Engineering Science (ENGS) | University of Mississippi Academic Catalog

ENGS 5010: Geospatial Primer

This is a course in analysis of spatial measurement systems. Emphasis is placed upon analysis of measurement systems required to produce geodetic reference frameworks (e.g., baseline networks) and map products (e.g., orthophotos, feature databases, and surface models).

1 credit

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 5040: Remote Sensing Fundamentals

This course is focused on providing an introduction to the basic principles and techniques of digital image processing. Included is treatment of: digital data storage formats, data volumes, and elements of digital image processing systems; geometric and radiometric correction; image enhancement; image classification; and multitemporal image analysis.

1 credit

Prerequisites
(MATH 1210 and MATH 1230) or MATH 1250.

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 5230: Sensors and Platforms

This course introduces students to the basic design attributes of imaging sensor systems and the various platforms on which they operate. In this course, the student will gain an understanding of remote sensing systems, review the history of sensor technology, and familiarize themselves with the characteristics of remote sensing sensors and platforms.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 5510: Geospatial Primer

1 credit

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 5540: Remote Sensing Fundamentals

1 credit

Prerequisites
(MATH 1210 and MATH 1230) or MATH 1250.

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 5730: Sensors and Platforms

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6030: Analysis of Algorithms

Introduction of the analysis of computer algorithms as well as concepts of computational complexity; sorting, matrix multiplication, other (for computer engineering/telecommunications majors).

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Lecture

ENGS 6060: Computer Networks

Analysis of loosely coupled computer communication; communication protocols and network services, an open systems interconnection model is presented and compared to selected examples of computer networks (for computer engineering/telecommunications majors).

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Lecture

ENGS 6100: Telecom Network Engr.

Team design project developed in cooperation with industry. Students accomplish the design and document the results in a report and in an oral presentation.

3 credits

Prerequisites
min grade of C in ENGR 6053 and ENGS 6030 and ENGS 6060.

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Lecture

ENGS 6110: Geospatial Science Primer

This is a course in analysis of spatial measurement systems. Emphasis is placed upon analysis of measurement systems required to produce geodetic reference frameworks (e.g., GPS baseline networks) and map products (e.g., orthophotos, feature databases, and surface models).

1 credit

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6120: Remote Sensing Fundamentals

This course emphasizes basic remote sensing concepts and aerial photographic data collection and analysis. The Remote Sensing Fundamentals course is focused on understanding the basic principles on which remote sensing is based in general, and how aerial photographic data are acquired and analyzed in particular. Included is treatment of: electromagnetic radiation principles; energy interaction with the atmosphere and earth surface features; analog vs. digital imagery; ground truth considerations; films, analog and digital cameras; basic principles of photogrammetry; mapping from aerial photographs and digital orthophoto production; and an introduction to aerial photographic interpretation.

1 credit

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6130: Intro. to Remote Sensing Syss

This course is an introduction to electro-optical, microwave, and lidar remote sensing systems. Introduction to Remote Sensing Systems is focused on understanding the basic principles, characteristics, and applications of electro-optical, microwave (radar), and lidar remote sensing systems. Included is treatment of: airborne multispectral, thermal, and hyperspectral sensing; earth resource satellites operating in the optical portion of the spectrum (including moderate resolution systems, high resolution systems, and the Earth Observing System); airborne and satellite radar systems, image characteristics, and basic interferometric radar principles; lidar system operation and sample applications.

1 credit

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6140: Remote Sensing & Digi. Images

This course is an introduction to digital image processing. Remote Sensing and Digital Images is focused on providing an introduction to the basic principles and techniques of digital image processing. Included is treatment of: digital data storage formats, data volumes, and elements of digital image processing systems; geometic and radiometric correction; image enhancement; image classification; and multitemporal image analysis.

1 credit

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6200: Geospatial Information Tech.

