Academic Curricular Groups

Students pursue research within one of the following academic curricular groups, with mentorship from world-class faculty

Computer Engineering

The computer engineering group plays a critical role in innovating in the computing ecosystem, with research that spans from new computational devices to systems and software. Computer engineering research includes cyber-physical systems, dependability, networking, machine learning, mobile computing, novel computing devices, power-efficient computing and security. Many computer engineering research projects are inter-disciplinary, and there are many collaborations with the Department of Computer Science.

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Tyler K Bletsch

Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Software security, robotics, project-oriented education, and datacenter efficiency

John A. Board

Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: High performance scientific computing and simulation, novel computer architectures, cluster computing and parallel processing; ubiquitous computing.

Robert Calderbank

Charles S. Sydnor Distinguished Professor of Computer Science

Tingjun Chen

Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Wireless networking, next-generation wireless and optical networks, edge cloud and computing, Internet-of-Things (IoT), mobile and embedded systems, platforms and testbeds

Yiran Chen

John Cocke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Emerging memory and storage technologies Embedded systems, CPS, edge computing, and mobile applications Neuromorphic computing, deep learning and system security Low power circuit and system

Shaundra Daily

Cue Family Professor of the Practice

Research Interests: Identity-inclusive computing, Human-centered design & engineering, justice-centered STEM education

Neil Gong

Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Security, privacy, and machine learning. 

Maria Gorlatova

Nortel Networks Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Architectures, algorithms, and protocols for emerging mobile pervasive systems and the Internet of Things. Our work crosses traditional discipline boundaries and requires thinking across multiple layers of system and protocol stacks. We are focusing on breaking the barriers for…

Andrew Douglas Hilton

Professor of the Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Computer architecture, specifically architectural support for security and energy-efficient performance

Hai "Helen" Li

Clare Boothe Luce Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Neuromorphic computing systems Machine learning acceleration and trustworthy AIEmerging memory technologies, circuit and architecture Low power circuits and systems

Xin Li

Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Integrated circuits, signal processing and data analytics

Genevieve Lipp

Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Crystal Noel

Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum computing and simulation with trapped ions, integrated photonics for scalable trapped ion systems, and electric-field noise from surfaces

Miroslav Pajic

Dickinson Family Associate Professor

Research Interests: Design and analysis of autonomous cyber-physical systems (CPS), and in particular, embedded systems, AI, learning and controls, CPS security and high-assurance autonomy, with various application domains including robotics, automotive, and medical systems

Javier Pastorino

Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Jian Pei

Arthur S. Pearse Distinguished Professor of Computer Science

Afsaneh Rahbar

Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Michael Reiter

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor

Research Interests: Prof. Reiter's research interests include all areas of computer and communications security, fault-tolerant distributed computing, and applied cryptography.

Cynthia D. Rudin

Earl D. McLean, Jr. Professor

Daniel J. Sorin

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Computer architecture, designing microarchitectures so that they are easier to verify, improving computer system fault tolerance, developing memory systems for multicore processors, and designing special-purpose accelerators

Kishor S. Trivedi

Hudson Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Markov models, Fault trees, Stochastic Petri nets, Reliability Modeling, Availability Modeling, Performability modeling, Survivability modeling, Cyber Security, Software reliability, Software Fault Tolerance, Software Aging and Rejuvenation

Lisa Wills

Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: I enjoy solving difficult problems surrounding computations with the goal to process large volumes of data efficiently. My research interests include computer architecture and microarchitecture, hardware-software co-designs, accelerators, and emerging application domains ―…

Rabih Younes

Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Wearable computing, activity recognition, context awareness, machine learning, artificial intelligence, engineering education, and Middle Eastern politics

Engineering Physics

Duke ECE is also the home of international leaders in information physics research, embodied in pathbreaking programs in metamaterials, quantum devices, and optical systems. This interdisciplinary research involves the design, fabrication and testing of revolutionary new devices, based on novel physical concepts, with a foundation in rigorous computational modeling in electromagnetics and quantum mechanics.

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April S. Brown

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Kenneth R Brown

Michael J. Fitzpatrick Distinguished Professor of Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum error correction, quantum control, quantum computer architecture, ion trap quantum computing, and the spectroscopy of sympathetically cooled molecular ions

Robert Calderbank

Charles S. Sydnor Distinguished Professor of Computer Science

Lawrence Carin

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Applied statistics and machine learning

Leslie M. Collins

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Physics-based machine learning algorithms for big data, including developing remediation strategies for the hearing impaired and sensor-based algorithms for the detection of hazardous buried objects

Steven A. Cummer

William H. Younger Distinguished Professor of Engineering

Research Interests: Theoretical and experimental electromagnetic problems related to geophysical remote sensing and engineered electromagnetic materials.

