The first half of the class is taught in the Visual Analysis Lab and the second half is taught in the Multimedia Lab . During this course, there are three guest lectures, one on data structures by Duane Taylor, one on Chaos and Fractals by Scott Hendricks, and one on Chemical Structures by Tim Pickering. The lectures demonstrate how visual tools were first used by scientists such as Galileo and others in their scientific investigations and how we can extend these time-honored principles to the computer graphic workstation. In this course, students develop an increased understanding of how to use visual tools for interpretation and analysis of large data sets where relationships between physical properties can be better understood or possibly new relationships could be discovered. Students learn how to use multimedia software to effectively communicate these research results to others.
Emphasis is placed on how to create an effective multimedia presentation.
Other examples of using computers in educational programs at Virginia Tech. Ron Kriz , Director of Lab introducing his class on Scientific Visualization.