To familiarize students with a variety of mathematical software packages (numerical, symbolic, graphical, statistical, and system dynamics); to solidify students understanding of algorithm development; to enhance students programming skills, in numerical computing languages as well as more traditional languages; to strengthen students ability to use software and computing as a tool in mathematical problem solving, drawing examples from a variety of mathematical disciplines; to increase students comfort and confidence in their use of computational tools; to make students aware of the problems associated with computing in a finite precision environment; and to infuse professionalism in students written presentations by developing a community of proficient users of LATEX, a typesetting system for scientific documents.

Course Description and Topics:

This introduction to the field of scientific computing will focus on using mathematical software and programming as tools in mathematical problem solving. During the semester we will use :

We will spend time learning the syntax, fundamentals, strengths and weaknesses of each type of software, keeping in mind that we are working in a fixed precision environment; we will review the fundamentals of programming with regards to traditional and non-traditional programming environments; and we will use the LaTeX typesetting system to document our progress with each tool and associated project.