Columbus State part of $250,000 project to improve and standardize computational science courses in Ohio colleges

Tidal waves, viral infection, and the sociology of peer pressure. No, those aren’t the themes of the latest blockbuster movie, but just a few of the disparate topics that are being explored using computational science.

Columbus State is participating in a new National Science Foundation project to help Ohio’s college and university students expand their knowledge in this emerging field.

Educators and researchers at the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC), Capital University, and the Ohio Learning Network (OLN) will lead the two-year study to improve and standardize undergraduate computational science course curriculum at Ohio’s two- and four-year institutions. Columbus State is one of only two community colleges to participate in the study. The other is Sinclair Community College in Dayton.

The study also will focus on promoting opportunities for minority students to study the field of computational science.

Computational science is an emerging interdisciplinary field that utilizes mathematics, computing and science to advance knowledge in fields such as biology, chemistry, engineering, and physical, computer and social sciences. Computational science also has the potential to make those fields more exciting and accessible to undergraduates.

Mathematics Professor Gerald Mueller

Some examples of research using computational science models include such varied topics as the formation of tidal waves, the effects of various drugs on the human body, viral infection of cells, and the sociological results of peer pressure.

According to Eric Stahlberg, a senior researcher at OSC, involving undergraduate students directly in advanced projects allows them to experience opportunities, apply their education, and see how they can personally help shape the future in many disciplines.

According to Gerald Mueller, professor in Columbus State’s Mathematics Department, Columbus State could begin to offer a program in computational science within the next few years. “Our goal would be to offer most of the courses required of the computational science minor, but several courses would not be taken until a student’s junior and senior years,” said Mueller.

Mueller is serving as the campus coordinator for the grant project. Mort Javadi in Biology and Kent Fisher in Physics are also participating by developing course modules in their disciplines that illustrate computational science modeling and simulation tools. “These modules can then be used in a variety of existing math and science courses, as well as any future courses in computational science that we might offer,” said Mueller.

Research on improving cyber-infrastructure will be coordinated and assisted by OSC and will involve faculty and students from a consortium of nine Ohio schools that will develop computational science modules for delivering course content tailored to community, four-year, and minority-serving colleges. The materials will meet educational objectives for computer science courses, and Internet video technologies will facilitate shared instruction over Ohio’s Third Frontier Network (TFN).

Teaching undergraduate college students how to create and deploy computer simulations as a standardized component of biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering courses will determine whether Ohio and the United States maintain a leadership role in these fields.

Many science courses have had content guidelines in place for a number of years, but for newer areas of science, such as computational science, there are no universally agreed upon content guidelines regarding what should be taught to college undergraduates.

OLN Executive Director Kate Carey said Ohio has the opportunity to build a very strong computational science initiative, and this project offers students the opportunity for excellent learning experiences regardless of which Ohio institution they attend.

“What business and industry does in the 21st century is vastly different than what they did in the 20th century,” Carey said “We need to have educated and skilled Ohioans who are trained in the computational science techniques that will drive innovations for research in business and industry in the coming 50 years.”

An education advisory committee that includes representatives from Ohio institutions Parker Hannifin, NASA Glenn Research Center, Proctor & Gamble, Battelle, Merck, Optimer Photonics, and Libbey will provide direction and recommendations for the project. The committee will review the proposed curriculum and learning outcomes and offer advice on program requirements that will produce students prepared for internships and full-time employment.

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