UC Electrical and Computer Engineering

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UC Electrical and Computer Engineering

This is the official page of the Department for Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Canterbury.

Welcome to Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is involved in teaching the Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Mechatronics Engineering degree programs. We have excellent facilities for both teaching and research in all three of these disciplines, and staff engaged in a wide range of research activities, including communications, image and signal processing, biomedical engineering, electric power engineering, information engineering and microelectronics. For more information please visit us at http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/engineering/schools/ece/

21/09/2026

Congratulations to Dr Jarrod Zhu on successfully defending his PhD thesis on Friday 11th September!!

Jarrod’s thesis is entitled “Development of a high-accuracy, minimally invasive sensing system using electrical impedance and electromagnetic field measurements for the detection of foreign objects in pipes” and his supervisors were Prof Michael Hayes and Dr Bill Heffernan. Jarrod’s examiners were Dr Liam Marsh, Manchester University, and Dr Tim Molteno, University of Otago. Assoc Prof. Richard Clare was the oral chair. Jarrod is currently looking for overseas work experience; we wish him all the best for his future and career!

06/09/2026

Congratulations to Dr Kate Wislang, who graduated with her PhD at the UC Spring ceremony on 25th August.
Kate is pictured below with her Senior Supervisor Prof Martin Allen. Her thesis is entitled “Sol-gel Ga2O3 Thin Films: Synthesis, Characterisation, and Devices”. Kate accepted a postdoc position earlier this year and is now working in Adelaide. It was great to see her back here for graduation, and lovely to catch up again!

27/08/2026

Please see below for details of this week's fascinating seminar, (note the change of location and time).

26/08/2026

https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news-and-events/news/2026/malaysian-business-leader-to-receive-uc-honour0
Tan Sri Datuk Oh Siew Nam P.S.M., P.J.N., who graduated from New Zealand’s Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) with a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Electrical Engineering in 1962, was recognised at UC’s Spring Engineering graduation celebration on Tuesday 25 August.

The honorary doctorate recognises Tan Sri Oh’s outstanding contribution to business, finance, public service and philanthropy, as well as his enduring connection to UC and support for Malaysian students.

25/08/2026

Congratulations to Dr Yi Liu on her graduation today!! Here she is with her supervisor, Dr Le Yang. It was great to see you today Yi, we wish you all the best as you start your new academic role next month in China!

17/08/2026

Congratulations to Dr Sam Spekreijse on the recent completion of his PhD!!
His thesis was entitled “Mobile Robot Localisation on Complex Geometries” and he was supervised by Prof Michael Hayes and Dr Le Yang, pictured below on Sam's right and left.
Sam’s PhD oral exam was held on 13 July. His examiners were Professor Paul Wilcox, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bristol University, and Prof Andrew Taberner, Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland; Assoc. Prof Alan Wood was the oral chair. Sam has taken up a fixed term academic position in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering and is also teaching here in Electrical and Computer Engineering. We wish Sam all the very best for his career and are glad he is still part of the department!

04/08/2026

Come along to Link Lecture Theatre 309 this Friday to hear Dr Sam Spekreijse speak on "Mobile Robot Localisation on Complex Geometries", all welcome.

13/07/2026

Congratulations to Dr Harry Mander, who successfully defended his PhD thesis on 15th May (see image below). Harry’s PhD thesis is entitled “Towards Minimally-Invasive Screening of Aspiration Pneumonia: Portable Device Development, Physiological Data Segmentation, and Anomaly Detection”.
Harry’s supervisors are Associate Professor Paul Gaynor, Dr Le Yang and Distinguished Professor Maggie-Lee Huckabee. His examiners were Professor Arvin Agah, Charles E. & Mary J. Spahr Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Kansas; and Professor Yi Mei, School of Engineering and Computer Science, Victoria University of Wellington
Dr Andrew Lapthorn was the oral examination Chair.

22/06/2026

Congratulations to Dr Yi Liu, who successfully defended her PhD thesis on 28th April (see image below). Yi’s thesis is entitled “Nonlinear Gaussian Filtering and Smoothing with Tracking Applications”.

Yi’s supervisors are Dr Le Yang and Prof. Ji Li. Her examiners were Dr. Wei Li, Adjunct Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Victoria, BC, Canada, and Associate Professor Jingxin Zhang, School of Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. Associate Professor Richard Clare was the oral examination Chair.

Yi has returned to China to join the National University of Defense Technology as a faculty member. We wish her all the best for her career and future.

17/06/2026

Our department seminar this Friday is entitled "2D Gaussian for Visual and Wireless Representation" and will be presented by visiting student Mufan Liu. Mufan is a third-year PhD student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His research focuses on multimedia processing, adaptive video streaming, and Gaussian Splatting. All welcome!

Address

Christchurch
8041

Telephone

+6433693366

Website

http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/engineering/schools/ece/

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