Meeting Times:

Final: TBD

Office Hours: Mon 11:00 (in ERB), Tues 3:00 (at CAE)

Course Description: We will learn how to solve engineering problems using computers. Historically this has been done using procedural programming languages (usually FORTRAN, but also Pascal, C, and C++). We’ll use engineering applications, which are easier to use and thus more efficient, particularly with respect to development time, and less prone to error. The primary drawback to these applications is speed, but they should be sufficient for most of what you do here at UW, and much of what you might require at work.

Prerequisites: Math 222, Physics 201

Computers: We will work extensively with computers in this course, so you should set up your account at CAE as soon as possible. If you have no previous computing experience, don’t worry, you’ll pick things up quickly.

Course Goals: After completing this course, you should be comfortable with the equation solving applications that you are likely to need during the remainder of your academic career and at work. You also will have an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of these applications and be able to apply them in appropriate situations.

The Applications: We’ll use Microsoft Excel, Matlab, and Maple. We’ll use these on Windows PC’s.

Lectures: We will have two 50 minute lectures each week.

Laboratories: We'll add a 50 minute lab once a week. In lab we will go over some of the skills needed for the homeworks and I'll also typically have some exercises for you to go through.

Course requirements:

More on homeworks: All homeworks will be emailed to me as attached files. You shouldn’t have to print anything for this class. Every homework assignment should contain the following information: your name, the assignment number, my name, the course number, and the date. In addition, each homework problem should be appropriately labeled and the results should be easy to find and clearly described.