Visualization in scientific computing-an interdisciplinary enhancement to engineering education

The authors describe the interaction of students and faculty from various disciplines in the course of implementing state-of-the-art computer graphics techniques in the visualization of physical systems. An interdisciplinary experiment between the Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science departments at the Rochester Institute of Technology resulted in the production of a tool for the visualization of strange attractors. As a result of the interaction, students with different backgrounds were able to learn concepts and techniques that they would not normally be exposed to in their standard course of study. Engineering students were learning computer graphics techniques, and computer science students were enriched by the physics and applications that they encountered in the interdisciplinary projects. Hardware and software problems, as well as design and analysis difficulties, were taken on and addressed by groups with diverse interests and training