Scientific Visualization Prof. V. Pascucci Lecturers: A. Gyulassy, J. Tierny TA: Q. Liu mailing list: 2009_cs6630 "at" pascucci.org (2009_cs6630-subscribe "at" pascucci.org to register)

Class Information:

Term	Number (index)	Subject	Catalog #	Section	Days	Time	Location	Office Hours
Fall 2009	7233	CS	6630	0001	Tuesday, Thursday	10:45 PM-12:05 PM	WEB L112	TBD
	7232		5630

Course Overview. This course provides an introduction to Scientific Visualization techniques used for the effective presentation of data from a variety of disciplines including medicine, engineering, physics and biology. Students will learn about the use of fundamental approaches (color map selection, isocontouring, volume rendering, streamlines, etc…), as well as efficient algorithms for their computation. Special emphasis will be given to the correctness of the results provided, and the reliability of the insight provided to the users/scientists. In the study of visualization algorithms we will emphasize the selection of efficient data structures, complexity analysis, practical efficiency, and verification of the quality of the output generated. Successful completion of the course will enable the students pursuing new research directions in this field as well as applying the most recent visualization techniques for the presentation of data from simulations and experiments and aid the users in the science discovery process.

Prerequisites. There are no formal prerequisites for this class. Students will be expected to have basic knowledge of geometric data structures and algorithmic techniques.

Tentative Syllabus (changes based on student feedback will be considered):

Class Introduction (slides4pp,)	The visualization pipeline (slides4pp, notes, cone_example)	The scientist and the data analysis/visualization expert: discussion and homework assignment	Elementary Plotting Techniques: part 1 (slides4pp, notes)
August 25	August 27	September 1	September 3
Elementary Plotting Techniques: part 2 (slides4pp, Plotting Examples)	2D Visualization Techniques: part 1 (slides4pp, notes)	Overview of 2D Vector Field Visualization Techniques (slides4pp,notes)	Introduction to 2D Vector Field Topology: part 1 (slides4pp)
September 8	September 10	September 15	September 17
Introduction to 2D Vector Field Topology: part 2 (slides4pp, thesis chaper 2, eigenvectors, homework2)	Marching Cubes (slides4pp, notes)	Isosurface Accelleration Techniques	Basic Volume Rendering
September 22	September 24	September 29	October 1
Advanced Volume Rendering	GPU-Based Volume Rendering	Unstructured Grids	Transfer Function Specification
October 6	October 8	October 20	October 22
Advanced Transfer Function Issues	Tufte Principles	Application of Tufte Principles	Streamlines
October 27	October 29	November 3	November 5
Vortices	LIC	Parallel Coordinates	Basic Graph Drawing
November 10	November 12	November 17	November 19
Case Studies in Scientific Visualization
November 24	December 1	December 3	December 10
December 18 Final Project Due!

Reading and supplemental material

There is no formal book for class. The instructor will distribute printouts of notes or research papers related to each lecture.

The following links include various relevant materials such as book, research papers, and software:

· Books:

· Bruce H. McCormick, Thomas A. DeFanti and Maxine D. Brown (eds.) (1987). Visualization in Scientific Computing. ACM Press.

· Gregory M. Nielson, Hans Hagen and Heinrich Müller (1997). Scientific Visualization: Overviews, Methodologies, and Techniques. IEEE Computer Society.

· Clifford A. Pickover (ed.) (1994). Frontiers of Scientific Visualization. New York: John Willey Inc.

· Lawrence J. Rosenblum (ed.) (1994). Scientific Visualization: Advances and challenges. Academic Press.

· Will Schroeder, Ken Martin, Bill Lorensen (2003). The Visualization Toolkit. Kitware, Inc.

· Other links:

· VisTrails

· VTK

· ITK

· VisIT

· ParaView

Assignments

The students will be given individual and group assignments. The main assignment will be a project. Although the students will be provided with a list of available projects, the students are encouraged to propose projects in areas of personal interest. For larger projects the students will be allowed to work in small groups.

Late Submission of Assignments

Assignments will not be accepted late. Students will be given a one-time two-day extension for an unexpected event.

Class Participation and Absences

Participation in class is an integral part of the course. Attendance is mandatory.
More than two unjustified absences will impact negatively the grade.

Grading

Each student will be evaluated based on:

Attendance and participation in class (20%),

Assignments (30%),

Project (40%),

Final project presentation (10%).

Students With Disabilities

The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD). CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations.

All written information in this course can be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services.