Visualization in scientific computing-an interdisciplinaryenhancement to engineering education

摘要

The authors describe the interaction of students and faculty fromvarious disciplines in the course of implementing state-of-the-artcomputer graphics techniques in the visualization of physical systems.An interdisciplinary experiment between the Mechanical Engineering andComputer Science departments at the Rochester Institute of Technologyresulted in the production of a tool for the visualization of strangeattractors. As a result of the interaction, students with differentbackgrounds were able to learn concepts and techniques that they wouldnot normally be exposed to in their standard course of study.Engineering students were learning computer graphics techniques, andcomputer science students were enriched by the physics and applicationsthat they encountered in the interdisciplinary projects. Hardware andsoftware problems, as well as design and analysis difficulties, weretaken on and addressed by groups with diverse interests and training