courses taught by professors, not graduate students
internationally recognized and dedicated faculty
group and class design projects to solve real problems for New England businesses and agencies
e-mail and internet access provided for all students
international exchange program opportunities
faculty committed to ethical uses and broad access to information systems
minor degree programs available in such additional areas as new media, business administration, and computer science that are readily achievable within the four year engineering degree program
opportunities for cooperative work experience with employers
frequent research experience and work-study opportunities working with professors on nationally funded research projects
friendly surroundings
numerous future opportunities for graduate study throughout a broad range of related disciplines
exceptional job opportunities and placement
Preparation for Advanced Degrees
The B.S. in Information Systems Engineering provides a solid foundation for students desiring to pursue graduate degrees in information systems, spatial information science and engineering, bioinformatics, and related information technology graduate programs.
In addition, across the nation, engineering graduates are highly sought after to enter the full range of science, social science, engineering, law, and medical graduate programs. Assuming you do well at the undergraduate level, an engineering degree will open many and varied doors for graduate school
Recommendations for Minor Degrees
1. Students Enrolled in Information Systems Engineering
A "minor degree" in another academic area can add breadth to your degree program. If you pursue a minor degree in addition to your primary degree, the title of the minor degree will also be listed on your diploma.
Depending on your interests and career aspirations, there are several minor degrees from which you may choose. Among the most popular choices of students in the past undergraduate program include:
Minor Degree in Business Administration (21 Credits)
Minor Degree in Computer Science (18 credits)
Minor Degree in Math (24 credits)
Minor Degree in New Media (18 credits)
2. Students Enrolled in Other Programs
Minor Degree in Information Systems (18 credits)
recommended for New Media and other undergraduate students with an interest in gaining a greater depth of knowledge in the technical issues of information systems
(under development in fall of 2002 - needs yet formal campus approval)
Prerequisites: Some of the following courses require Calculus 1 and a course in computer programming (COS 220 or Java) as prerequisites.
Required:
ISE 102 Fundamentals of Information Systems (part of NMD degree) (Beard)
ISE 203 Information Ethics (part of NMD degree) (Onsrud)
ISE 302 Information Systems Design (Egenhofer)
Plus any three of the following: ISE 112 Using Geographic Information Systems (Holden) ISE 201 Principles of Geographic Information Systems (Holden) ISE 304 Digital Image Processing (Agouris) ISE 303 Human-Computer Interaction (Hornsby) ISE 305 Digital Video Analysis (Stefanidis) ISE 401 Information Systems Architectures (Nittel)
ISE Course Descriptions
The ISE course descriptions are listed below for convenience. The same descriptions may be found in the University of Maine Course Catalog
ISE 102 - Fundamentals of Information Systems
Students develop the fundamental knowledge of information systems, including formal systems and models. Covers use of data, information, and knowledge in organizations, information lifecycle; collection, storage, processing, retrieval, delivery; and overview of the various components of an information infrastructure including computing platforms, software architectures, and telecommunications networks. Types of information systems, client server architectures, and emerging information systems. (This course is identical to NMD 102.) Lec 3. Credits: 3
ISE 104 - Design Basics for New Media
Introduction to principles and theories of visual design, in traditional and electronic media; processes, methods and technologies relative to the creative production of two-dimensional visual imagery; use of the computer as a creative tool for the development of expressive and professional images. Focus on the creative process in visual design. (This course is identical to NMD 104.) Studio 3.
