Computational methods have become increasingly important for quantitative modeling and data analysis in the Geological Sciences. This half-term course provides a survey of the most important computational techniques, ranging from an introduction to computer programming to advanced parallel computing on linux clusters. The course is introductory and hands-on, with the grade determined by weekly computational problem sets.
GS503 (2 credits) meets together with GS500 for the first half of the term (through October 12). GS500 (4 credits) continues in the second half-term with a specific focus on linux and parallel computing.
Class meeting time: TTh10-11:30, 2502 CC Little
Lab meeting time: M7-9p, 5501 CC Little (still somewhat flexible)
Instructors: Peter van Keken (keken@umich.edu) and Erik Kneller (kneller@umich.edu)
Prerequisites: none, although we assume all students have a basic working knowledge of at
least one common operating system (most likely Windows or MacOS) and some experience with
simple computational and graphics tools such as Excel.