Bio/Geo/CS250

1. Computational Models in the Sciences

This is the main page for students in Biology/Geology/Computer Science 250: Computational Models in the Sciences, Semester II, 2004, at Bryn Mawr College.

Other useful pages: MainModelingWiki, official course policies

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This course is a multidisciplinary overview of computational methods in the natural and social sciences.

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This course is neither seminar nor lab: it is a lab-seminar. Every session will be a conversation whose content and trajectory will be determined in collaboration among the students and with me, Ted Wong. The work of the course consists of readings (to be chosen collaboratively) and modeling projects (some to be completed individually, some to be completed collaboratively, all to be presented to the group for criticism and mutual education).

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This course is in no way an exhaustive or even complete explication of computational methods in the sciences. Such a course would last six years and almost certainly be boring and ineffective. Instead, I intend this course to be an opportunity for students to become efficient and confident in the self-education tasks that occupy the bulk of most scientific modelers' time. The successful student may leave the class with little more factual knowledge than he or she had when he or she first started it, but he or she will have all the right philosophical frameworks and conceptual tools (and some technical skills) to turn any scientific question or puzzle into an interesting and useful computational model -- or he or she will be able to explain why modeling wouldn't work.

2. Logistics

• Meeting time: Thurs. 1:00 - 4:00

• Meeting location: Park 10

• Office hours: anytime my office door is open (Park 251), and by appointment (twong@brynmawr.edu)

3. Course schedule (to be revised)

4. Course work

The graded work of this course consists of (1) lab exercises, which will be introdoced and started in class but completed at home; (2) a semester-long modeling project on the topic of your choice (and my approval); and (3) attendance and active participation in class discussions. The point breakdown will be 40% lab exercises, 40% individual project, 20% participation. There will be a public project-presentation session to be scheduled for sometime during exam week.

5. Wiki Web

This web page -- and all web pages for the course -- are Wiki pages. Anyone reading them can (and should feel free to) modify them. Much of the collaborative work of the course -- choosing readings, discussing models, planning research -- will be done via Wiki pages. For detailed information about Wiki Webs in general, visit resources listed on the FrontPage.

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