A modeling and simulation laboratory that will contain a network of 25 Pentium 90MHz microcomputers equipped with C++, MATLAB and the simulation language SIMSCRIPT is being established. A computer-based approach to teaching mathematical modeling is being developed with special emphasis on computer simulation using a simulation language. The laboratory and new teaching approach revitalizes the applied mathematics program. It represents a departmental effort to improve the education of ethnically diverse students and, in the process, makes them better prepared for employment. A new introductory course is being developed that is designed to help students become comfortable with the use of personal computers to solve quantitative problems and discover principles and concepts via experimentation. Students use interactive software, including MATLAB, as well as write programs of their own. The course prepares students for the revised 2-course sequence in modeling. The first of these courses focuses on deterministic models. Models of systems, particularly ones that are difficult mathematically, are introduced in class, and software implementing the models is ppovided. Students will then use the computer to draw conclusions about the model and the system they are studying. The second course in the modeling sequence introduces computer simulation of stochastic systems and covers techniques of effective simulation modeling. It also covers the implementation of these models on personal computers using the industry-standard simulation language SIMSCRIPT. All three of these classes are held in the laboratory. Instructors demonstrate the software and models by broadcasting computations to workstations. They are also able to view work in progress at any of the computers in the network. A computer is available for each student. Students will experiment with models, explore their ramifications, contrast results with the system they are studying, and modify models as required. They will also be able to easily generate professional quality reports and present their results. In the process, students will gain experience that will serve them well in their future careers. It is expected that several other courses, particularly those in numerical analysis and statistics, will be taught in the laboratory with similar beneficial results.
