Schools Is UC Berkeley's EE Grad School a Good Fit for Microwave Engineering?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the perceived lack of focus on RF/microwave and optics research at UC Berkeley's graduate school of electrical engineering. The original poster expresses concern after reviewing the school's research areas, which prominently feature topics like artificial intelligence, communications, and robotics, but not microwave engineering. They question whether it's worth applying given their specific interest in microwave engineering. While some participants acknowledge that Berkeley may not highlight these fields on its website, they note that there is still significant optics research occurring at the university, referencing a notable study on optical imaging. Other institutions such as MIT, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are suggested as better alternatives for those specifically interested in microwave engineering. Overall, the consensus leans towards advising prospective students to consider other universities if their primary focus is on microwave engineering.
Swapnil
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UC Berkeley EE Grad School!?

I was going to apply to UC Berkeley's graduate school of electrical enginering, but when I went on their website and looked up the type of research they are doing over there, I was surprised to find out that they are barely doing any RF/microwave or optics research. Here are list of general research they are doing over there:

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Biosystems (BIO)
Communications & Networking (COMNET)
Computer Architecture & Engineering (ARC)
Control, Intelligent Systems, and Robotics (CIR)
Database Management Systems (DBMS)
Design of Electronic Systems (DES)
Education (EDUC)
Energy (ENE)
Graphics and Human-Computer Interaction (GHCI)
Integrated Circuits (INC)
Operating Systems & Networking (OSNT)
Physical Electronics (PHY)
Programming Systems (PS)
Scientific Computing (SCI)
Security (SEC)
Signal Processing (SP)
Theory (THY)


See what I mean! There is not even a slight mention of microwave/millimeter wave research! You don't see any optics research either!

Is it worth applying to Berkeley if my real interest in microwave engineering??
 
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Well, I know nothing about EE, but you should note that not every faculty can research into every specific sub-field in a subject! If you don't see the field on the website, and do not see any professors listing it in their research interests, then its probably safe to say that you will be better off elsewhere.
 
There is definitely interesting optics research going on at Berkeley, even if it's not well publicized on their website. For example, they were among the first to demonstrate sub-diffraction-limited optical imaging. (N. Fang, H. Lee, C. Sun, and X. Zhang, “Sub-diffraction-limited optical imaging with a silver superlens,” Science, vol. 308, no. 5721, pp. 534–537, April 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1108759)
 
So any final thoughts? Microwave Engineering Research at Berkeley: Thumbs Up of Thumbs Down?
 
I personally am not that familiar with microwave engineering, but the places that come to my mind for microwave engineering are MIT, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (Disclaimer: I am a PhD candidate in electrical engineering at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.)
 
Swapnil said:
So any final thoughts? Microwave Engineering Research at Berkeley: Thumbs Up of Thumbs Down?

do you guys work on making microwaved food taste better?
 
las3rjock said:
I personally am not that familiar with microwave engineering, but the places that come to my mind for microwave engineering are MIT, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (Disclaimer: I am a PhD candidate in electrical engineering at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.)

Thanks las3rjock. I checked out those universities and it seems that there is some good Rf/microwave engineering going on over there.
 

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