1 ECE 171 Digital Circuits Chapter 0 The Course Instructor and You Herbert G. Mayer, PSU Status 2/8/2016

2 Who is Your Instructor? Instructor is a German immigrant to the USA; worked in US computer industry and academia Instructor is a German immigrant to the USA; worked in US computer industry and academia Immigrated to the USA, due to marriage with US citizen in Berlin Immigrated to the USA, due to marriage with US citizen in Berlin Became naturalized US citizen in 1995 Became naturalized US citizen in 1995 MS EECS (electrical engineering an computer science) UCSD 1983; beautiful beach & campus! MS EECS (electrical engineering an computer science) UCSD 1983; beautiful beach & campus! PhD CS (“Informatik”, equivalent to Computer Science) TU Berlin 1995; awesome city, now united! Dissertation published as book at Springer Verlag © 1996 PhD CS (“Informatik”, equivalent to Computer Science) TU Berlin 1995; awesome city, now united! Dissertation published as book at Springer Verlag © 1996 Professional focus at Intel on compiler optimization, HW validation, alias analysis, programming languages, VLIW, multiprocessing Professional focus at Intel on compiler optimization, HW validation, alias analysis, programming languages, VLIW, multiprocessing

3 Who is Your Instructor? PhD Thesis on automatic generation of MP object code via alias analysis of source program PhD Thesis on automatic generation of MP object code via alias analysis of source program Retired in 2011 after 24 years at Intel Corp. Retired in 2011 after 24 years at Intel Corp. Implemented Compiler for systolic array architecture 1980s Managed Intel CPU tuning lab & CPU validation in new Intel processors Teaching computer science since 1983 at SDSU San Diego, and since 1987 PSU Teaching computer science since 1983 at SDSU San Diego, and since 1987 PSU Teaching experience 2004 in Shanghai, at IIIST Teaching experience 2004 in Shanghai, at IIIST Loved China and teaching there so much that I decided to participate in CCUT & PSU cooperation Loved China and teaching there so much that I decided to participate in CCUT & PSU cooperation Committed to academic years Committed to academic years

4 Goals of ECE 171 Class is first part of a freshman sequence introducing elements of electric circuits Emphasizes major threads of design process, problem solving, teamwork and communication Students learn how to synthesize circuit elements into functional, simple electric circuits Lab activities familiarize students with instruments to quantify characteristics of eclectic circuits and their elements

5 Grading, Homework, Late Hand-In Acquire up to 1,000 points total = 100% Acquire up to 1,000 points total = 100% Upper and lower 15% yield a + or – grade variation Upper and lower 15% yield a + or – grade variation 3 homeworks at 100 points each = 300 points 3 homeworks at 100 points each = 300 points Homework to be ed before the start of class on the due date Homework to be ed before the start of class on the due date Homework s should be sent on time and you should use the subject line “ECE 171 HW x”, where ‘x’ is the homework number Homework s should be sent on time and you should use the subject line “ECE 171 HW x”, where ‘x’ is the homework number Work that is handed in 1 second up to a day late experiences 10% deduction of the total points Work that is handed in 1 second up to a day late experiences 10% deduction of the total points Each additional day late: another 10% deducted Each additional day late: another 10% deducted A Homework that is 4 days late or later is not accepted A Homework that is 4 days late or later is not accepted

6 Silver Bullet One single time each student is allowed to hand in homework up to 3 days late without penalty One single time each student is allowed to hand in homework up to 3 days late without penalty This is called the CS Silver Bullet This is called the CS Silver Bullet Silver Bullets cannot be split, traded, or sold on the black market Silver Bullets cannot be split, traded, or sold on the black market If in the end you did not consume the silver bullet, you cannot trade it in for cash or a better grade If in the end you did not consume the silver bullet, you cannot trade it in for cash or a better grade While tracking homework grades, consumption of the silver bullet is tracked While tracking homework grades, consumption of the silver bullet is tracked Note that the maximally 3 late days worth of Silver Bullet cannot be applied to 2 different late homeworks, even if they are both, say, just 1 day late each Note that the maximally 3 late days worth of Silver Bullet cannot be applied to 2 different late homeworks, even if they are both, say, just 1 day late each

7 Extra Credit for You Extra Credit: is a way to improve your grade by up to a half grade, i.e. up to a maximum of 50 points total Extra Credit is granted for good ideas expressed in class, constructive questions and contributions in class, identifying errors in class material Volunteers may present the HW or select topics in class, 10 min. each for a few extra credit points Any error in class material, even the slightest typo – but only pointed out the first time– is worth some extra credit Presenting smart homework solutions in class can deserves extra credit; you need to volunteer for such presentations proactively Each time you catch and correct an error made by the instructor you receive extra credit, though the instructor will claim: “This was a deliberate error to test your alertness!”

8 Credit of Source I received, with very generous and gracious permission, all lecture material from my colleague Mark Faust here in the ECE department at PSU These lecture were enhanced by me in very minor ways by small contributions from my side All good ideas are copied from Mark Faust. If some errors slipped in over time, they are all and entirely mine of my own making, maintaining, modifying these lecture notes I express many, many thanks to Mark Faust!!!

9 Who are You? Briefly, a few students volunteer to articulate in class, explaining: Your name Your field of study, major, and current progress Why do you take ECE 171? What is your expectation of this class? What is your minimal goal for this class? Which is your ideal learning goal? Have you worked in the EE or computer industry? Which computer subjects are you interested in? Anything else relevant to this course