• Course Syllabus (pdf)
• Exercises
• Notes
• Textbook
• Computing Requirements
• Disabilities
• Useful Links
• Project description
• Projects Link
  • Sample topics from previous years

Instructor: Frank Toffoletto (toffo@rice.edu) x3641

Time (2 sessions): Tuesday/Thursday, 1:00 – 2:20 & 2:20 – 4:00, Location: Symonds 1 (Sewall 207) - Not HZ 119

• Computers play an important role in modern physics research and a working familiarity with them should be important part of a physicist's education.
• The class will mostly consist of interactive laboratory sessions with programming assignments coupled with short introductory lectures.
• The goal of this course is not to teach programming languages but to familiarize you with usable methods and techniques and to use these techniques to tackle a variety of interesting physical real-world problems.
• The emphasis will be less on programming and formal numerical methods and more on what kind of problems are appropriate for solving on a computer. Each new technique or approach will be introduced with relevant physics problems drawn from various disciplines of physics.
• Prerequisites: Although the online catalogue on the registrars webpage lists a plethora of formal requirements (such as PHYS 301, 302, and 311; CAAM 336 or MATH 381; some programming), the real requirements are some upper level physics and mathematics as well as some programming experience.

Interested? Please contact Frank Toffoletto.

Textbook:

Alejandro L. Garcia, Numerical Methods for Physics (Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs NJ, 2000) ISBN 0-13-906744-2 LC Call No.: QC20.G37 2000.

• Programs for Numerical Methods for Physics.
• Errata for textbook (pdf)
• Search engine

Computing requirements:

• You will need an owlnet account (apply here).
• You will also need a pc password account to be able to login into the pcs and macs on campus, go to the owlnet page and look for the Change your PC/Mac Password link and follow the instructions. There is a help page available on this.

Students with Disabilities:

• Any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments or accommodations is requested to speak with me during the first two weeks of class. All discussions will remain confidential. Students with disabilities will need to also contact Disability Support Services in the Ley Student Center.

Useful Links:

• MATLAB Introduction from Rice IT
• Using XWin32 on a PC
• Tips and Tricks in MATLAB (a work in progress)

Last Updated: January 4, 2008 by FRT