CSI 710

George Mason University – College of Science

CSI 710
Scientific and Statistical Databases
Fall Semester 2007

Course Website: http://classweb.gmu.edu/kborne/csi710/
Online Course Material: please log into http://webct41.gmu.edu/ every week to get updates, lecture slides, assignments.
UPDATED: Fall 2007 Course Details
UPDATED: Fall 2007 Reading Assignments
Group Projects: Email and Documents to be stored at http://webct41.gmu.edu/
**PLEASE NOTE: Instructors may submit Term Papers to the TurnItIn.com plagiarism-detection service, in compliance with GMU policy, Provost approval, and the GMU Honor Code.
Cross-listed Course Number: IT 864
Lecture Day/Time: Tuesday 7:20-10:00 PM (August 28 – December 11)
Lecture Place: Room B113, Robinson Hall
Course Instructors:
- Dr. Ruixin Yang, Associate Professor, Earth Systems and GeoInformation Sciences
  - Office: Research Building 1 (RB 1), Room 226, phone 703-993-3615 (with voicemail)
  - Office Hours: Tuesdays 5:00-7:00pm (prior to class)
  - E-Mail: yang(at)yang.gmu.edu
  - Mailbox: Mailstop 6C3, CEOSR Office, Research Building 1.
- Dr. Kirk Borne, Associate Professor, Astrophysics and Computational Science
  - Office: Research Building 1 (RB 1), Room 357, phone 703-993-8402 (with voicemail)
  - Office Hours: by appointment
  - E-Mail: kborne(at)gmu.edu
  - Mailbox: Mailstop 6A2, CDS Office, Research Building 1.
- Dr. Keun-Hang Susan Yang, Associate Professor, Earth Systems and Geoinformation Sciences (ESGS)
  - Office: Research Building 1 (RB 1), Room 321, phone 703-993-1997 (with voicemail)
  - Office Hours: by appointment
  - E-Mail: kyang1(at)gmu.edu
  - Mailbox: Mailstop 6A2, ESGS Office, Research Building 1.
Required Textbooks:
1. Korth, Silberschatz, & Sudarshan, Database System Concepts. McGraw-Hill, 2005 (5th edition). ISBN: 0-07-295886-3.
2. 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.
Course Description (from GMU course catalog):
- 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: INFS 614 (Database Management), or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Grading:
- 20% = Homework and Class Participation
- 20% = Research Project Team Paper (including peer evaluation) (see NOTE above regarding TurnItIn.com).
- 20% = Research Project Team Presentation (including peer evaluation)
- 40% = Final Exam (2 parts: take-home plus in-class)
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: September 6, 2007