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EE 351K: Probability & Statistics for Engineers

EE 351K is a course on probability, statistics, and random processes tailored for engineers, focusing on applications relevant to electrical engineering. The course includes weekly homework, two midterm exams, and a final exam, with a strong emphasis on class participation and utilizing available resources for assistance. Students are expected to adhere to attendance policies, academic integrity, and guidelines for online participation due to COVID-19 precautions.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
16 views4 pages

EE 351K: Probability & Statistics for Engineers

EE 351K is a course on probability, statistics, and random processes tailored for engineers, focusing on applications relevant to electrical engineering. The course includes weekly homework, two midterm exams, and a final exam, with a strong emphasis on class participation and utilizing available resources for assistance. Students are expected to adhere to attendance policies, academic integrity, and guidelines for online participation due to COVID-19 precautions.

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mobiletaco69420
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© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

EE 351K Probability, Statistics, and Random Processes FALL 2022

Professor: Sriram Vishwanath sriram@[Link]

Overview: This course is an introduction to probability, statistics and random processes for engineers.
Throughout the course we will describe various applications of these concepts that electrical engineers
might encounter, such as process control, system reliability, behaviour of sequences, as well as important
noise models in linear systems used in circuit and receiver design.
Textbook: Introduction to Probability by Bertsekas and Tsitsiklis.
Class Hours: TTh 5PM - 6:30 PM in ECJ 1.214.
Professor’s office Hours: By appointment in the EERC building and online on slack.
Slack: A slack account of [Link] has been setup for class, please message me when you
want to chat with me. Slack is the best way to get hold of me.
Teaching Assistant: The TA for the course is Firas Tabbara: [Link]@[Link]. TA office hours will
be communicated on slack.
Course website: The Canvas site. This website will have homeworks, solutions for you to download.
Course description: What is this course all about?
This course is an introduction to probability, statistics and random processes for engineers. Throughout the
course we will describe various applications of these concepts that electrical engineers might encounter, such
as process control, system reliability, modeling of queues in networks, as well as important noise models in
linear systems used in circuit and receiver design.
Note: This is NOT an easy class. Take it seriously from day one. Here are some ways in which you can
make it easier on yourselves:

1. Review what we covered the same day as class-day. Don’t postpone your reading – you will forget
what was covered in class, and what is a simple concept will all of a sudden seem really complicated.

2. Do lots of examples – examples, examples, examples from the book. If it didn’t make sense the first
time, try and try again. I can testify by personal experience that it will make a lot of sense if you work
at it with examples.

3. Probability is an intuitive subject full of common sense. Don’t guess wildly or give up if you don’t
know what’s being asked of you, use your common sense.

4. The TA and OHs exist for to help you. Use all resources available to you – seek help if you need it!

Course Policy: Attendance is expected. You are responsible for material covered in the reading assignments
(even if not covered in class) as well as material covered in class that is not in the book. Homework will be
assigned roughly every week and will be due in class at the end of the week. Late homeworks will not be
accepted.
You may discuss homework problems with other students, but you are not allowed to copy down answers
from others. University disciplinary procedures will be invoked if any form of cheating is detected. Course
and instructor evaluations will occur on the last day of class.
“The University of Texas at Austin provides, upon request, appropriate academic adjustments for qualified
students with disabilities.” For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259,
471-4241 TDD or the College of Engineering Director of Students with Disabilities at 471-4321.
Questions about Grades:
If you have a question about a posted grade, you must inquire about it in email format within ONE WEEK
of the day the grade is posted on Canvas. After the one-week window, your grade for that assignment is
permanent. Please note that grades for course deliverables close to the end of the semester will be considered
permanent since we won’t have time to apply the one-week window at the end of the semester.
Emergencies:
In the rare case of an emergency that is out of your control you should send a note to “Instructors” through
Piazza as soon as possible. You can also text the Instructor using the contact information provided. If you
are requesting an extension, suggest a date for that extension but please note the extension may not be given.
Please also call Student Emergency Services (SES) at 512-471-5017 immediately. SES will document the
situation privately with you and notify your professors about an extension. More info can be found at
[Link]
Title IX Reporting:
Title IX is a federal law that protects against sex and gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual
assault, sexual misconduct, dating/domestic violence and stalking at federally funded educational institu-
tions. UT Austin is committed to fostering a learning and working environment free from discrimination in
all its forms.
COVID: To help keep everyone in this class and in our community safe, it is critical that students report
COVID-19 symptoms and testing, regardless of test results, to University Health Services, and faculty and
staff report to the HealthPoint Occupational Health Program (OHP) as soon as possible. Please see this link
to understand what needs to be reported. In addition, to help understand what to do if a fellow student in the
class (or the instructor or TA) tests positive for COVID, see this University Health Services link. We will
follow all University of Texas recommendations and guidelines as to COVID during the semester.
Online Class Guidelines:
Class is virtual for at least the first two weeks of the semester, per University of Texas guidelines.

• Preferred method of joining a class or office hours in Zoom: Join a class or office hours through video
on Canvas. Students must log into their Canvas course site and click on Zoom in the left toolbar to
locate links to join the class in Zoom.

• Zoom etiquette: Because there will be so many people on these Zoom meetings, here are some best
practices for making sure we are working together to create an efficient, effective, respectful, and
ultimately enjoyable classroom!