Satisfies the General Education Artistic and Creative Expression Requirement. Credits: 3
ISE 112 - Using Geographic Information Systems
Review of major elements of geographic information systems (GIS); uses in society; hands-on analysis, modeling and display of spatial data; study of collection and analytical methods for geographic data sets; focus on Census Bureau population data and its use for market research, health care, crime analysis and environmental applications; exposure to Internet mapping and GIS analysis on the Web. (This course is identical to NMD 112.) Lec 3. Credits: 3
ISE 201 - Principles of Geographic Information Systems
Covers traditional representation of spatial data and techniques for representing spatial data in digital form. Combines an overview of general principles associated with the implementation of geographic information systems and practical experience in the analysis of geographic information. Also covers typical operations on spatial information and techniques for analyzing spatial information. Students convert map data to digital form, perform coordinate transformations and analysis. Lec 2, Lab 1. Prerequisites and Course Notes: Sophomore standing and permission. Credits: 3
ISE 206 - Project Design Lab: I
Introduces theories of signs and visual communication as applied to interactive information design. Explores how signs and symbols influence meaning and facilitate expression and perception of ideas and information. Provides a general knowledge of the history of visual theory and the interpretation of icons, symbols and indexes, including the unspoken "language" of design structures. Visual culture, semiology, and cultural/information artifacts as manifested by such designed items as Web sites, interactive media and databases are studied. Prerequisites and Course Notes: ISE 102 or ISE 104 or permission. Credits: 3
ISE 213 - Information Ethics
Ethical and social issues associated with information system design and use. Morality and law in cyberspace. Values, ethical theories and their relation to information professionals. Free speech, intellectual property, privacy and security. Access to government information and government surveillance. Western values and norms compared to developing world perspectives. (This course is identical to NMD 213.) Lec 3.
Satisfies the General Education Ethics and Cultural Diversity and International Perspectives Requirements. Credits: 3
ISE 301 - Formal Foundations for Information Systems
Students develop an understanding of the approach to information systems development offered by formalisms. Draws on previous mathematics courses to consolidate familiarity with formal syntax and language. Develops understanding and technical ability in handling discrete and geometrical formal structures. Covers set theory, functions and relations, logic (propositional and predicate calculi, logics of uncertainty), algebraic structures, partially ordered sets, lattices, Boolean algebras, graphs, digraphs, geometries, analytic and geometric topology, information theory, formal languages, and algorithms. Lec 3. Prerequisites and Course Notes: MAT 228, ISE 102 or permission of instructor. Credits: 3
ISE 302 - Information Systems Design
Theoretical foundation for representation of knowledge in information systems. Introduces students to the fundamental concepts necessary to design and implement information systems. Uses logic programming as a tool for fast design and prototyping of data models. Covers formal languages and formal models, conceptual modeling techniques and methods for data abstraction, major database models including relational, object-relational, and object-oriented models. Satisfies the General Education Writing Intensive Requirement. Lec 3. Prerequisites and Course Notes: COS 220 and ISE 301. Credits: 3
ISE 303 - Human-Computer Interaction
Students are introduced to the fundamental theory and concepts of human-computer interaction. Students will gain a theoretical knowledge and practical experiences in the fundamental aspects of designing, implementing and evaluating interfaces. Covers topics relating to human factors in interface design, usability, visual interfaces, direct manipulation and graphic interactions, touch, gesture, natural language and speech interfaces. In addition, the course will offer students evaluation techniques to help understand if their designs are effective. Lec 3. Prerequisites and Course Notes: COS 221 or permission of instructor. Credits: 3
ISE 304 - Digital Image Processing
Introduction to image processing and analysis techniques suitable to the processing of close-range, aerial or space-borne sensor data. Topics include elements of digital image processing and analysis systems; image digitization, quantization and sampling; geometric operations; image enhancements, point operations and filtering; transformations in spatial and frequency domains; image segmentation and feature extraction; automated information extraction and incorporation in information systems; term project. Lec 2, Lab 1. Prerequisites and Course Notes: MAT 228, PHY 122 and MAT 262 or MAT 258. Credits: 3
ISE 305 - Digital Video Analysis
