In this blog post, we will look at how the Department of Electrical Engineering goes beyond simple electrical theory and is applied to various industries and real-life technologies.
Among the various majors at universities, many people think that the Department of Electrical Engineering is a study of electricity. Of course, I can’t say that it is not, but the Department of Electrical Engineering is more comprehensive than people think, and to be precise, the Department of Electrical Engineering at the university I attend is called the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. It used to be the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering until a few years ago, but it has recently been changed to the Department of Electrical Engineering, but the content of the studies within the major has not changed. So, from now on, I will be talking about the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. This major is very closely related to our daily lives, and the development of technologies using electricity is becoming an essential element of modern civilization. In particular, the rapid development of electronic devices and communication technologies is impossible without the fundamentals of electrical and electronic engineering, which is why the importance of electrical engineering is becoming more prominent.
“Electrical Engineering” literally means engineering using electricity. The first thing to point out here is the term ‘engineering.’ There are not many majors with the name ‘engineering’ at universities, and these majors are mainly found in engineering schools. Unlike general studies, which focus on the exploration of the laws of nature, engineering aims to artificially produce something using that science. It can be said to be similar to applied science. The character “工” is used in the word “factory,” and to put it very simply, it can be said to be a discipline that teaches the technology of producing something in a factory. In the Department of Electrical Engineering, that something is everything that uses electricity. In other words, the Department of Electrical Engineering deals with various technologies that make modern life more convenient through the generation and use of electricity. This includes not only the production of home appliances, but also the production and use of electricity itself, efficient energy transfer, and the search for new energy resources.
After a brief description of the Department of Electrical Engineering, let’s go into more detail. There are generally five major fields within the Department of Electrical Engineering. Students in the Department of Electrical Engineering choose one of these fields to study intensively. One of the biggest differences from a typical liberal arts college is that the Department of Electrical Engineering requires students to take prerequisite courses. If you do not take the prerequisite course and do not use the skills learned in the next course, it will be difficult to take the class or you may not be able to take the class at all. Therefore, it is essential to understand the order and steps of learning, and it can be said that it is a process of gradually building practical skills. The classes are structured in such a way that students can choose one of the five paths to acquire specialized knowledge and develop practical problem-solving skills through in-depth research and experiments in each field. This is also called a “track” within the Department of Electrical Engineering.
The first of the five paths is the electrical energy field. As the name suggests, this is a branch of science that studies electrical energy, including the production of electricity, the transmission of electricity, and the development of new alternative energy sources. This field is closely related to environmental issues, and research is actively being conducted with the goal of clean energy and sustainable development. In particular, as interest in climate change and energy depletion increases, this field is emerging as an even more important academic discipline.
The second is the field of communications. Communication is the study of all signals and radio waves, and we will study the radio waves of the mobile phones we use, sound waves, and computer communication networks. This field also covers the transmission and reception of radio waves and encryption technology to ensure the secure transmission of data, and aims to develop next-generation communication technologies such as 5G and 6G. It can be seen as a field that provides an essential foundation for today’s digital communication society.
The third is the field of control. Control may sound a bit difficult, but it is simply a technology that can control and regulate the movement or behavior of a specific object, such as a robot or artificial intelligence. This field focuses on developing systems that can make robots perform specific tasks or drive autonomously, such as self-driving cars. It is also used a lot in industrial automation, playing a pivotal role in the manufacturing industry.
The fourth is the semiconductor sector. Semiconductors are already well-known as a sector in which Korea has world-class technology, and they are used to create precision machines with various functions in small chips. Most smartphones, computers, and even home appliances are equipped with semiconductor technology, making this sector an important field of study in terms of national competitiveness. As an aggregate of advanced technology, the development of this sector is leading the innovation of electronic devices and the IT industry.
The fifth is the field of electron physics. This field is somewhat weaker than engineering, and the study of electron physics is conducted in the same way as pure science in the physics department. It mainly deals with topics related to modern physics, such as quantum mechanics and organic devices, and is more like pure theoretical research than applied science. For this reason, students who study this field tend to be more in-depth and academic.
In addition to these five, there is one more slightly different field: computer science. This field is also in the Department of Electrical Engineering because programming skills are required to use various machines and products made with electrical technology. For example, in the field of control, in order to control a robot, you need more than just electricity; you need a program to control the robot and issue commands. This kind of programming technology requires more than just knowledge of software; it requires an understanding of both electrical and mechanical characteristics, so it is appropriate to be covered by the Department of Electrical Engineering.
Finally, there is the field of biomedical engineering. Simply put, it is the field of research on all medical devices used to treat people. For example, X-rays can be considered a type of radio wave, so they can be included in the category of electrical engineering, and MRI machines also require electrical engineering technology. Since this field is directly connected to human life, it requires high ethical standards and accuracy, and provides the academic foundation essential for the development of medical devices. If a student majoring in electrical engineering studies biomedical engineering, he or she may continue to conduct more specialized research at the Yonkang Campus, where the College of Medicine is located, starting from the master’s program, rather than at the Gwanak Campus of Seoul National University.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, “Department of Electrical Engineering” is a very broad discipline. As such, the Department of Electrical Engineering has a wide range of characteristics that can be applied to various disciplines. In fact, electricity is an essential element used everywhere in modern society, and technologies using electricity are closely related to various industries. Many graduates of the Department of Electrical Engineering have gone on to work in unexpected fields, which shows that electrical engineering is a practical and versatile technology that goes beyond being just a discipline. There may be difficulties in research and practice, but the Department of Electrical Engineering is definitely an attractive discipline.
