9350748 Jackson The goal of this project is to introduce scientific computation and simulation techniques into the undergraduate curriculum at Central Michigan University. To this end, a laboratory-based course is being created as a part of the Physics curriculum and offered as an elective to students in the other sciences. The course will be taught as an in-class lab, where the students run simulation experiments in the class and discuss the results, as well as any difficulties, with the instructors on the spot. Our team-teaching approach, pairing a Physicist and a Computer Scientist, stresses sound programming practices - modular design, proper documentation and program efficiency - as well as standard numerical and simulation techniques. Computer simulations allow the students to experiment with realistic systems which cannot be handled by traditional analytical methods. The course includes a selection of real-world problems from various scientific disciplines to illustrate and emphasize the power and broad applicability of the computational techniques. The in-class lab format and mix of student backgrounds lead to a productive exchange of ideas and a better awareness of the unity of the underlying science. ***
