Course Syllabus

Course Syllabus

Part I: Basic Tools (6 weeks)

Introduction to Python. Elementary values and data types.
Straight line programs, assignments to variables, type conversion, math library.
Strings, lists, and tuples. Vectors and arrays. Conditionals and loop structures.
Plotting using MatPlotLib and 3D visualization in VPython.
Functions, parameters, and scope. Recursion.
Exam 1

Part II: Computational Tools and Methods (6 weeks)

Arithmetic and random numbers. Using NumPy. Numerical and problem stability.
Computational Physics: Applications of Monte Carlo Simulation
Introduction to trees and graphs, using NetworkX, graphs in science applications.
Bioinformatics: Analyzing biological structures and their visualization using Cytoscape.
Grand challenges in scientific computing.
Exam 2

Part III: Looking Under the Hood at Computer Science (3 weeks)

Object-oriented design. Use and design of classes, OO concepts.
History of computer science.
Limits of computing, intractability, computability.
Future models of computation: DNA computing, quantum computing.
Comprehensive Final Exam