For the Student edition of MATLAB, Release 14 is the latest version, and we have copies in the USU bookstore. With this on your computer, you can free yourself from the computer lab, where we have a significant number of seat licenses.

Another suitable tool for developing Electromagnetics tools is Mathcad by the company Mathsoft. This program is more interactive than MATLAB, and is thus very well suited to developing what-if design packages. The current version of Mathcad is version 13, and we have copies in the USU bookstore. We also have it on most of the PCs in PC labs. Students in our physics department tend to use Matcad more than MATLAB.

Currently, on a day to day basis, I use (and recommend) both packages. The Mathcad worksheets give you a better "view" of what is going on in the development of modeling scenarios, especially while you are in the cut and try design stage of putting an analysis package together. Plus, you can see the intermediate results in a more straightforward fashion. On the other hand, when I know what I want to do and how I want a package to operate, I like the GUI interface possible with MATLAB. I consider these two packages to be complementary and it is worth your time to learn how to use both.

Because of recent requests from students, I am just now starting to use Maple, so it will be awhile before I can give you an honest opinion of how it stacks up to MATLAB and Mathcad, but if we are going by sheer numbers, we have more seat licenses of Maple than we have of the other two combined. Also, for those of you in class that want to buy your own copy, Maple has given me a course promotion code that you can use to purchase the program on their web site at a significant discount. That code is "AP6151U". After this semester is over, email me if you are interested in getting a code for another course. If you want to check out what is available with the student edition of Maple, here is a link for the Maple 10 Student Edition.

Right now, here are the current prices at the bookstore (as of 9/23/2005) for the various packages that are available. We also have Mathematica available, but I don't use that package and am not interested in learning it at this time. Although it is very powerful, it has a pretty steep learning curve, and the above three packages will do most of what you want, and certainly what I want for the courses I currently teach.

If you are not familiar with programming in MATLAB, Mathcad or Maple start out by looking at the demos that come with the packages, or the demos on their web sites or check out the links below and select the MATLAB or Mathcad link. I will be putting up some links for Maple on this page, as soon as I find some good tutorials and become more familiar with the program. Also, as we have all three packages in our computer labs, you can "try before you buy," if you want to. In any case, whether you buy your own copy or use a lab copy, use what works best for you, and get familiar with the package - you will be miles ahead by the end of your program here.

MATLAB Tutorials and Information

Mathcad Tutorials and Information

Maple Tutorials and Information. Coming as soon as I collect some links and information.

Design Tools

Agilent Technologies - Advanced Design System (ADS)

Cadence Tools - SPICE

NOTE: The inclusion of a link to a company or an organization does not constitute an endorsement, by either Utah State University or myself, of that entity, it's policies, or it's products. These links are included ONLY as a source of information to the viewer, and are not meant in any way to indicate that I should be considered to be lawyer bait. However, I do believe that all the products listed above are pretty good tools! Wink, Wink! Nudge, Nudge!.

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Last updated: 09/23/2003