Event: EE-212 Complex Engineering Activity Exhibition

What happens when you take away the Arduinos, the ICs, and the pre-packaged chips? You get pure, unfiltered engineering.

That was the challenge posed to the Biomedical Engineering students of EE-212: Semiconductor Devices this past Fall. In a unique “Complex Engineering Activity,” Instructor Engr. Farhan Yousaf issued a strict constraint: design a fully functional electronic system using only discrete components.

The “No Black Box” Rule

In modern electronics, it’s easy to rely on a “black box”—a chip that does the thinking for you. This project forced students to look inside the box. By banning Op-Amps and Microcontrollers, the class had to build their logic, amplification, and switching circuits from scratch using fundamental physics: Diodes, BJTs, and MOSFETs.

The result? A deep dive into analog analysis where students had to manually calculate stability, battle signal noise, and manage transistor switching states without the safety net of modern chips.

Project Spotlight: Innovation in Action

The semester culminated in a vibrant exhibition where 11 groups demonstrated their prototypes. From security systems to environmental sensors, the projects proved that you don’t need a microprocessor to build smart systems.

🌟 Top Performing Projects

  • IR Visitor Detection System (Group 9) This team stole the show with a robust security system. Their defense of the project demonstrated a mastery of transistor switching states (cutoff vs. saturation).▶️ Watch the Demo
  • Electric Gas Lighter (Group 4) A high-voltage generation project presented with professional flair. The team correctly identified and utilized the specific roles of their transistors to create a functional lighter.▶️ Watch the Demo
  • Automatic Street Light Controller (Group 5) A classic automation problem solved purely through analog logic. This group built a precise LDR-based switching circuit that met all constraints perfectly.▶️ Watch the Demo
  • 3.7V Li-Ion Battery Charger (Group 7) Noted for exceptional soldering quality and clear technical explanation, this group built a functional charger for lithium-ion cells.▶️ Watch the Demo

📺 Watch More Student Creations

Check out the full lineup of “Discrete-Only” projects designed by our students:

Congratulations to all the groups for successfully navigating the challenges of discrete semiconductor design!

 

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