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About Computational Science

Computational Science involves a convergence of the problem-solving methodology of the physical sciences with both a thorough background in one or more of the traditional scientific disciplines and a sound understanding of the principles and methodology of computer science. Many of the problems that arise today have national, transnational or even global impact or implications.

An agency, be it a national or transnational corporation, a government department, or a privately-funded think-tank, would have to hire or contract with either a team of scientists or engineers and computer experts or, perhaps both more cheaply and efficiently, hire or contract with one or two computational scientists, in order to meet many of the challenges associated with modern atmospheric, ecological and/or environmental problems. A knowledge of the basic science is insufficient when dealing with many of these problems, as they are sufficiently complex that the development of individual mathematical models, together with detailed numerical modeling, may be necessary prior to the drafting of a proposal for their remediation.

The underlying basis for the Computational Science program palns is to prepare our graduands with an appropriate level and mix of scientific knowledge and procedures, including experience with computer modeling and scientific program development, not only to enable them to develop specific process models, but also to enable them to write their own computer codes and carry out numerical modeling studies that will help them to refine their models so that realistic working solutions to complex problems can be obtained.

No true scientific solution can be found without an appropriate level of understanding of the fundamental language of science, namely mathematics. To this end all Computational Science program plans include three calculus courses, a linear algebra course, a mathematical statistics course, and a differential equations course, in addition to seven computer science courses ranging from first year to fourth year subject matter. In addition to these thirteen fundamental courses, most students in a Computational Science plan take at least three additional courses, included amongst the additional fourteen or fifteen science or science-based courses, in which computational methods are specifically applied to scientific problems and processes. Courses that satisfy this criterion include:

Just which subset of these courses is taken by a particular student in the Computational Science program depends upon the specific Plan in which that student is registered. However, other courses in this list may well be taken as one of the free electives available in the plan, provided that any additional prerequisites can be met.