Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering - Systems and Controls

Electrical and computer engineers shape the future through innovation. They develop and improve systems that serve everyday needs of society spanning from high-voltage engineering and sustainable energy, to breakthroughs in wireless technology. Our faculty and students do everything from creating low-cost digital x-ray imagers to combat tuberculosis in developing countries, to building real-time embedded systems to advance the design and reliability of commercial products. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) is founded on leading engineering education and research, a world-renowned co-operative study program, and a bold history of innovation. Waterloo Engineering is ranked among the top 50 engineering schools in the world, our ECE department is committed to sustaining that excellence in our areas of research while venturing into growing areas of opportunity. We attract the best and brightest students and faculty from around the globe, and our graduates are recruited worldwide by leading engineering firms, corporations, government agencies, and research-intensive universities. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is ideal for students pursuing a career in fundamental or applied research in academia, government, or corporate environments.

In the area of systems control, the objective is to make a physical system act in a desired manner through the use of an automatic feedback controller, for example, an autopilot (the controller) is used on an aircraft to maintain speed, altitude and direction. Feedback is a fundamental concept in engineering, and systems control harnesses its power to achieve desired system behaviours. Control systems are found in abundance in industry, and include the control of assembly lines, machine tools, robotics, aerospace systems and the process control widely used in chemical processing industry. As society continues to move towards computerization, use of control systems is becoming pervasive, and plays an increasingly important role. Expertise in the Systems and Controls area covers a wide range of topics, including linear control and nonlinear control, networked and distributed control, adaptive control, robust control, autonomous systems, stochastic algorithms, and discrete event systems. Areas of application include robotics, smart power grids, computer networks, financial economics, autonomous aerial and ground vehicles, multi-agent systems, humanoid robots, environmental monitoring, transportation networks, and psychological systems. Since most topics in systems control require advanced mathematical abilities, graduate students not only become skilled control systems practitioners, but also skilled in analysis.

Admission to the program is based upon the student's academic record and evidence of ability to pursue independent research.
Normally an overall standing equivalent to 83% in either a relevant thesis-based Master's degree or a University of Waterloo Master of Engineering (MEng) degree that includes a completed ECE 699 Master of Engineering Project course.
At the time of admission, each student must have a faculty supervisor who has endorsed the recommendation for admission.
Three references, at least two academic
Proof of English language proficiency, if applicable. TOEFL 80 (writing 22, speaking 20, reading 20, listening 18) IELTS 6.5 (writing 6.0, speaking 6.0)