– Turn on your video when you get to class. This helps to preserve a sense of being in class
together even while remote.
– Mute yourself unless you are speaking. This will cut down on background noise and limit any
distractions
– Be mindful of your surroundings when on camera. We want to make sure we avoid as much
distraction as possible
– Please add a professional photo of yourself for your Zoom profile picture. This photo will be
visible during class sessions
– Turn your camera off if you are leaving the meeting temporarily and use the away feedback icon
– Try to keep questions and comments brief. With a large classroom, there are many people to get
through and many questions to move through. Try to limit remarks as much as possible
– Minimize repetition. If you are hearing repeat info, use the go faster icon.
– If the video or audio is choppy, try turning off your video.
– Please try to use the most reliable WIFI you can access.

• Class recording privacy: Class recordings are reserved only for students in this class for educational
purposes. The recordings should not be shared outside the class in any form. Violation of this restric-
tion could lead to Student Misconduct proceedings.

• Help from Student Emergency Services: Students who need help getting access to technology in order
to do online instruction should fill out the Student Emergency Services form. For general inquiries,
please contact Student Emergency Services.

Grading:

(i) Class Participation: 5%

(ii) Khan Academy Modules and Practice: 5%

(ii) Midterm Exam #1: 20% (Date will be posted on Canvas)

(iii) Homework: 15%

(iv) Midterm Exam #2: 20% (Date will be posted on Canvas)

(v) Final Exam: 35% (Date TBD by University)

Syllabus

1. Introduction: sets, models of probability, conditional probability and the Bayes rule, independence
and counting (permutations and combinations)

2. Discrete Random Variables: probability mass function, functions of Random Variables (r.v.s), ex-
pectation, variance, joint distribution, conditioning

3. Continuous Random Variables: cdf, pdf, normal r.v., conditioning, functions of r.v.s, generation of
random numbers, multiple r.v.s and the joint distribution

4. Further Topics: transforms and the MGF, sums of r.v.s, conditional expectation, tower rule, covari-
ance and correlation, MMSE, LMSE, bivariate normal distribution

5. Random Processes: introduction, stationarity, ergodicity, autocorrelation, power spectral density,


random processes through linear systems, the Poisson Process

6. Limit Theorems: the Chebyshev and Markov inequalities, the weak law of large numbers, the central
limit theorem
7. Topics in Statistics: confidence intervals, point estimators – unbiased and consistent estimators,
hypothesis testing, the MAP (Maximum A-Posteriori) and ML (Maximum Likelihood) criterion

Common questions

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EE 351K addresses accessibility and inclusivity by offering appropriate academic adjustments for students with disabilities, as stated by the University of Texas at Austin. Students are encouraged to contact the Office of the Dean of Students or the College of Engineering Director of Students with Disabilities to discuss adjustments needed for their coursework. These measures ensure that all students have equal opportunities for academic success .

The emergency policy in EE 351K offers flexibility by allowing students to notify instructors via Piazza or text promptly if an emergency arises, suggesting a feasible extension date. It also involves reporting to Student Emergency Services, which privately coordinates with professors to accommodate the student's needs. This policy ensures that students facing unforeseen challenges can continue their studies without significant academic penalties .

EE 351K integrates technology through the use of Canvas and Zoom for virtual classes and office hours. This allows flexibility in accessing lectures and resources from remote locations. The course has established etiquette rules to minimize distractions and optimize the learning environment, such as using video for presence and muting when not speaking. This integration aims to maintain classroom interactivity and ensure students remain engaged and focused even in a virtual setting .

The course material for EE 351K is structured to cover fundamental and advanced topics in probability, statistics, and random processes. Key topics include the introduction to sets, models of probability, and Bayes' rule; discrete and continuous random variables with their functions and conditioning; transforms and the moment-generating functions; sums and expectations of random variables; random processes and their characteristics; and statistical topics like hypothesis testing and maximum likelihood estimation .

The homework policy for EE 351K requires assignments to be submitted in class by the end of each week, with no acceptance of late submissions. Students are encouraged to discuss problems with peers but must submit individual work. This policy is designed to promote continuous engagement with the material, discourage academic dishonesty, and ensure students develop their understanding independently, thus reinforcing the concepts learned .

Electrical engineers can effectively study complex concepts in probability and statistics by reviewing material on the same day it is covered in class to prevent forgetting and compounding confusion. Doing numerous examples from the textbook can help solidify understanding, as probability is intuitive and relies on common sense. Additionally, leveraging resources such as the teaching assistant and office hours for help is encouraged .

In EE 351K, stationarity refers to the property of a random process where statistical properties are constant over time, which is essential for simplifying analysis and model building. Ergodicity implies that statistical properties of a single process realization over time are equivalent to those across different realizations at the same time. These concepts are relevant as they determine the applicability of statistical analysis and provide insight into predictive modeling of systems under random influences .

Class participation accounts for 5% of the total grade in EE 351K, underlining the course's emphasis on active engagement and continuous learning. This aspect of the grading criteria reflects the educational philosophy that participation enhances understanding and retention of complex theoretical concepts, encouraging students to engage in discussions and collaborative learning .

Random processes in linear systems are pivotal for electrical engineers as they model and analyze signal fluctuations and noise, impacting circuit and receiver design. The course examines stationarity, ergodicity, and autocorrelation functions that describe these processes, as well as power spectral density analysis, which assesses the signal's frequency components. Understanding these concepts helps engineers design systems that can better handle variability and maintain performance .

The central limit theorem is pivotal in EE 351K's curriculum as it provides a foundation for approximating distributions of sums of random variables as normal, regardless of their original distribution, as a sample size increases. This is crucial in engineering for modeling and predicting system behaviors, optimizing processes, and performing inferential statistics, enabling engineers to make probabilistic judgments and improvements in system design and reliability .

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