This course is an introduction to the integration of the foundational components of geo-spatial information science and technology into a geopraphic information system (GIS). Numerous practical and applied geospatial techniques are introduced to demonstrate the use of geospatial information technology to the real world. As a case based course, students work through four distinct sections in the geospatial information technology workflow: 1. Data Collection 2. Data Preparation 3. Data Analysis 4. Data Presentation The components include the fundamentals of geodesy, GPS, cartographic design and presentation, image interpretation, and spatial statistics/analysis. The course addresses the manner in which the components are merged in a geospatial information system.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6210: Orbital Mechanics

Since the beginning of civilization orbital mechanics has played a large role in a person's grasp of what happens in the universe. People like Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, and Einstein were giants in this field, but with the advent of the Space Age on October 4, 1957, a familiarity with orbital mechanics became essential for space scientists and especially scientists concerned with remote sensing to understand satellite applications. Today, a good knowledge of orbital mechanics enables a remote sensing technologist to locate where an image has been taken, determine what hour the image was taken, and when the next imaging opportunity will be possible. Additionally a student can determine what happens to a remote sensing satellite when an orbit changes due to a deliberate maneuver or an orbital perturbation. This course uses elementary principles of mathematics, physics, and mechanics to introduce the student to the traditional science required to place a spacecraft into orbit, keep it there, determine its position, and maneuver it.

3 credits

Prerequisites
(MATH 1210 and MATH 1230) or MATH 1250.

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6240: Intro. to Digi. Image Proc.

This course introduces students to the fundamental principles of digital image processing applied to remotely sensed data. The course begins with a review of the remote sensing process. Methods of obtaining digital remotely sensed data are then reviewed including digital systems (e.g., scanners, pushbroom sensors) and the process of hardcopy digitzation. Fundamental statistical analysis techniques are then reviewed. Typical digital image processing system characteristics are described with reference to the major software providers. Methods of radiometric correction are introduced including those based on radiative transfer modeling and image-to-image normalization. Image-to- image and image-to-map geometric correction algorithms are described. Image enhancement algorithms that can be used to enhance subtle characteristics for improved visual examination are discussed. Digital methods of extracting information from remotely sensed data are summarized including the key elements of supervised and unsupervised classification and accuracy assessment. The final module describes the logic and algorithms used to perform digital change detection.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6260: Community Growth

This course focuses on the use of remote sensing and GIS technologies to facilitate urban planning and infrastructure development for community growth. It introduces to students various aspects of urban growth, such as the effect of urbanization on local and regional environments, and the impact of urbanization on the biophysical characteristics that influence human health. Other important issues, such as urban growth and economic development, public health and safety, traffic and transportation infrastructure, and quality of the life are also explored.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6270: Applied Probability Modeling

School of Engineering

Concepts of probability modeling for applications. Fundamentals of statistical experiments, events, probability laws, conditional probability, random variables, expectation and conditional expectation, introduction to and applications of Markov chains, papers from literature.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Lecture

ENGS 6330: Microwave Filters

Error correction for microwave network analyzers. Multiconductor transmission lines, voltage, and current eigenvectors. Lumped element filter prototypes, commensurate filters, impedance inverters.

2 credits

Prerequisites
min grade of C in ENGR 7230.

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Lecture

ENGS 6710: Digital Topographic Mapping

This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts and methods of topographic mapping. Maps have being used for centuries to catalog and view the arrangement of things on the Earth's surface. Topographic maps are the most widely used form of all maps as they portray both natural features, manmade objects, and the stage and elevation of the land. Unit 1 describes the role of mapping in ancient and modern society along with the nature of maps and the basic principles of coordinate systems and map projections. Unit 2 reviews data collection techniques including: land surveying techniques, the Global Positioning System, and remote sensing data collection. Unit 3 focuses on cartographic operations; it explains methods of graphic communication and techniques for labeling, generalization and map conflation. Unit 4 familiarizes students with Digital Elevation Models and surface modeling. Triangular Irregular Network and Grid data structures are studied along with various interpolation techniques to reconstruct digital surfaces from measured points. Unit 5 explores various tools to visualize and analyze topographic data.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6720: Remote Sensing and the Env.

