CSI 710 Scientific Databases

School of Physics, Astronomy, and Computational Sciences
George Mason University -- College of Science

CSI 710
Scientific Databases
Fall Semester 2012
Online (Distance Ed) Course

*****IMPORTANT NOTE: Last Day to Add Classes = September 4, 2012.
Course Syllabus Website: http://classweb.gmu.edu/kborne/csi710fall2012/
Supplemental Syllabus Information:
Honor Code:
- Instructors may submit Exam Papers, Homework solutions, or any other student assignment to either the TurnItIn.com or the SafeAssign plagiarism-detection services, in compliance with all of the following: GMU policy, Provost approval, and the GMU Honor Code.
- Plagiarism will not be tolerated.
Online Course Material: This course is taught entirely online. There will be assignments, activities, and discussion topics each week! Please log into http://mymason.gmu.edu/ at least two times each week to participate in the required weekly activities, to get announcements, to read weekly lecture slides, to view any videos from the instructor, and to complete your online assignments. The class week will begin on Wednesday mornings, and will conclude on Tuesday evenings. Assignments for a given week must be submitted within that week's time window, unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor.
Course Details: Fall 2012 Course Details
Reading Assignments (*LAST UPDATED September 26, 2012*) (subject to change): See CSI 710 Reading Assignments.
Group Projects:
- Activities (including group email discussions) must be documented online within your assigned discussion group at http://mymason.gmu.edu/.
- Group membership will be decided early in the semester, based upon class interests and individual choices.
- Group Discussion Groups will be created in MyMason.gmu.edu only after your topics and group members are selected (by you!).
Lecture Day/Time: NO SPECIFIC TIME -- This is an asynchronous distance education course, taught entirely online. *Asynchronous* means that you may complete your weekly activities at any time that you choose during that week. (see https://patriotweb.gmu.edu/)
Lecture Place: This course is taught entirely online via MyMason.gmu.edu.
Exams: only one exam -- Final Exam: instructions will be announced.
Grading:
- 30% = Homework and Class Participation
- 20% = Research Project Team Paper (including peer evaluation)
- 20% = Research Project Team Presentation (including peer evaluation)
- 30% = Final Exam
Course Instructor: Dr. Kirk Borne, Professor of Astrophysics and Computational Science
- Office: Research Hall, Room 357, phone 703-993-8402 (with voicemail)
- Office Hours: by appointment
- Instructor's Travel Schedule: http://classweb.gmu.edu/kborne/travel-schedule.htm
- E-Mail: kborne(at)gmu(dot)edu (Students: http://masonlive.gmu.edu/) (Faculty: https://mail.gmu.edu/)
- Mailbox: Mailstop 6A2, Research Hall.
Required Textbook:
1. Korth, Silberschatz, & Sudarshan, Database System Concepts. McGraw-Hill, 2010 (6th edition). ISBN: 9780073523323.
Optional Supplemental Reading:
1. Rotem & Shoshani, Scientific Data Management: Challenges, Technology, and Deployment. Chapman & Hall, 2009. ISBN: 9781420069808.
2. Hey, Tansley, & Tolle, The Fourth Paradigm: Data-Intensive Scientific Discovery. Microsoft Research, 2009. ISBN: 9780982544204.
3. Daconta, Obrst, & Smith, The Semantic Web: A Guide to the Future of XML, Web Services, and Knowledge Management. Wiley, 2003. ISBN: 0-471-43257-1.
Technology Requirements:
- Access to Internet. Active user accounts on myMason.gmu.edu and on http://masonlive.gmu.edu/.
Course Description (from GMU course catalog):
- (3 credits) Study of database support for scientific data management. Covers requirements and properties of scientific databases, data models for statistical and scientific databases, semantic and object-oriented modeling of application domains, statistical database query languages and query optimization, advanced logic query languages, and case studies such as the human genome project and Earth-orbiting satellites.
Prerequisites:
1. For non-COS students only : INFS 614 (Database Management), or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Course Objectives:
1. to analyze database and data management concepts and technologies that benefit scientific research;
2. to become familiar with a variety of large scientific database projects -- goals & implementation;
3. to become capable in using database and data management techniques to solve scientific problems; and
4. to acquire knowledge in database and data management techniques that will enable the student to progress to more advanced courses, research projects, and employment opportunities that require database skills and science data management capability.

Author: Kirk D. Borne
Last Update: 26-September-2012