Michael E. Gehm

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Primarily computational and compressive sensing and measurement in all modalities (with special emphasis in Electromagnetic/Optical from RF to x-ray and all forms of Mass spectrometry), with side interests in optical physics, high-performance x-ray simulation, and rapid-…

Jeffrey Glass

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Electronic materials and the associated devices/instruments improved by these materials, especially electrode applications in miniature mass spectrometry, energy conversion and storage and liquid waste disinfection for developing regions. Electrochemical measurements and…

William T. Joines

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Electromagnetic field and wave interactions with materials and structures

Nan Marie Jokerst

J. A. Jones Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Jungsang Kim

Schiciano Family Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum Computing with Trapped Ions, Quantum Information Science, Novel Photonic Devices, Application of Quantum Computers

Jeffrey L. Krolik

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Physics-based and statistical signal processing, sensor array processing, radar and sonar systems, pervasive distributed processing

Natalia Litchinitser

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Nanophotonics; Photonic Metamaterials; Nonlinear Optics; Fiber Optics; Photonic Crystal Fibers

Iman Marvian

Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum information and computation theory

Maiken Mikkelsen

James N. and Elizabeth H. Barton Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum nanophotonics, plasmonics, light-matter interactions in artificially structured nanoscale materials, hybrid molecular-scale materials and spin phenomena in the solid state

Christopher R Monroe

Gilhuly Family Presidential Distinguished Professor

Research Interests: quantum physics, applications in quantum information science

Loren W. Nolte

Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Bayesian approach to signal detection, classification, estimation, tracking and decision and sensor fusion. Applications in ocean acoustics, and in medical imaging for cancer research.

Willie John Padilla

Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Theoretical and experimental investigation of electromagnetic metamaterials and metasurfaces, and their application to imaging and sensing at microwave, terahertz, and infrared frequencies

Guillermo Sapiro

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Image and video processing, computer vision, computer graphics, computational vision, biomedical imaging, brain imaging, cryo-tomography of viruses, computational tools in cryo-tomography, computational tools in early diagnosis of psychiatric disorders, differential geometry and…

David R. Smith

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Theory, simulation and demonstration of novel electromagnetic metamaterials across the spectrum, from microwave through optical. Applications of metamaterials for antennas and imaging devices, with a focus on security imaging and satellite imaging. General studies on advanced…

Adrienne Stiff-Roberts

Jeffrey N. Vinik Professor

Research Interests: Thin-film deposition, MAPLE, hybrid perovskites, hybrid nanocomposites, organic thin films

Microelectronics, Photonics and Nanotechnology

The fourth research area, microelectronics, photonics and nanotechnology (MPN), is highly vertically integrated, ranging from innovative materials, devices, and interconnects, through chip scale integrated systems. MPN research includes revolutionary microfluidic systems, nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, integrated optics, sensors, integrated multifunctional systems, energy conversion devices, and quantum sensors. The MPN research is highly interdisciplinary, and focused on design, fabrication through Duke’s Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (SMIF) cleanroom and characterization facility, and device and system test.

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Martin A. Brooke

Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Analog, RF, and optoelectronic circuits. Sensor interface circuits. Deployable sensor systems

April S. Brown

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Kenneth R Brown

Michael J. Fitzpatrick Distinguished Professor of Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum error correction, quantum control, quantum computer architecture, ion trap quantum computing, and the spectroscopy of sympathetically cooled molecular ions

Richard B. Fair

Lord-Chandran Distinguished Professor of Engineering

Research Interests: Microfluidic systems for lab-on-a-chip applications based on electrowetting technology

Aaron D. Franklin

Addy Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Nanomaterials in electronic devices, nanofabrication, printed electronics and internet of things (IoT), biosensing

Michael E. Gehm

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Primarily computational and compressive sensing and measurement in all modalities (with special emphasis in Electromagnetic/Optical from RF to x-ray and all forms of Mass spectrometry), with side interests in optical physics, high-performance x-ray simulation, and rapid-…

Jeffrey Glass

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Electronic materials and the associated devices/instruments improved by these materials, especially electrode applications in miniature mass spectrometry, energy conversion and storage and liquid waste disinfection for developing regions. Electrochemical measurements and…

William T. Joines

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Electromagnetic field and wave interactions with materials and structures

Nan Marie Jokerst

J. A. Jones Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Jungsang Kim

Schiciano Family Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum Computing with Trapped Ions, Quantum Information Science, Novel Photonic Devices, Application of Quantum Computers

Hisham Z. Massoud

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Ultrathin gate dielectrics for CMOS ULSI – the technology, physics, modeling, simulation, and characterization of ultrathin-oxide MOSFETs

Maiken Mikkelsen

James N. and Elizabeth H. Barton Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum nanophotonics, plasmonics, light-matter interactions in artificially structured nanoscale materials, hybrid molecular-scale materials and spin phenomena in the solid state