This course introduces the fundamental principle and applications of remote sensing of terrestrial and aquatic environments. The course starts with principles of electromagnetic radiation, its interaction with the atmosphere, and its interaction with Earth's surface. Next is an overview of various remote sensing data, including different sensor platforms and data characteristics. There are three separate units that focus on applications of remote sensing of land cover, land use, and aquatice environments. These are followed by a review of methods for transforming and classifying spectral data, including principal components analysis, supervised and unsupervised algorithms, and multispectral and multi-temporal transformations. Next is a discussion of detection of environmental change and a module on accuracy assessment that focuses on how to assess the quality of remote sensing analyses and their results. Finally, the volume concludes with several units on real life case studies around the world and the use of remote sensing to evaluate them.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6730: Advanced Digi. Image Proc.

This course teaches students advanced concepts in digital image processing, with explanations and examples that demonstrate how the topics can be applied to remotely sensed images. The course begins with a review of resolution, including spatial, spectral, temporal, and radiometric resolutions. Then the student has the option to choose between the next two modules; discrete image transforms and image quality metrics. The coverage of discrete image transforms includes theory and examples of sinusoidal, rectangular-waveform, eigen-based, and wavelet transforms. The unit on image quality metrics includes information about manual ratings, mean-square-error, signal-to-noise ratios, etc. After these two modules are completed, the student has the option of three more modules: image enhancement and restoration, image compression, and automated image analysis. For image enhancement, the student is introduced to noise models, as well as various spatial and spectral filters for noise removal. The image compression module introduces the student to transform-based compression schemes, with examples of lossy and lossless schemes. Finally, the automated image analysis module introduces the theory and practical application of 1) segmentation methods, including windowing, thresholding, edge detection, and morphological processing; 2) feature extraction methods, such as shape and texture features; and 3) feature reduction and optimization methods.

3 credits

Prerequisites
ENGS 6240.

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6740: Geospatial Data Synth and Mod.

The analysis and synthesis of geospatial data require complex operations in a variety of data processing environments. This can effectively lead to direct scientific results, policy decisions, or to specific combination of data sets which can serve as input to spatial, process, or simulation models with explanatory and predictive capabilities. This course provides students with detailed conceptual and analytical methods, and the knowledge to support synthesis and modeling of geospatial data in the solution of scientific and policy problems. Typically, these problems require a variety of data sources, each with unique characteristics, models, formats, and error levels. Combination of the data sources is a significant difficulty and requires expertise concerning the data themselves and the methods of data integration, processing, error correction and modeling. After attaining a thorough understanding of geospatial data concepts, some of the specific tools such as spatial modeling, geo-statistics, spatial statistics, simulation, visualization, and integrated raster/vector environments, are examined. The application of these tools to specific data sets forms the concluding phase of the course and leads to application.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6750: Microwave Data

In this course the student is introduced to the basic concepts, theory and applications of microwave remote sensing. The course begins with an explanation of why microwave remote sensing is utilized. Its advantages over visible and infrared remote sensing are described and typical applications are presented. Passive microwave remote sensing is then described beginning with the theory of natural microwave emissions from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Some of the more widely used sensors are discussed, and many remote sensing applications are presented. The remainder of the course focuses on the other type of microwave remote sensing, active or radar remote sensing. The fundamental principles of radar and the concepts and vocabulary necessary to understand a radar image are presented. The most commonly used type of imaging radar, the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), is described in detail from the principles of operation, interpretation of images, current SAR sensors, to science applications. A recent application of SAR that can measure topography and surface displacement at fine spatial resolution, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), is presented in the following section. The last section is dedicated to the combination and integration, fusion, of microwave remote sensing.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6810: Adv. Sensor Syss Data Coll.

Advanced sensors in remote sensing contribute every day to the imaging capabilities for monitoring Earth's environment and what effect humans are having on it. This course assumes that the student has taken the basic sensors and platforms course which has introduced the sensors and platforms that accomplish essential data collection and have done it masterfully for years. Advanced Sensors is organized into several units that demonstrate the newest active and passive sensors including advanced synthetic aperture radar, lidar, radiometers, spectrometers, microwave sounders, advanced hyperspectral sensors, and the advanced platforms which carry these sensors. This course will delve deeper into the mathematical theory behind sensors such as RADAR, LIDAR, and synthetic aperture radar interferometry operations and will illustrate sensors and platforms using as examples the current advanced sensors aboard satellites such as ENVISAT, GRACESAT, and ADEOS I and II. Operation of advanced aircraft and balloon payloads such as TOP HAT and BOOMERANG will also be investigated. The course will close by looking at the future to determine tomorrow's advanced sensors and students will realize that today's advanced technologies will become tomorrow's basic technologies.

