Kenneth A. Connor

Professor Kenneth A. Connor


Professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Also holds a joint appointment in Information Technology. Research involves the application of particle beam based diagnostics to plasmas of interest to the thermonuclear fusion community, high frequency wave phenomena, photonics, engineering education, diversity in the engineering workforce, and technology enhanced learning. Additional biographical information.	Photo: Kris Kua, RPI	Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center Plasma Dynamics Lab Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering School of Engineering Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy , New York 12180-3590 Telephone: (518) 276-8552 FAX: (518) 276-6261 EMAIL: connor at rpi dot edu

Courses and Teaching

Introduction to Engineering Electronics
Electronic Instrumentation
Fields and Waves I

Spring 2008

Plasma Dynamics I
CPEP Fusion Web Course
Energy Links

ECSE Honors Program

Fields and Waves II

Surge Phenomena

Research

Smart Lighting ERC, a Generation 3 NSF Engineering Research Center for which I am the Education and Diversity Director.
Heavy Ion Beam Probe Development , with particular emphasis on the MST HIBP.
Mobile Studio, is a small, inexpensive hardware instrumentation platform for use in a classroom environment.
Project Links

Electrial and Computer Engineering Information

ECEDHA
CRA
Electrical and Computer Engineering Programs

Service Activities

ECEDHA
I served as president of ECEDHA from 2005-2006 and on the board of this excellent organization from 2003-2008. I also maintained the ECEDHA website.
IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society
Vollmer Fries Lectures

Personal Information

Vegan Information
Somnoplasty
This is a surgical procedure that may be worth trying if you want to stop snoring.
My Family
A really great carpenter, who did a lot of work on my house..
Engineering Collection
Magsoft Corporation

RPDL History

Graduate Education Information

National Doctoral Program Survey from NAGPS
Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards from NSF

Student Career Information

Wikipedia information on Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering
Graduating Engineer & Computer Careers from the ASEE web site.
Careers in Science and Engineering from the National Academies Press: A student planning guide to grad school and beyond.

The Work Circuit An EE Times Community.
Engineering Your Future Presentation covering all of three degrees (EE, CSE, EPE) -- pdf file
Engineering Discovery Presentation Presented to 2 pilot sections of this new first year course on 14 Feb 2005. This is a large pdf file.
Engineering Discovery Week Presentation To fully see reluctance motor, also download the animation -- right click with mouse and save to the same directory as the ppt file if you want to run it from powerpoint or just left click on it and it will run in your browser.
Careers for Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists from the IEEE
About Electrical and Computer Engineering from Discover Engineering Online
GradNet designed for undergraduate and graduate-level engineering students as they prepare for their careers after college.
IEEE Spectrum Careers
An Engineering Student Survival Guide from Richard Felder of NCSU (There is also a book by this title written by Krista Donaldson.)
Student Resources from Agilent
IDEO , a very creative industrial design company (they probably think this description is too limited).
What is Engineering? career info from Purdue.
Fundamentals of Engineering Exam Information
Career Information from the American Mathematical Society.
Engineer Girl information on Engineering Careers from NAE The National Academy of Engineering
Guide Me NACME from NACME The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering
SWE The Society of Women Engineers
NSBE The National Society of Black Engineers
SHPE The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
NSPE The National Society of Professional Engineers

Educational and Project Tools & Info
- eMachineShop.com
- PCBExpress or ExpressPCB (the latter requires that you use their layout software)
- Digi-Key
- Small Parts, Inc.
- Electronics Kits from Electronix Express
- Kits from Omnitron Electronics
- Kits from Circuits Specialists
- Kits from Hallbar
- Chaney Electronics Kits
- Hobbytron
- QKits
- Helpful Info from Electronic Instrumentation
- StatLib
- Statistical Reference Datasheets from NIST
- SMART
- Information Unlimited
- Trossen Robotics
- Phidgets
- RFID Toys
- SciToys Make scientific toys at home with common household materials
- Nerd Kits
Sound Files
- The Northern Lights from Lost and Found Sound on NPR
- Lovers of Lost Fans from Lost and Found Sound on NPR
- Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project from UCSB
Weather Information
- Average Daily Temperature Data from U. Dayton
- NOAA National Weather Service
- The Weather Channel
- The Weather Underground
Amateur Scientist
Theremin information from Theremin.info and ThereminWorld
One of the most interesting electronic devices. The first electronic instrument.
Prof. Paul Schoch's experiment with our favorite throw-away camera.
The Anderson Center
Places to Stay in or Near Troy
- Franklin Square Inn & Suites in downtown Troy (preferred by most guests)
- The Cannon Building extended stay in downtown Troy (Monument Square)
- Rensselaer Inn (Best Western and formerly a Holiday Inn) in downtown Troy is now owned by RPI and being converted to a dorm.

Old Judge Mansion B&B in Troy (I have received very good reports on this nice place -- offers free internet access)
The Sedgwick Inn in Berlin, NY (not close, but a nice place)
The Morgan State House in Albany (pricey but very nice)

Search: Google | A9 | Yahoo | Ask Jeeves | All the Web | Dogpile | Momma | Beaucoup | Craigslist | NY Times Cyber Searches | cRANKy | Cuil | Coming Soon
News: Google-News | Times Union | Madison.com | BBC | Reuters | CBC | USA Today | Boston Globe | NY Times | Newsday | Troy Record | JSOnline | Coming Soon
Sports: USCHO | MLB | MiLB | MLB.TV | ESPN | SI | ESPN College Hockey | INCH | BB-Minors-Map | NFL | NHL | Coming Soon
NPR: Wait-Wait | Driveway Moments | WAMC | NPR | WPR | MPR | The Engines of Our Ingenuity | WBEZ | WBUR | BBC-World | Coming Soon
Magazines: The Onion | Wired | Coming Soon
Misc: IRememberJFK | ePodunk | City-Data.com | Coming Soon
Toys and Gifts Thinkgeek | C. Crane | X-tremegeek | Kleargear

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx

"You know what Rogers Hornsby told me forty-five years ago? It was the best batting advice I ever got. 'Get a good ball to hit.' What does that mean? It means a ball that does not fool you, a ball that is not in a tough spot for you. Think of trying to hit it back up the middle. Try not to pull it every time." -Ted Williams

"You can't plow a field by turning it over in your mind." -Irish Proverb

"Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common." -Satchel Paige

"I wish the country had fewer lawyers and more engineers." - Barack Obama

"I am often asked how radio works. Well, you see, wire telegraphy is like a very long cat. You yank his tail in New York and he meows in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? Now, radio is exactly the same, except that there is no cat." -Attributed to Albert Einstein