Teaching computer algorithms and data structures to students in engineering and the physical sciences

The author describes a new three credit-hour course at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), MACS 410: Scientific Programming in C. This one-semester course is targeted for students in engineering or the physical sciences who have finished the CSM core courses in computing and not expect to either major or minor in CS. The purpose of the class is to teach the fundamentals of scientific computing, bring students up to speed in the C programming language, and introduce them to UNIX, and available software tools and techniques. Instruction relies on two novel techniques which are expected to be applicable to other colleges: (1) MACS 410 is taught as a laboratory course with in-class exercises on UNIX workstations, and (2) it uses the XTANGO X-11 based algorithm animation program for interactive computer-based instruction