3 credits

Prerequisites
ENGS 5230.

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6820: Remote Sensing to Ecog. Mod.

Remote sensing offers the opportunity to track episodic and catastrophic events in landscapes through time crop maturation, variation in precipitation, floods and to monitor long-term changes resulting from vegetation succession, climatic variation, and human land use. Variables derived from remote sensing can be combined with empirical models to estimate biophysical parameters, which, in turn, can be used to assess ecosystem status and predict species distributions based on resource requirements. This course trains students in cutting-edge techniques and applications of remote sensing to a broad spectrum of issues related to ecological modeling. Students are introduced to the components of an ecosystem and interactions among those components, the suite of data sets available for mapping terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, ecosystem metrics that can be derived from the latter data, and methods for modeling individual species, multiple species, communities, and ecosystems. The course addresses not only the many opportunities for applying remote sensing data but also the constraints, and considers how such applications can be used to guide ecological assessments, decision making, and adaptive management. Concepts are reinforced with case studies at multiple spatial and temporal levels.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6830: Land Use and Land Cover Apps.

The purpose of this course is to introduce to students the fundamental considerations in creating, updating, assessing, and using land cover and land use information that has been derived from remotely sensed data. Each unit addresses multiple concepts that allow students to answer important questions concerning land cover and land use applications. Students begin with an introduction to the definitions, delineations, and brief histories of land use and land cover information. Next, students focus on data exploration and image classification, including the creation process. The method of detecting change in land use and land cover and the associated updates are outlined and reviewed. Accuracy and assessment of land use and land cover information is also examined, including a discussion on analysis systems. The course also addressed the use of information for predictions of the impact of future decisions and prescriptions for best land management practices and goals. Concepts are illustrated with detailed real world case studies and student exercises.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6840: Agric. Apps. Remote Sensing

This course discusses the application of remote sensing to agricultural production and the supporting technologies that provide for an information-based decision-making process. With the help of this new technology, some producers have adopted precision agriculture and changed field size into smaller, more precise management zones. This course covers the role of remote sensing in crop production, along with the methods it helps create to manage and conserve the natural resources of vegetation, soil, and water. While specific examples of agricultural applications are identified in various types of production, the actual use of precision agriculture technologies is only limited by the imagination of the enduser. What works in one setting for monitoring on a local basis may be utilized in a different manner for inventorying crop production on a regional or global basis. It is under varying conditions of spatial, spectral, radiometric, and temporal resolutions s that new technologies are being used. Examples illustrate possibilities for use and adoption by others. These new technologies are being used under varying spatial, spectral, radiometric and temporal resolutions. Throughout the course, examples will illustrate the current uses of these tools and other areas in which they could be adopted.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study

ENGS 6850: Business Geographics

This course introduces students to the fundamental geospatial concepts and methods that are used by business geographers. Businesses face continued pressure to not only develop their products but also determine the best methods for finding customers or delivering their products. Due to the ease of obtaining geospatial data related to business, many business owners are attempting to apply geographic techniques to make better use of the data to become more competitive. Unfortunately, most business analysts are unfamiliar with geographic techniques. The course introduces students to key concepts in the field of business geographics such as the motivation for using geospatial technology in business applications, the different geographic data sets available for use by business analysts, and modeling of spatial data for business application. A second component familiarizes students with actual GIS software in the context of business geographic applications, providing students with hands-on examples of the use of geospatial technology. Not only do the students learn the basic theory behind the techniques, but they also will gain practical skills by actually using the software in a hands-on application-based laboratory environment. Therefore, the students will have confidence that they can actually perform some of the tasks themselves.

3 credits

Potentially offered with the following Instruction Type(s):
Independent Study