Basics of video image acquisition; data analysis: image sequence analysis, object and feature tracking, spatiotemporal change detection; image modeling: image and spatiotemporal compression, motion modeling and spatiotemporal trajectories, image formats; scene modeling: image registration, producing and managing virtual models of 3D scenes; image and video indexing and retrieval. Lec 2, Lab 1. Prerequisites and Course Notes: ISE 304. Credits: 3
ISE 350 - Junior Seminar
Students develop and apply knowledge in how to examine critically a small set of state-of-the-art publications, in the field of Information System Engineering synthesize them, in writing and present a coherent summary verbally. Lec 1. Prerequisites and Course Notes: ENG 317. Credits: 1
ISE 401 - Information System Architecture
Students develop the fundamental knowledge of information systems architectures. Covers aspects of data sharing and computation in distributed information system environments. Layered architecture of distributed information systems; types of distributed system architectures; name spaces, data replication, and caching; scalability and performance of distributed information systems; middleware; open distributed information systems; interoperability aspects. Data dissemination, and emerging distributed information systems. Lec 3. Prerequisites and Course Notes: ISE 302, programming experience in Java or C++ or COS 221. Credits: 3
ISE 402 - Information Retrieval
Covers the computational issues needed to design Web search engines. Deals with querying structured data vs. semi-structured or unstructured data, and introduces students to various methods for making syntactic matches, in particular for similarity searches. Extends to modeling semantics in the form of ontologies, and their use in information retrieval. Lec 3. Prerequisites and Course Notes: ISE 401. Credits: 3
ISE 403 - Spatial Database Systems
Students develop the fundamental knowledge of spatial database systems. Covers spatial data models, spatial query languages, database architecture, database technology for spatial database systems. Storage structures, file organization, general and spatial index structures, implementation of relational and spatial operators, spatial query processing and optimization, transaction management and crash recovery, distributed spatial database systems. Lec 3. Prerequisites and Course Notes: ISE 302, programming experience in Java, or C++ or COS 221. Credits: 3
ISE 404 - Time in Information Systems Design
The study of temporal aspects within information science offers new perspectives for understanding and communicating information. Introduces students to concepts necessary for designing and using a temporal information system. Covers formal models of time, conceptual models of time, fundamentals of temporal databases, temporal query languages, and spatio-temporal database systems. In addition, topics relating to event-based modeling and the visualization of temporal data will be covered. Lec 3. Prerequisites and Course Notes: COS 221, ISE 302 or permission of instructor. Credits: 3
ISE 405 - Statistics for Information Engineering
Students develop the fundamental knowledge of statistical analysis of engineering data. Introduces the concepts of statistical metrics like averages, standard deviations and their use to handle measurement redundancy in engineering applications. Covers propagation of random errors and variance-covariance, the adjustment of engineering observations through various stochastic models, combining observations and conditions among parameters, proceeding with sequential solutions in the presence of steady information flow, modeling and communicating uncertainty in information systems, devising statistical tests. Some concepts from linear algebra and statistics are also reviewed. Lec 2, Lab 1. Prerequisites and Course Notes: MAT 262 or MAT 258. Credits: 3
ISE 406 - Image Metrology
Image formation, black and white and color film, cameras, panchromatic, multispectral and radar imagery, principles of stereoscopic viewing and measurement, orientations, aerotriangulation, matching, orthophotography, accuracy and reliability of image measurements, satellite programs. Lec 2, Lab 1. Credits: 3
ISE 450 - Information Systems Project I
The first course in a two-semester sequence that provides a coherent view of the processes involved in the development of information systems in a multidisciplinary context. Small teams of students will design, implement, evaluate, and document an information system. Part one: project selection, requirements analysis, functional specifications, database design and proposal writing. Lec 3. This course, in conjunction with ISE 451, Satisfies the General Education Capstone Experience Requirement. Credits: 3
ISE 451 - Information Systems Project II
The second course in a two-semester sequence that provides a coherent view of the processes involved in the development of information systems in a multidisciplinary context. Small teams of students will design, implement, evaluate, and document an information system. Part two: interface prototyping and evaluation, project development, and project evaluation. Lec 3. This course, in conjunction with ISE 450, Satisfies the General Education Capstone Experience Requirement. Prerequisites and Course Notes: ISE 450. Credits: 3
Information Systems Engineering
5711 Boardman Hall Room 348
The University of Maine
Orono, Maine 04469-5711
Phone: 207.581.2188
Fax: 207.581.2206
