasting, and optimization. Finally, many of our graduates are complementing their technical education by education in business, and turn to management or entrepreneurial activities.

The ECE graduate is therefore as likely to be a program manager in an aerospace company (or the Chief Technology Officer in a medical diagnostics manufacturing company), as s/he is likely to be a patent lawyer, the head of the forecasting department in an investment firm, or a high-tech business owner. This diversity of occupations of our graduates is a consequence of the strong background in technology and analytical methods that we provide them with – an asset that they carry with them to the marketplace and which they can use in a variety of tasks and circumstances. While the specifics of technology are likely to change dramatically with time, the fundamentals that we provide – analytical thinking; learning how to classify, dissect, and analyze difficult problems; understanding how to seek solutions methodically and realistically, and how to communicate the results to peers, supervisors and clients – these are useful for a lifetime.

Please feel free to contact us for more information, or to set up time for a conversation in person or by phone. We are always interested in helping exploring students with their goals and aspirations, and hope that what Drexel has to offer (including our BS/MS programs and our various minors) would match what you are looking for. Over the years we have launched the careers of thousands of electrical and computer engineers who contributed to society both inside and outside the profession. We hope your son or daughter will join this ever growing family in the near future.

Moshe Kam, Ph.D., P.E.
Robert G. Quinn Professor & Department Head
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

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Moshe Kam received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering in 1977 from Tel Aviv University, and the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Drexel University in 1985 and 1987, respectively. His professional interests include Robotics and Navigation, Multi-sensor Systems and Sensor Fields, Information Assurance, and Engineering Education. He is a Fellow of IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) "for contributions to the theory of decision fusion and distributed detection" (2001). Among his awards and recognitions are a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, an Eta Kappa Nu C. Holmes MacDonald Outstanding Teaching Award, and the IEEE Third Millennium Medal. Dr. Kam has served IEEE as Member of the Board of Directors, Member of the Executive Committee, and Vice President for Educational Activities.