Willie John Padilla

Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Theoretical and experimental investigation of electromagnetic metamaterials and metasurfaces, and their application to imaging and sensing at microwave, terahertz, and infrared frequencies

Tania Roy

Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Energy-efficient electronicsTwo-dimensional materialsNeuromorphic ComputingOptoelectronicsWide bandgap materialsHigh power electronicsRadiation effects and reliability

David R. Smith

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Theory, simulation and demonstration of novel electromagnetic metamaterials across the spectrum, from microwave through optical. Applications of metamaterials for antennas and imaging devices, with a focus on security imaging and satellite imaging. General studies on advanced…

Adrienne Stiff-Roberts

Jeffrey N. Vinik Professor

Research Interests: Thin-film deposition, MAPLE, hybrid perovskites, hybrid nanocomposites, organic thin films

Signal and Information Processing

A particular strength is in the area of signal and information processing (SIP), embodied by successful collaborations between ECE, statistics and applied mathematics. Duke has long been a leader in SIP research with defense applications, and there has also been a significant expansion into biomedical applications, in collaboration with the Duke University Medical Center.

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Martin A. Brooke

Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Analog, RF, and optoelectronic circuits. Sensor interface circuits. Deployable sensor systems

Robert Calderbank

Charles S. Sydnor Distinguished Professor of Computer Science

Lawrence Carin

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Applied statistics and machine learning

Tingjun Chen

Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Wireless networking, next-generation wireless and optical networks, edge cloud and computing, Internet-of-Things (IoT), mobile and embedded systems, platforms and testbeds

Yiran Chen

John Cocke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Emerging memory and storage technologies Embedded systems, CPS, edge computing, and mobile applications Neuromorphic computing, deep learning and system security Low power circuit and system

Leslie M. Collins

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Physics-based machine learning algorithms for big data, including developing remediation strategies for the hearing impaired and sensor-based algorithms for the detection of hazardous buried objects

Mary "Missy" Cummings

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Human-unmanned vehicle interaction, human-autonomous system collaboration, human-systems engineering, public policy implications of unmanned vehicles, and the ethical and social impact of technology.

Ingrid Daubechies

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering

Michael E. Gehm

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Primarily computational and compressive sensing and measurement in all modalities (with special emphasis in Electromagnetic/Optical from RF to x-ray and all forms of Mass spectrometry), with side interests in optical physics, high-performance x-ray simulation, and rapid-…

Michael Richard Gustafson II

Associate Professor of the Practice of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Computational methods for image analysis and information extraction, discrete event simulations, curriculum development and deployment

Lisa Gresham Huettel

Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School Professor of the Practice of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Engineering education, pedagogy and curriculum development, applications of statistical signal processing

Jeffrey L. Krolik

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Physics-based and statistical signal processing, sensor array processing, radar and sonar systems, pervasive distributed processing

Hai "Helen" Li

Clare Boothe Luce Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Neuromorphic computing systems Machine learning acceleration and trustworthy AIEmerging memory technologies, circuit and architecture Low power circuits and systems

Loren W. Nolte

Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Bayesian approach to signal detection, classification, estimation, tracking and decision and sensor fusion. Applications in ocean acoustics, and in medical imaging for cancer research.

Douglas Nowacek

Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Marine mammal behavioral and acoustic ecologyOcean noiseOffshore renewable energy

Miroslav Pajic

Dickinson Family Associate Professor

Research Interests: Design and analysis of autonomous cyber-physical systems (CPS), and in particular, embedded systems, AI, learning and controls, CPS security and high-assurance autonomy, with various application domains including robotics, automotive, and medical systems

Henry Pfister

Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Information theory, communications, probabilistic graphical models, machine learning, and deep neural networks

Galen Reeves

Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Information theory, high-dimensional statistical inference, statistical signal processing, compressed sensing, machine learning

Christ D Richmond

Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Cynthia D. Rudin

Earl D. McLean, Jr. Professor

Guillermo Sapiro

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Image and video processing, computer vision, computer graphics, computational vision, biomedical imaging, brain imaging, cryo-tomography of viruses, computational tools in cryo-tomography, computational tools in early diagnosis of psychiatric disorders, differential geometry and…

Stacy L. Tantum

Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Physics-based statistical signal processing • Context-aware machine learning • Domain-informed data scienceExplainable/interpretable machine learning • Privacy-aware machine learning • Bias in machine learningNeuroscience-informed teaching • Metacognition • Cognitive load theory…

Vahid Tarokh

Rhodes Family Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Foundations of AI,  Foundations of Signal Processing, Learning Representations, Transfer Learning,  Meta-Learning, Physics Infused Learning, Extreme Value Theory, Dependence Modeling, Hypothesis Testing, Sequential Analysis.