CS5390 - Special Topics in Computer Science:
Cyber-infrastructure Applications
Spring 2012

  • Instructor: Natalia Villanueva Rosales, e-mail: natalia [at] natalia-villanueva.com, office: TBA.  
  • Class time: Wednesdays, 9:00-11:40 am.  
  • Location: Cyber-ShARE Visualization Laboratory. Classroom Building, Room 402.
  • Office hours: TBA. Please use email as main means of communication with instructor.

Course Description

Cyber-infrastructure refers to the use of data sources, technology and human expertise to support modern scientific research. This course will introduce cyber-infrastructure foundations and scientific applications with a focus on semantic web technologies and current research trends in the field. Hands-on activities are used to illustrate practical aspects of cyber-infrastructure.
This course is intended for graduate students and senior undergraduate students in Science and Engineering. There are no hard prerequisites for this class. However, students should have some experience in programming (preferably Java) and database management. Undergraduate students should email the instructor to confirm they have such experience. Familiarity with first order logic is a bonus.



Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • - Demonstrate knowledge and understanding about cyber-infrastructure technologies, identify their advantages and challenges.
  • - Model scientific knowledge via ontologies by identifying and organizing conceptual elements via ontologies.
  • - Use cyber-infrastructure to access, integrate and retrieve scientific data.
  • - Identify current trends in cyber-infrastructure research and technologies.

Topics

The topics covered in this course include:

  • - Cyber-infrastructure platforms and applications.
  • - The quest for semantics.
  • - Semantic Web Languages and ontology engineering.
  • - Current and future trends of cyber-infrastructure for scientific research.


Grading

  • 1. Project 50%.
  • 2. Presentations and assignments 30%.
  • 3. Exam 20%.


Recommended references and resources


Standards of conduct

Students are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and courteous manner, as prescribed in the Student Conduct and Discipline section of UTEP’s Standards of Conduct available here. Graded work should be of your own, plagiarism will not be tolearete. Professors are required to report academic dishonesty and any other violation of the Standards of Conduct to the Dean of Students.
Students may discuss requirements and background information. However, desgins, implementations and documentation must be prepared individually or by the members of the group assigned. The Dean of Students has published a website with complete details concerning the UTEP Academic Honesty policy available here.

Academic accommodations

Students with dissabilities that require accommodation should contact the Disable Disabled Student Services Office at 747-5148, go to Room 106 E. Union or e-mail to dss@utep.edu.

Note: This website is a work in progress. Last modification on January 17, 2012.



natalia[at]natalia-villanueva.com