This is a undergraduate-level course designed by Prof.Brendan Meade. I worked as a teaching fellow for this course in the fall of year 2022. I was responsible for computation sessions, grading homeworks and exams, and holding office hours. The course covers extensive scientific topics, including biology, exoplanets, atmoshere, and earthquakes. The course is designed to be accessible to students with no prior knowledge of python programming. The course is also designed to be hands-on, with a focus on learning python programming language to create dynamic computational notebooks that interweave code, images, comments, questions, and analysis. Here is my teaching materials and proposed course projects.

Course Description

From climate change and COVID to biological evolution and exoplanets, computation is an essential element of modern science. It allows us to find insights in a sea of data, ask principled questions about the future, and perform experiments without a laboratory. In this class, we’ll learn the practice of computer programming, and quantitative questioning, through both data-driven and model-oriented case studies focused on the earth, the universe, and living systems. To explore these topics we’ll use the Python programming language to create dynamic computational notebooks that interweave code, images, comments, questions, and analysis. This introductory class will illuminate how computation is changing the nature of science, and provide undergraduate students with the experience and tools to engage in scientific research.

Recommended textbook

Python Programming and Numerical Methods: A Guide for Engineers and Scientists by Qingkai Kong, Timmy Siauw, and Alexandre Bayen.