Students from any college and any major are welcome. There is no science or computing prerequisite for PHY307. You should take this course if you are interested in learning something about both computer simulation and science. Example areas of interest include:

• Simulation of physical processes for scientific purposes (from physics to chemistry to biology.) Exploring the universe using computers.
• Simulation of physical processes for realistic visualization, as used in animation. Imitating the physical world.
• Chaos and fractals. Complex and unexpected behavior.
• Ideas from science and computation that can be applied to other disciplines, such as the purported connections between random walks and stock market fluctuations. Interdisciplinary ideas.
• The conceptual relationship between computers, which are physical objects, and science, which is a quantitative discipline requiring computation. What is the distinction, if any, between logical reasoning and the physical universe?

PHY307 is intended for undergraduates with at least a moderate mathematical background (ability to work with coordinate axes and find the slope of a line, exposure to trigonometry, ability to compute the volume of a sphere, and the overall sophistication needed to enroll in a calculus level mathematics course.)

PHY607 is intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduates. The topics covered are the same as PHY307, but require a much higher level of mathematical sophistication. More physical background is also required for completing extra homeworks and the graduate project.