Graduate Teaching Assistants

• Jiangtao Yin < jyin@ecs.umass.edu >
  Office hours: Monday 5:30 - 7:30 pm in Gunness Student Center
  
• Pramila Singh < deshraj@ecs.umass.edu >
  Office hours: Tuesday 5:00 - 7:00 pm in Gunness Student Center
  
• Ilke Ercan < iercan@ecs.umass.edu >
  Office hours: Friday 11:00 am - 12:00 pm in M2
  
• Tariq Ahmad < tariq@engin.umass.edu >
  Office hours: Friday 5:15 pm - 6:45 pm in Gunness Student Center
  

Undergraduate Instructional Assistants (UIA)

Course Web Site

• Course info, lecture notes, assignments, etc.: http://www.ecs.umass.edu/ece/engin112
• Grades: https://spark.oit.umass.edu

Required Textbooks

• Digital Design, M. Morris Mano and Michael D. Ciletti, Custom Edition for University of Massachusetts), Prentice Hall, 2011 (ISBN: 9781256323242).
  Alternatively you can use the full version of the book:
• Digital Design (4th Ed.), M. Morris Mano and Michael D. Ciletti, Prentice Hall, 2006. (ISBN 0131989243)

• Make: Electronics (Learning by Discovery) [Paperback] by Charles Platt First ed. ISBN-13: 978-0596153748

Course Overview

This course covers theoretical and practical topics of the operation of digital electronic circuits, a ubiquitous and critically important foundation for the ECE discipline. Binary data representation, Boolean algebra, combinational and sequential logic, and abstraction of standard design components are introduced to discuss the design and analysis of digital circuit designs. A discussion and software lab component reemphasize these concepts with examples and practical applications.

Course Goals

After taking this course, you will be able to design and analyze digital electronic circuits. In the process, you will learn how Boolean algebra forms the theoretical foundation on which these circuits are built. You will learn how information can be represented in a digital system and what common logic functions are used to process it. You will learn how memory components expand the functionality the behavior of digital circuits. You will learn to use software tools that will aid you in the process of design and analysis of these circuits. Most importantly, you will see how circuits can be aggregated into larger components that allow more complex designs. You will experience the convergence of these goals at the end of the semester when we discuss the functionality of a simple microprocessor.

Class Meetings

There are three types of class meetings that will be held for ENGIN 112:

• Lectures will be held three times a week by Professor Ciesielski. The main goal of the lectures is to present and discuss the main content that is covered in this course. It is expected that you have worked through the assigned reading and are familiar with the topic of the lecture. Lectures are not intended and cannot be a replacement for reading assignments.
• Discussion sessions are held every Thursday by Professor Vouvakis. The goals of the discussion sessions are to reemphasize key concepts covered in the lecture and to illustrate these concepts using examples. These sessions are tightly synchronized with the lecture material and homework assignments, and are held in smaller groups to encourage questions and discussion.
• Lab sessions are conducted by Prof. Soules with the assistance of the Undergraduate Instructional Assistants. The goal of the lab is to apply the concepts learned during the lectures to practical design problems. Details and description of the lab projects will be posted on SPARK.

The different components of ENGIN 112 are designed to provide ample opportunity for you to clarify reading assignments, ask questions, and practice your skills. You are encouraged to seek any additional help you need from the instructors and TA’s during their office hours.

Grading

Your final grade will be derived from your performance in three areas:

• Homework is one of the most important methods of evaluation as it lets you track your continued progress in the course. Homework is assigned weekly (refer to the schedule). Each homework assignment is graded with an A-grade and a B-grade. The A-grade reflects the fraction of problems where a full solution was attempted. The B-grade reflects the score achieved for a selected set of problems. The total grade for a homework is (A+B)/2.
• Lab. ENGIN 112 has 13 laboratory exercises and a term project. The lab component of the course counts for 15% of the final course grade and will be graded based on attendance, the successful demonstrations (aka "lab demo") of the assigned experiments and the term project as well as the term project lab report. Attendance at all scheduled lab sessions is mandatory. Attending a lab session other than the one in which you are enrolled is not allowed. Each student must bring his or her copy of the required lab text to each lab session. This is essential!. Attendance, lab demos and the term project lab report are all strict course requirements. Students who receive a zero in one or more of these requirements may receive a zero for their final ENGIN 112 lab grade (15% of the overall ENGIN 112 grade.
• Exams are the most heavily weighted component of the grade. Two midterm exams and one final exam will be given. The exams are closed-book, closed-notes (but open-minds) and evaluate how well you retained and understood the course content as well as how well you can apply the course concepts to new problems. For each exam, an in-class review and a question and answer discussion session will be held to provide time for resolving issues regarding the content and procedure of the exam.

The final grade will be norm-referenced (i.e., graded “on a curve”) with the following weighting:

• Exam I – 20%
• Exam II – 20%
• Final Exam – 30%
• Homework – 15%
• Laboratory – 15%

You are encouraged to track your scores on SPARK to ensure that you have received the appropriate credit for each of your assignments and exams. No extra credit or “make-up” assignments will be given (with exception to the cases stated in the examination policy below).

Course Policy

Attendance and Punctuality

You are expected to attend the all of the lectures as well as the discussion sections for which you are enrolled. Attendance at the scheduled lab sessions in which you are enrolled are mandatory. You are expected to come to lectures, examinations, discussion sections, and laboratory sections on time; arriving late and/or leaving early is disrespectful and disrupts the entire class.

Homework and Laboratory Assignments

Homework problems are critically important for understanding and reinforcing the course material. Homework assignments, consisting primarily of problems from the Mano text, will be assigned weekly and posted on SPARK along with the due dates. Lab assignments and due dates for lab reports will also be posted on SPARK. Homework assignments will be due at the lecture room before class starts on the posted due dates. Lab reports will be due on SPARK (uploaded to SPARK) on the posted due dates. Late homework and lab reports will not be accepted. Lab reports must be created with a typesetting software (hand-drawn figures and circuits are permissible if done cleanly and scanned). The work you turn in must be your own.

Examinations

There will be two midterm exams. Examinations can be made up only in the case of excused absences, as defined in the UMass Code of Student Conduct (http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/code_conduct/) and if both instructors (Prof. Vouvakis and Prof. Ciesielski) are notified in a timely fashion (in advance). An unexcused absence at an exam will constitute a failure of the exam. Cheating will not be tolerated, and will be handled in accordance with the UMass policy on Academic Honesty http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/code_conduct/acad_honest.htm).