Exploring Digital Information Technologies for Non-Engineers
Fall 2026

ECE 101 Banner

Course Description

This course will give students from outside of engineering an under-the-hood view of 12 important technologies that will impact their daily lives in the next decade:

  • WiFi and Cellular Networks
  • Internet
  • Search Engines
  • Recommendation Engines
  • Social Networks
  • Machine Learning
  • Neural Networks
  • Large Language Models and Generative AI
  • Authentication and Security
  • Computer Vision and Image Processing
  • Self-driving Cars
  • Augmented and Virtual Reality

For each technology, students will:

  • understand the core technical challenges in realizing the technology
  • gain intuition on how the challenges are being solved
  • appreciate how such technologies translate to business and revenue, and
  • identify implications in areas such as privacy, fairness, policy, ethics, and other paradigm shifts.

Technical subjects to be considered include basics of sensing, computing, communication, and control, the four pillars of technology. To help students better relate to the topics discussed in the course, each technology will be highlighted by one or more well-established companies using or promoting the technology (e.g., Comcast, AT&T, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, OpenAI, Anthropic, Waymo, Tesla, etc.).

Logistics

Lectures

Mondays & Wednesdays, 11:00am - 11:50am at 3081 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg (ECEB)

See Lecture Schedule

Labs

Fridays, 11:00am - 12:50am or 1:00pm - 2:50pm at 3026 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg (ECEB)

We will use Wolfram Mathematica in the labs. This software is available on the computers in the ECEB 3026 computer lab. You can access it using your netID and password.

You can also download and install Wolfram Mathematica on your computers from here (using your netID and password).

Labs will be submitted and graded using Canvas. Details about the submission process will be provided during the first lab.

Communication

We will use Canvas for all communications in this course. We will post important announcements, links to interesting resources, discussion threads (responses to which will count as class participation), class participation and homework assignments and also respond to student questions on Canvas.

We will also respond to student emails.

Office Hours

Instructor: Abrita Chakravarty

Mondays & Wednesdays, 11:50am - 12:30pm or by appointment at 2060 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg

 

TA: Sattwik Basu and Debottam Dutta

TBD

Calendar

Past & Present — Connecting the World

Mon, Aug 24
Course Introduction & Landscape
Logistics, topics, grading, prerequisites, etc.
Wed, Aug 26
History & Map of Keywords
Fri, Aug 28
Lab 1
Intro to Wolfram Notebooks
Mon, Aug 31
WiFi
Wed, Sep 2
Cellular
Fri, Sep 4
Lab 2
WiFi and Cellular
Mon, Sep 7
Labor Day (Holiday)
 
Wed, Sep 9
Internet (1 of 3)
Connectivity and Plumbing
Fri, Sep 11
No Lab
Self Study
Mon, Sep 14
Internet (2 of 3)
Forwarding, Routing and DNS
Wed, Sep 16
Internet (3 of 3)
TCP and Layering
Fri, Sep 18
Lab 3
Internet and Graphs
Mon, Sep 21
Client-Server & File Systems
Wed, Sep 23
Distribution and Streaming
Fri, Sep 25
Lab 4
Client-Server, File Systems & Distribution/Streaming
Mon, Sep 28
Social Networks
Wed, Sep 30
Exam 1 Review
Fri, Oct 2
Exam 1
 

Intelligence

Mon, Oct 5
Recommendation Systems and Vector Spaces
Wed, Oct 7
Machine Learning (1/2)
Fri, Oct 9
Lab 6
Machine Learning
Mon, Oct 12
Machine Learning (2/2)
Wed, Oct 14
Neural Networks
Fri, Oct 16
Lab 7
Neural Networks
Mon, Oct 19
Large Language Models & Generative AI (1/2)
How they work
Wed, Oct 21
Large Language Models & Generative AI (2/2)
Speech Recognition
Fri, Oct 23
Lab 8
Generative AI, LLMs & Speech Recognition
Mon, Oct 26
Computer Vision
Wed, Oct 28
Search Engines
Fri, Oct 30
Lab 9
Computer Vision
Mon, Nov 2
Exam 2 Review
Wed, Nov 4
Exam 2
 
Fri, Nov 6
No Lab

Implications & Future

Mon, Nov 9
Sense, Compute, Communicate, Actuate (1/2)
Wed, Nov 11
Sense, Compute, Communicate, Actuate (2/2)
Fri, Nov 13
Lab 10
Sense, Compute, Communicate, Actuate
Mon, Nov 16
Self-driving Cars
Wed, Nov 18
Augmented & Virtual Reality
Fri, Nov 20
Lab 11
Self-driving & AR/VR
Sat, Nov 21
Fall Break Begins
Sun, Nov 29
Fall Break Ends
Mon, Nov 30
Authentication & Security
Wed, Dec 2
Ethics, Privacy & Fairness
Fri, Dec 4
Lab 12
Authentication & Security
Mon, Dec 7
Exam 3 Review
Wed, Dec 9
Exam 3
Last day of instruction

Exam Information

The course has three midterm exams. There will NOT be any final exam.

Each exam will be 50 mins long. You are allowed 1 letter-size (8.5" x 11")
handwritten cheatsheet (you may use both sides). No printouts allowed.
The exam is otherwise closed book/notes, and calculators are not allowed.
Detailed information on logistics, format, and grading will be provided during exam review sessions.

Exam 1

Exam 1 will be on  Fri, Oct 2. Usual lab section times: 11:00 AM & 1:00 PM. 
Location: 3026 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg (ECEB)
This exam will test concepts covered in the Past & Present module.

Exam 2

Exam 2 will be on Wed, Nov 4, 11:00 AM (usual lecture time).
Location: 3081 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg (ECEB)
This exam will test concepts covered in the Intelligence module.

Exam 3

Exam 3 will be on Wed, Dec 9, 11:00 AM
Location: 3081 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg (ECEB)
This exam will test concepts covered in the Implications & Future module.

Grading Information

Your final grade will be based on a weighted combination of the following:

  • Classroom participation: 25% (6 absences allowed - you must email instructor in advance or within 24 hours of unplanned absence)
  • Homework: 11%
  • Late submission policy (for classwork and homework): 10% of the points deducted for each late day)
  • Weekly Labs (best 8 out of 10): 25% (No late submissions for labs unless with prior permission)
  • Three Midterm Exams: 3 x 13 = 39%
    (Regrade policy: You can correct mistakes and turn in your corrections to reclaim half of the points lost.)