B4. Project Organization

B4.1 The SCSI Workshop

B4.1.1 Overview

B4.1.1.a The Introductory Workshop: Running Models

This workshop introduces faculty to models and modeling, with a view towards helping them recognize the pitfalls and promises of numerical models. A model for the approach we take to running models in this workshop is that of a veterinarian examining a potentially sick animal: approaching with caution, we poke the model gently in various places till it bites.

Topics will include: Introduction to Modeling, The Role of Observation, Qualitative vs. Quantitative Models, Discrete vs. Continuous Models, Spreadsheet and Simple Interactive Modeling Environments, and Solving Models vs. Simulating Models. Faculty will work through a number of case studies, learning about the early steps on the educational launch ramp: hand waving, mathematical formulation of a model, simple modeling tools, and running other people's models (OPM's). Faculty learn how to test a model for expected behavior, how to interpret the results of a numerical model, and how to adapt OPM's for their own use. The material will be applicable in introductory science and mathematics courses. Teams will focus on ways to incorporate this material into their own courses or work to develop an interdisciplinary, computational science course for their home institutions. Emphasis at the introductory level will be understanding the limits placed on the computational model by both the application and the computing platform.

We will foster an appreciation for high-precision science by examining a variety of problems where the correctness of the model is essential and where even small numerical errors or instabilities could render the results meaningless. Representative problems include laser focusing; timing problems in the Patriot Missile tracking algorithm; and the Hubble telescope design, fabrication, and verification. Examination of a variety of computational models will allow the participants to explore the analogous physical behaviors in different sciences. A variety of N-body problems in physics, chemistry, and biology could be used as projects, showing how advances in the solution of these problems are enhanced by the proper application of computational tools, techniques, and technologies. An example of how one such problem may be treated is the predator-prey-environment problem that is simple in formulation but can quickly generate chaotic solutions or meaningless results. An implementation plan for this example
is included in the Appendix.

The design of this introductory workshop was funded by the Mellon Fund and successfully tested in early June 1997 at a workshop attended by 11 faculty from ACS and Shodor related institutions.