Final Project

Introduction

The final project in this course will provide an opportunity to pursue another area of scientific or technical computing. You may choose one of several proposed projects. Some of these build on previous projects, while there are several that explore topics not covered directly in class, but for which we have covered the necessary skills. You will need to submit the code for your project or a written paper describing your research and prepare a short oral presentation describing your work. You will also submit the presentation. Presentations will take place during the regularly scheduled final exam time for this course. Teams of 2-3 students are strongly encouraged for this project!

Option 1: Programming

There are several options for programming, some expanding on the "Game of Life" or "Random Walk" minilabs, to simulate other events, while others explore new concepts and models. These include:

Spreading of Fire: Develop a two-dimensional simulation for the spread of fire from an initial landscape of empty ground, non-burning trees, and trees that are on fire. (Simulation code provided, project suggestions for refinements and additional scenarios.)
Movement of Ants: Develop a simulation of the movement of ants in the presence of a chemical trail. (Pseudocode provided. Additional project ideas as variations of this provided.)
Modeling the Spread of SARS - Containing Emerging Disease: Use system dynamics to model the spread of disease. (Basic model for spread of SARS is provided, several suggestions given to adjust the model, or to develop a similar model for additional diseases. Data also provided.)
Clustering: Explore the process of K-Means Clustering and its application to cell-phone tower placement. A Mini-lab to Explore Clustering and a project description are provided. (Ignore the due dates listed on the project description. Use the dates listed here in this project.)
Expand on Random Walks: Choose one of the projects listed in this reading: Random Walk Module or expand on one of these with an application you find interesting.

Submission

You will submit the code for your project (via a Google Colab link or a well-documented Python file), as well as your presentation. It is strongly recommended that you write your code in Google Colab, to make it easy to collaborate with your team, and to make it easy to describe what your code is doing and what you are investigating with it. Your presentation should describe the topic you chose, what you wanted to investigate, and what you learned from that investigation.

Option 2: Research

This list is not exhaustive; see me if you want to propose a topic not on this list.

Choose a project from this course on Earth and Environmental Data Science to research and report on.
Research Other simulations that can be done using the "Game of Life" as a basis:
- Propagation of Dandelions or pollen
- Spread of COVID-19
Research other applications of "Random Walks", such as:
- Snow fall
- Ripples in a pond
- Mutation of genes
- Sand in water
Research another topic that interests you related to scientific computing. (See instructor for approval of topic before going too far with this!)

Submission

You will submit a written report of your research, approximately 5 pages long. Your report should include an introduction to your topic, what you were investigating about it, and what you learned. Your presentation should include these same things. Your paper and presentation should include any sources you used.

Friday of 9th Week

By Friday of 9th Week you should submit a short (one-page) project progress report. This document should include which option you are doing (programming or research), which project/research area you are working on, why it is interesting, and what you are investigating about it. You should inlcude the names of everyone on the team and how responsibilities will be shared. You should also include an update on any progress made at this point.

Presentation Guidelines

During the final exam time for the class, each team will give a presentation about their project. The presentation should be 6-8 minutes long. Slightly longer or slightly shorter is okay. Presentations may include information, pictures, possibly even short videos from other sources, but respect copyright and intellectual integrity. It is not recommended that you include big segments of code in your presentation. If it is necessary to show a little segment to aid in audience understanding, that's fine. Large sections of code and/or mathematical equations are often big distractors, as the audience immediately starts trying to figure out how it works and stops listening to the speaker(s).

Cite your sources! (You may use MLA style, APA style, ACM style, or another style of your own devising, so long as you include all the appropriate information.)

PRACTICE! There is no other way to make sure that you have the timing right.

Grading Criteria (40 pts)

(ALL) Presentation (10 pts)

3 pts Structure

Overall structure/organization (& be explicit if appropriate)
Flow/transitions
Presentation length

4 pts Content

Appropriate breadth/depth
Appropriate CS/technology content
Accurate
Appropriate attribution of your sources

3 pts Presentation

Speed
Eye contact / natural (not just reading)
Appropriate content on slides (including text, pictures, video)
Slides are clear and readable

(OPTION 1) Program (30 pts)

20 pts Functionality

Functions have clear purpose
Model is used appropriately
Program works correclty

5 pts Style/Organization

Program is organized into appropriate functions
Algorithms are clear

5 pts Documentation and Comments

Appropriate documentation at beginning of program to describe program and authors
Appropriate comments before each function
Appropriate comments describing complicated segments of code

(OPTION 2) Research Paper (30 pts)

20 pts Content

Appropriate introduction and summary
Appropriate breadth/depth
Appropriate CS/Scientific computing content
Accurate information from academic sources
Appropriate attribution of sources

10 pts Style and Organization

Overall organization and structure
Appropriate use of paragraphs
Appropriate use of sentence structure and grammar