Vien Van
Contact
Professor, Faculty of Engineering - Electrical & Computer Engineering Dept
- vien@ualberta.ca
- Phone
- (780) 492-9848
- Address
-
11-237 Donadeo Innovation Centre For Engineering
9211 116 StEdmonton ABT6G 2H5
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Electromagnetics and Microwaves Microsystems and Nanodevices Photonics and Plasmas
About
Dr. Van received a BASc degree in engineering physics from Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, and a PhD degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo, Ontario. Dr. Van was the recipient of the NSERC Doctoral Prize in 2001. From 2000 to 2001, he was a research associate with the Laboratory for Physical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park. After a brief period working in industry, he joined the University of Alberta in 2005 and is currently a Professor and Director (Electrical Engineering) in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Research
Dr. Van’s research interests include the design, simulation and fabrication of micro and nanophotonic devices and their applications in fibre optics communication, optical signal processing and optical sensing.
Current research
- Silicon photonics
- Nonlinear integrated optics
- Nanoplasmonics
Courses
ECE 452 - Computation Methods for Modelling and Simulation in Electrical Engineering
Introduction to advanced numerical methods such as finite-difference, finite-element and spectral-domain techniques for solving partial differential equations. Simulations of systems involving multiphysics, such as electron and thermal transport, electrodynamics, MEMS, and process simulation, graphical methods for 3D visualization of simulation data. Examples from applied areas of electrical engineering to demonstrate computational methods for understanding complex physical phenomena and for simulating and modelling devices and systems. Prerequisites: ECE 341 or MATH 309 or MATH 311. Credit may be obtained in only one of ECE 452 or E E 445.
ECE 471 - Photonics I
Electromagnetic wave propagation at optical frequencies and approximations. Thermal and luminescent light sources, optical beams. Ray and Gaussian optics and simple optical components. Wave optics, polarization, interference, interferometric devices. Light-matter interactions. Optics of crystals; polarizers and waveplates. Photodetectors. Photonic engineering applications. Corequisite: ECE 370 or E E 315, or PHYS 381. Note: Only one of the following courses may be taken for credit: ECE 471, E E 471 or PHYS 362.