Our purpose is to research, develop and demonstrate and enhance innovative technologies that enable and underpin the rapidly evolving digital world.

The School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science has extensive worldwide university and industry research links.  Its continuing aim is to provide a vibrant, highly stimulating environment for conducting carefully selected research in topical areas that are of the highest international standard, thereby attracting best calibre academic and postdoctoral staff, overseas visitors and PhD students. It also is active in using its research base to actively promote wider economic benefit across the region and beyond that are aligned with sustainable development goals and societal and economic grand challenges. Research is conducted within a strong Equality Diversity and Inclusion ethos evidenced our Schools holding a Silver SWAN award.   

The School is organised by cross collaborating core discipline thematic areas which act as feeders for the Global Research Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology, ECIT and through the thematic area Energy, Power and Intelligent Control, the Centre for Intelligent Autonomous Manufacturing Systems i-AMS.   

We constantly identify, refresh and enhance technical research specialties and physical infrastructure in carefully selected areas where we have significant superior technical differentiation. These include Secure systems; Data informed decision making; Real world applied AI; Physical layer wireless and sensing; Embedded renewable power generation; Intelligent systems for advanced manufacture. 

FACILITIES

The ECIT building houses a substantial amount of EEECS research and has seen a commitment of £11M in new staff and a new building. Since its founding in 2004, ECIT has benefitted from a £37M development (2009) and a £30M EPSRC/InnovateUK Innovation and Knowledge Centre Cybersecurity investment.  ECIT currently houses 180 staff. Its approach overlays an academic research environment with an infrastructure that is more common in a high-technology company, but in a manner that neither compromises research quality nor curtails speculative “blue-sky” thinking. This involves locating engineering staff with strong industrial experience directly alongside academic researchers. These engineers support industry engagement, create “proof-of-concept” prototypes, support SMEs and facilitate new spin-out companies.

ECIT houses a number of state-of-the-art facilities including two purpose-built anechoic chambers for far- and near-field tests and measurements. The 5 x 5 x 10m³ chamber (Figure 6), was refurbished in 2019, bringing its range of operation from 433 MHz to 50GHz. It is equipped with three MVG/Orbit positioners, allowing for Azimuth and Roll as well as transmission roll, making the chamber capable of dual linear measurement. A new, £1M, millimetre-wave research lab was opened in 2018 as part of a collaboration with Keysight Technologies, Inc. It includes a state-of-the-art N5247A PNA-X Non-Linear Vector Network Analyzer, E8361C PNA Microwave Network Analyzer with N5260A mmWave controller and a N9040B UXA Signal Analyzer; it provides unprecedented measurement and instrumentation capabilities for microwave and millimetre-wave experiments.

Technologies in iAMS include next generation CNC and PKM Machining Centres, collaborative robot and AGV platforms, high precision metrology tools and laser-based fabrication, forming, and joining systems.

RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE

A defining feature of the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science is the ability to sustain a pipeline of world-leading research in carefully selected areas that delivers impact through commercialisation and knowledge exchange.  We are at the centre of many initiatives being delivered through the research councils, business agencies and industry. Working with our partners regionally, and globally, we deliver technologies that inform the knowledge-based, data-driven economy while taking into account UN Sustainable Development Goals.

For this purpose EEECS has chosen to focus on six thematic core research areas: 

• Artificial Intelligence
• Wireless Communications
• Computing Systems
• Cybersecurity
• Energy, Power and Intelligent Control
• Software Engineering

EEECS has had a number of notable achievements during the past few years including:

• 2016 Award of an esteemed Regius Professorship by Her Majesty the Queen to recognise exceptionally high quality research in Electronics and Computer Engineering.
• A Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair
• Numerous personal fellowships including a UKRI Future Leader fellowships, several RAEng fellowships, and a Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership fellowship

New staff to the School are allocated a senior colleague as a mentor. They also have an initial reduced teaching load, and access to university training courses to help develop their research, leadership and teaching skills including the PCHET (Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching). Incoming academic staff are supported through start-up packages for networking and research activities, as well as an internal peer review system to support them in the preparation of grant applications.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

RESEARCH COMMUNITY AND CULTURE

A key priority for EEECS is to foster a close community by supporting and developing our postdoctoral researchers and PhD students through training and mentoring. All our researchers are members of the Faculty Postdoctoral society, which aims to:

• Increase integration of research staff and research students into EEECS life and help them, particularly those new to Belfast, to get to know other researchers;
• Increase their voice and visibility;
• Provide greater opportunities for interactions, discussion and dissemination of ideas and collaborations;
• Provide space for social and networking opportunities.

OUR RESEARCH THEMES