ECE 329 - Fields and Waves I

Announcements

• Welcome to ECE 329 Fall 2025 at ZJUI!
• Official announcements will be made through Blackboard. Please check it regularly.

About This Course

ECE 329 is the first course in the intermediate-level EM sequence in the ECE curricula. It is required for both electrical engineering and computer engineering majors. This course provides an introduction to electromagnetic fields and waves and their fascinating engineering applications. Through this course, you will develop knowledge and skills in electromagnetics and build interest and enthusiasm for the subject.

Check the Calendar page for detailed coverage of the course topics.

Course Venue and Contact Hours

Teaching Team

Discussion Forum

All course-related questions are encouraged to be posted on the Blackboard Forum, and everyone is encouraged to join the discussions. You may also email the instructors and TAs individually if your question is personal.

Prerequisites

• MATH 241: Vector calculus basics (Vector Calculus Primer)
• PHYS 212: Electric and magnetic field basics
• ECE 210: Linear circuit and system analysis tools

Lecture Notes and Reading Materials

Lecture notes will be distributed on the Calendar page as the course progresses.

Reading materials: ECE 329 Lecture Notes on Fields and Waves, Erhan Kudeki, 2021.

Textbook: Nannapaneni Narayana Rao, Fundamentals of Electromagnetics for Electrical and Computer Engineering, Prentice-Hall, 2009.

Supplementary Textbooks (Not Required)

• David H. Staelin, Electromagnetics and Applications, 2011.
• Jin Au Kong, Electromagnetic Wave Theory, EMW Publishing, 2008
• Bhag Singh Guru, Electromagnetic Field Theory Fundamentals, Cambridge university press, 2009 || Chinese version 译本：周克定译 《电磁场与电磁波》, 机械工业出版社, 第二版
• 谢处方，饶克谨 《电磁场与电磁波》, 高等教育出版社, 第五版

Mathematica (Not Required)

In the Optional column of the Calendar page, you will find links to a Mathematica notebook for each class. These notebooks can be a resource for better understanding the material covered in class. No prior experience with Mathematica is required.

To access Mathematica, you can log into the University of Illinois Web Store with your UIUC credentials and search for Mathematica. You can then follow the instructions to either install Mathematica on your PC or use Mathematica Online.

Instructional Objectives

1. After 13 lectures, students should be able to:
   • Use the Lorentz force equation to calculate electric and magnetic fields
   • Calculate electrical potential of curl-free static electric fields
   • Relate curl of a field to its circulation
   • Calculate static polarization field and displacement in dielectric media
   • Calculate static magnetic fields due to simple current distributions
   • Calculate circulation and curl of magnetic fields
2. After 23 lectures, students should be able to do all of the above, plus:
   • Understand induction and Faraday's law
   • Express charge conservation in terms of a continuity equation
   • Obtain the TEM wave-equation from Maxwell's equations
   • Calculate stored energy and transported power densities of TEM waves
   • Calculate attenuation of TEM plane waves in lossy media
3. After 33 lectures, students should be able to do all of the above, plus:
   • Analyze polarizations of plane waves
   • Calculate reflection and transmission coefficients
   • Derive Telegrapher's Equations for guided TEM waves
   • Calculate time-domain solutions of transmission lines
   • Calculate resonance frequencies of transmission line stubs
   • Analyze quarter- and half-wave transformers
4. After 39 lectures, students should be able to do all of the above, plus:
   • Calculate load and line impedances using Smith Charts
   • Design quarter-wave and stub-tuners for matching arbitrary loads
   • Understand sources of losses in transmission line circuits

Grading Policy

Grade Breakdown

Letter Grade Conversion Criteria (for reference)

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is essential for maintaining the quality of scholarship at the Institute and for protecting those who depend on the results of research work performed by faculty and students. All students are expected to maintain academic integrity at all times in accordance with the highest ethical standards of the engineering profession.

Students are expected to abide by the University of Illinois Student Code, specifically Article 1, Part 4: Academic Integrity.

Penalties for violations:

• A score of 0 (zero) on the assignment or exam where the first violation occurred
• A grade of F for the course when a second offense occurs

Inclusive Learning Environment

This classroom is a place where you will be treated with respect. We welcome individuals of all ages, backgrounds, beliefs, ethnicities, genders, gender identities, national origins, religious affiliations, sexual orientations, abilities - and other visible or non-visible differences. All members of this class are expected to contribute to a respectful, welcoming, and inclusive environment for every other member of the class.

Students with Disabilities

To ensure equity for each student's educational experience, those with documented disabilities who require accommodations should contact the instructor early in the semester so that all learning needs may be appropriately met.