2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: Bringing Modern Communication Systems to Juniors: A Work-in-Progress Course Using Python and SDR

Presented at Electrical and Computer Engineering Division (ECE) Technical Session 15

This Work-in-Progress paper introduces a newly developed junior-level course, Introduction to Modern Communication with Python and SDR, designed to expose students to real-world communication systems earlier in the curriculum. The course blends foundational theory in analog and digital communication with hands-on lab experience using Python and Software-Defined Radio (SDR). Weekly modules include paper-based quizzes and lab assignments that transition from simulation to SDR-based implementation, covering tasks such as scanning RF spectrum, decoding FM broadcasts, and sending/receiving text messages.
To evaluate the course’s effectiveness, three early-stage assessment methods are employed: (1) student surveys measuring engagement and perceived learning; (2) performance-based metrics from lab milestones; and (3) cross-course enrollment tracking to monitor how many students pursue senior-level communication electives after taking this course. Results from the Spring 2025 pilot will be presented, highlighting student feedback and preliminary enrollment trends. These findings will inform future course improvements, including scaffolding theory, refining lab instructions, and enhancing support for debugging SDR-based projects.
This paper is submitted under the curriculum design topic and is part of a long-term plan to develop a full paper that explores pedagogical strategies for integrating hands-on SDR learning into the undergraduate communications curriculum.

Authors

Prof. Thomas Moon http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8256-1183 University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Thomas Moon received the B.S. degree in electrical electronic engineering from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Korea, in 2008, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA in 2015. Between 2015 and 2017, he worked at IBM in Burlington, Vermont where he developed mmWave test equipment as a principle development engineer. He joined Coordinated Science Lab, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign (UIUC), IL, USA in 2017 as a post-doctoral researcher. He has been a Teaching Assistant Professor at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UIUC. His current research interests include wireless sensing and communication in mmWave.
Juan Alvarez University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Juan Alvarez joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Illinois faculty in Spring 2011 and is currently a Teaching Assistant Professor. Prior to that, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at York University, Canada, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Chemical Physics Theory Group at the University of Toronto, Canada, and a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Saskatchewan. He obtained his Ph.D. and M.S. from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois in 2004 and 2002, respectively. He teaches courses in communications, signal processing and probability.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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