CSC-105: Introductory Computer Science at Furman
At Furman, every student’s ability to find, manipulate, analyze and
produce information using a variety of sophisticated problem-solving
techniques and computing technologies is a high priority. You have
several options for initiating such a study – through different themes
of the course CSC-105:
Introduction to Computer Science. Each
section of the course applies fundamental principles of computing to a
different real world problem. This document gives a brief overview of
the themes for upcoming offerings of CSC-105. For more information,
consult the Furman University Catalogue or contact the Department of
Computer Science at 294-2097.
FALL 2013
CSC-105-01 – Introduction to Computer Science through Bioinformatics (with Dr. Andrea Tartaro and Dr. Renee Chosed) – TR @ 1 p.m., Lab Thursday @ 2:30
Can Computer Science be used to help solve complex biological problems? Absolutely! This course will introduce you to the Computer Science discipline while you use bioinformatics tools and molecular biology techniques to represent and analyze genetic data. Specifically, we will analyze the evolution of various breeds of dogs, even your dog! This is a hands-on course, with time in the biology lab and the computer lab. You will learn some fundamentals of genetics and molecular biology as well as broad topics in computer science related to solving biological problems. Students with and without experience in Biology are welcome!
CSC-105-02 – Social Media (with Dr. Kevin Treu) – TR @ 8:30, Lab T @ 2:30
There is almost no corner of modern society that social media has failed
to reach. Tools such as Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and many others
have re-defined and greatly transformed our idea of "place", and our
very idea of social interactions.
This course goes behind the scenes of social media technology to
explore how they are designed and implemented, with a close study of the
algorithmic processes that make them work. It additionally delves into
the history of such technology, and the societal implications.
CSC-105-03 – Business Analytics and Data Mining (with Prof. Peggy Bachelor) – MWF @ 9:30, Lab M @ 2:30
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to business analytics and data mining. Together these comprise business intelligence (BI) which refers to the use of the computer to analyze and visualize complex information for use in business planning and decision making.
We will explore the analysis of new kinds of data such as social media, machine sensing and clickstream. In addition will will discuss how organizations use advanced analytics such as sentiment analysis, among other techniques to better understand their customers and products.
SPRING 2014
CSC-105-01 – Secret Communication (with Dr. Chris Healy) – MWF @ 11:30, Lab W @ 2:30
For centuries, people have sought ways to keep their messages hidden
or unreadable by eavesdroppers. We will study the various means by
which many state secrets, war plans, and credit card numbers have been
encrypted.
Today, communication is automated by computer and information technology.
To understand how secret communications work, we will delve into how
information itself such as text is represented inside the computer.
Then, we will discover how this digital information can be manipulated
into different forms. Along the way, we will learn basic problem solving
techniques on the computer.
CSC-105-02 – Secret Communication (with Dr. Chris Healy) – MWF @ 1:30, Lab Thurs @ 2:30
For centuries, people have sought ways to keep their messages hidden
or unreadable by eavesdroppers. We will study the various means by
which many state secrets, war plans, and credit card numbers have been
encrypted.
Today, communication is automated by computer and information technology.
To understand how secret communications work, we will delve into how
information itself such as text is represented inside the computer.
Then, we will discover how this digital information can be manipulated
into different forms. Along the way, we will learn basic problem solving
techniques on the computer.
CSC-105-03 – The Making and Breaking of Ciphers (with Dr. Ken Abernethy) – TR @ 11:30
Ciphers and secret codes have fascinated and intrigued humans for many centuries, and have had important impacts in our history from the simple ciphers used to deliver secret messages during Greek and Roman times to the latest ciphers that enable e-commerce over the Internet.
This course explores cryptography, the art and science of enciphering and deciphering messages using secret codes and ciphers, and the important role of computer software in devising and breaking modern ciphers. Utilizing a simple programming language, students will create programs for algorithms that implement several historically important ciphers, and devise corresponding computer programs that break these ciphers.