Computational Science and Information Technology: Curriculum and Technology Organization: Florida State University Thematic Area(s): HPC Training and DoD User Productivity Lead: Geoffrey Fox Email Address: gcf@cs.fsu.edu Telephone: 850 644 4587 Fax: 850 644 0098 Statement of Work: In the appendix, we describe a new curriculum Computational Science and Information Technology being developed at Florida State University. we argue that could be of particular value to HBCU/MSI's and to DoD scientists and engineers. This value will be enhanced if the curriculum is made available by distance education technology. In this project, we take this basic thesis and we investigate its value to the ERDC Institute. We do this in a way that will test technology that is being developed in other focussed efforts. This semester we taught a class to several sites including JSU and ERDC where it was offered as part of the graduate institute. We used TangoInteractive technology and although adequate, the class was disappointing in its lack of interactions between students and teacher. When Fox gave the class at ERDC, there were many interactions with students. When giving class from Syracuse or Tallahassee, there were essentially no questions from any remote site. We have proposed in other focussed efforts, a different strategy from Tango, which involves a mix of synchronous and asynchronous interactions with lectures available in SMIL format for students to peruse before tutorial sessions held synchronously. We have also proposed developing novel applications of hand-held devices. Thus here we propose an effort melding three ideas 1) Testing our education portal and if useable at ERDC Access Grid technology with a class to offered at ERDIC next January-April 2001. This year we offered the equivalent of "a mix of Computational Science I and II" in appendix. Next year we could either repeat this or perhaps attract more students with a different course -- "Information Technology I or II" 2) Make parts of the curriculum accessible to hand-held devices. 3) We will not only give the class but present in a way that will allow a survey of interest at ERDC in distant masters or PhD degrees which will be available starting fall 2001. Deliverables: o Presentations for PET Midyear and Annual Reviews o Inputs to PET Annual Report o Written progress report in December 2000 o Final Technical Report in March 2001 o September 00: Technology Framework and Curriculum Design o December 00: Graduate class developed and adapted for ERDC Institute o January-April 01: Delivery of prototype class at ERDC Institute Florida State Budget Item Base Fringe Geoffrey Fox 13846 2548 Grad. Student 16000 96 Tuition 3459 Travel 1419 Overhead 17376 TOTAL 54744 Travel consists of 1 trip to ERDC Background: Computational Science and Information Technology -------------------------------------------------------------- Educational programs in computational science are an important adjunct to the DoD's HPC Modernization Program. For many current DoD scientists and engineers, the opportunity to obtain advanced degrees provides a path for both professional and personal growth. At the same time, universities are training future generations of DoD researchers, feeding the "employment pipeline." The academic field of "computational science" is particularly relevant to the HPCMP, because it emphasizes an understanding of the computational tools and infrastructure which stand behind _all_ of the Program's ten CTAs. Working toward an advanced degree in computational science provides practicing S&Es a route to deepen their knowledge of the computational techniques undelying their chosen field of research. Likewise undergraduate programs in computational science help to prepare students for the kinds of problems and tools they will encounter if they pursue a career in a computational science field. This kind of preparation is rarely found in current Computer Science curricula, nor in those of the traditional science and engineering departments. Further we learnt from experiences at Syracuse that it is very helpful to generalize classic computational science (which is aimed at scientific simulations) to include information technology. The newly established School of Computational Science and Information Technology (CSIT) at Florida State University (FSU) will soon begin one of the few Computational Science degree programs in the country. Classes are expected to start in Fall 2000 (for students in other disciplines), and students will be allowed to enroll in the CSIT degree program in Fall 2001. Because of this new program, and the Unversity's general commitment to the use of distance education, there is a unique opportunity to bring advanced degrees in Computational Science closer to interested HPCMP researchers. By developing courseware for distance delivery, it would become possible for DoD S&Es to take most of the required coursework towards an advanced degree while continuing to work. In some cases, even portions of the dissertation research would be related to work activities and could be conducted at the work site rather than in residence at the University. In this way, it would be possible to obtain an advanced research degree while minimizing the the amount of leave that must be taken from work. This courseware could also be adapted for incorporation into undergraduate curricula for use at other institutions. The planned CSIT curriculum is particularly well-suited for use with both DoD S&Es and Minority Serving Institutions, as it stresses practical, fundamental computer science together with a broad range of applications. It includes both classic high performance computing and the information technology curricula which has broad appeal to MSI students and for HPCMP allows one to address the full range of CTA's including simulation dominated areas like CFD and information based areas like FMS and IMT. It is essentially the same curriculum which is known as "Internetics" at Syracuse and Peking Universities. The CSIT program will offer both Masters and PhD degrees where students can choose a simulation or information emphasis, but all students will know the basics of both tracks. The core requirement for these degrees will be three of the following four courses: Computational Science I This is the first course in a two-semester sequence on the role of computational methods, models of computation, computer architectures, and digital computations in scientific applications. Cross-cutting scientific applications selected from topics in materials science, quantum mechanics, data analysis, global warming, earth-quake propagation, will be used to underscore the importance of numerical methods in linear algebra, ordinary and partial differential equations, Monte Carlo methods and tools for software development, performance monitoring, visualization and model evaluation. Computational Science II This is the second course in a two-semester sequence on the role of computational methods, models of computation, computer architectures, and digital computations in scientific applications. Cross-cutting scientific applications selected from topics in fluid flow, phase transistions, biological structure and climate prediction will be used to underscore the importance of parallel computing, numerical methods in linear algebra, ordinary and partial differential equations, Monte Carlo methods, and optimization techniques. Applied Information Technology I This is the first course in a two-semester sequence covering the application of information technologies of current interest within integrated online environments for distributed scientific computing, online research collaborations, education and electronic commerce. Information technology applications currently in the course include collaborative research environments, genomics database application, electronic logbooks, weather prediction, and teaching and learning systems, but specific applications will evolve rapidly to insure inclusion of leading-edge scientific applications of information technology. Applied Information Technology II This is the second semester of a two-semester sequence covering the application of information technologies of current interest within integrated online environments for distributed scientific computing, online research collaborations, education and electronic commerce. Information technology applications will be selected from distributed physics simulations, remote instrument operation and control and advanced teaching and learning systems, but specific applications will evolve rapidly to insure inclusion of leading-edge scientific applications of information technology.