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18 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2019 In this column, I will focus on our "home team," if you will—the University of Washing- ton (UW). I counted approximately 163 pro- grams in their catalog of electronic courses. I have pulled out what I think are the most valu- able for emerging electronic engineers. This does not mean the other courses are not valu- able as well; in fact, I am sure I am missing some. But these are the top 19 courses I would choose if I were to start my electronics career over again. 1. Introduction to Signal Conditioning This course requires some math courses and a basic physics course. It introduces ana- log circuits interfacing sensors to digital sys- tems, including connection, attenuation, am- plification, sampling, filtering termination strategies, controls and Kirchhoff's laws, op- amps, resistors, capacitors, and inductors. This course is not intended for EE majors but would be a great help to anyone going into the tech sector. 2. Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering As an introduction to electrical engineer- ing, this course covers basic circuit and sys- tems concepts, mathematical models of com- ponents, Kirchhoff's laws, resistors, sources, capacitors, inductors, and operational ampli- fiers as well as the solution of first- and sec- ond-order linear differential equations associ- ated with basic circuit forms. Prerequisites are math courses and physics. 3. Circuit Theory This course addresses electric circuit theo- ry, analysis of circuits with sinusoidal signals, phasors, system functions, complex frequency, frequency response, computer analysis of elec- trical circuits, power and en- ergy, and two-port network theory. The laboratory cov- ers basic electrical engineer- ing topics. 4. Digital Circuits and Systems This course provides an overview of digital computer systems, such as logic, Bool- ean algebra, combinational and sequential circuits, logic design, programmable logic devices, and the design and operation of digital comput- ers, including ALU, memo- ry, and I/O. This course also Teaching the Next Generation: An Overview of Today's University Courses The Bare (Board) Truth Feature Column by Mark Thompson, CID+, PROTOTRON CIRCUITS University of Washington, Seattle, electrical engineering center. [Source: Wonderlane, Flickr)