Academic Courses

Scientific Computing Curriculum

TACC scientists are teaching five undergraduate and graduate level courses at The University of Texas at Austin, in the Division of Statistics and Scientific Computation. The courses are designed to enable students to apply scientific computing in research and development for both academic and industry careers.

Students across engineering, science, mathematics, computer science, and liberal arts fields of study are welcome.

Purpose

There are many computer science classes that provide comprehensive understanding of computer science theory, from algorithms to artificial intelligence. However, classes that prepare students to use advanced computing resources as they are used in computational, applications-driven research and development are relatively rare in university curricula. With the emergence of grid computing technologies and the development of integrated cyberinfrastructure (CI) promising new capabilities for knowledge discovery, classes that provide a solid, practical foundation for using CI in research and development are even more important for both academic and industry careers.

Courses

SSC 222 – Introduction to Scientific Programming.
Introduction to programming using both the C and Fortran (95, 2003) languages, with applications to basic scientific problems. Covers common data types and structures, control structures, algorithms, performance measurement, and interoperability.

Topics Covered: C and Fortran (95, 2003); Scientific problem applications; Common data types & structures; Control structures & algorithms; Performance measurement & interoperability

SSC 335/394 – Scientific/Technical Computing.
Comprehensive introduction to computing techniques and methods applicable to many scientific disciplines and technical applications. Covers computer hardware and operating systems, systems software and tools, code development, numerical methods and math libraries, and basic visualization and data analysis tools. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.

SSC 374C/394C – Parallel Coomputing for Scientists and Engineers.
Parallel computing principles, architectures, and technologies. Parallel application development, performance, and scalability. Prepares students to formulate and develop parallel algorithms to implement effective applications for parallel computing systems. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.

Topics Covered: Principles, architectures & technologies; Parallel application development; Performance & scalability; Parallel algorithm formulation & development

SSC 374D/394D – Distributed and Grid Computing for Scientists and Engineers.
Distributed and grid computing principles and technologies. Covers common modes of grid computing for scientific applications, developing grid enabled aplications, future trends in grid computing. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.

Topics Covered: Principles and technologies; Grid computing for scientific applications; Developing grid enabled applications; Future trends in grid computing

SSC 374E/394E – Visualization and Data Analysis for Scientists and Engineers.
Scientific visualization principles, practices and technologies, including remote and collaborative visualization. Also introduces statistical analysis, data mining and feature detection. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.

Topics Covered: Data types, structures, formats; Statistical analysis basics; Data mining & feature detection; Visualization techniques; Human perception; Remote & collaborative visualization

Fair Use Agreement

By using TACC’s Scientific Computing Curriculum materials, you agree to:

1. Honor the Creative Commons License.
TACC’s courses and materials are licensed under a Creative Commons License

2. Tell TACC about your plans and potential impact of the course(s).
Please take 10 minutes to complete an initial survey and email it to Brad Armosky, barmosky@tacc.utexas.edu. TACC will use this data to improve the courses and inform the HPC and higher education communities.

• Your institution and department
• Explain your purpose and plan to use these course materials.
• How many students you think will be impacted per year, especially women and students groups who are under represented in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics.
• The academic disciplines of students who you think will benefit from your course(s).

3. Evaluate the course material.
Your evaluation will help TACC to improve, enrich, and document the impact of these courses.