An Advanced Computational Laboratory is being developed through this project, and allows upper-level students and faculty in Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics to study object- oriented languages and develop new courses in Operating Systems and Networks. The Laboratory also enables faculty to use existing simulations and 3D graphical animations on a wider scale, to develop new applications with the Mathematica package, to employ Maple and Mathematica on complex problem sets, and to make full use of instructional programs already developed. Six NeXT workstations and six Mac II si machines are being integrated together in a network with 1 NeXT server which will be linked to the local departmental network and the campus wide LAN. Building on inter-departmental cooperation already present, this Lab is acting as a natural center for upper-level student academic activities and catalysing innovative work which will inevitably transcend disciplinary boundaries. This Lab is providing a powerful extension of the proven usefulness of the existing Maple/Mac Lab (previously funded by NSF) for introductory courses.NSF grant funds are being matched by funds from non-Federal sources.
