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Learn how to do interdisciplinary visualization research, from soup to nuts, in one semester. Or, why not, how to use visualization to analyze your own data!

This seminar class discusses computer graphics, modeling and visualization techniques used to solve scientific problems. In the second half of the class, students embark on a research project. Working in small groups, students will identify scientific problems, propose solutions involving computational modeling and visualization, design and implement the solutions, apply them to the problems, evaluate their success, and report on results. Examples might include interactive software systems, quantitative analysis tools, or new applications of existing visualizations methods.

This class is open to CS students and to students from other disciplines (biology, geology, history, physics etc.) who are interested in collaborating with computer scientists.

Prerequisites: CS students: programming experience; non-CS students: project ideas.

Structure: The class consists of lectures, guest-lectures, a few lightweight assignments, paper-reading, and a final project. This is a graduate-level class; undergraduate students need to obtain instructor's written permission first.

Grading policy: the grade for this class will be computed based on:
* Project success and demo: base for class grade. We will develop criteria for this success during the semester. This will be a group grade.
* Each handin and presentation: can alter your grade by up to 1/2 letter. To encourage class discussion, late paper-review handins will *not* be accepted. Paper-review handins are due at the beginning of each class. However, we understand midterms and other coursework may interfere with your regular warmup assignments. For these assignments only, a late handin will cost 1/3 of a letter grade off the final course grade for each calendar day it is late; each student gets five free late days before penalties accrue.
* Class participation: up to 1/2 letter grade increase.

Readings: Almost all of the readings for this class are online to reduce copying effort and costs, and to keep color imagery intact. Printing them for your own use is fine. Please look at the color images in color, though! Some of the files are huge (40-50 Mb). You may not be able to get them over a phone line.

Instructor:
Liz Marai, SENSQ 5423
Email:   marai at cs.pitt.edu
Office Hours:   Tue and Thu 12:15pm-2:15pm and by appointment

Students with disabilities: If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union, (412) 648-7890/(412) 383-7355 (TTY), as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.