00-introduction[1] - ENG 1D04(Engineering Computation Fall...

ENG 1D04 (Engineering Computation) Fall 2010
00 Introduction to the Course
Dr. William M. Farmer and Dr. Spencer Smith
Faculty of Engineering, McMaster University
16 September 2010

Outline
Administrative details
Mission of the course.
Instructional staff.
Course structure.
Advice.
Work plan.
W. M. Farmer and S. Smith ENG 1D04 Fall 2010: 00 Introduction to the Course 2/29

Administrative Details
Tutorials and labs start this week.
Bring your laptop to your first tutorial.
All written materials, including these slides, are available
on the Avenue to Learn.
You may attend only the lecture for the section in which
you are registered.
For this week only you may attend any tutorial or lab.
W. M. Farmer and S. Smith ENG 1D04 Fall 2010: 00 Introduction to the Course 3/29

Mission
Computing is, among other things, an extremely powerful and
flexible problem solving tool that every engineer needs to
understand and be able to use. The mission of the course is to
introduce students to the field of computing and teach them
how to solve engineering problems by designing algorithms and
then implementing them in software using a modern
programming language.
W. M. Farmer and S. Smith ENG 1D04 Fall 2010: 00 Introduction to the Course 4/29

Course Objectives
By the end of the course the student should:
1. Understand the fundamental principles of computer
programming.
2. Understand the software development model.
3. Understand the importance and value of computing in the
Engineering profession.
4. Be comfortable programming in the Python programming
language.
W. M. Farmer and S. Smith ENG 1D04 Fall 2010: 00 Introduction to the Course 5/29

Case Study: Therac-25 [1/3]
The Therac-25 was a radiation therapy machine for
treating cancer.
Produced by the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
(AECL).
Controlled by software.
How it worked.
Provided both electron beam and X-ray treatment.
The machine produced low to high energy electron
beams.
X-rays were produced by rotating a target into the path
of a high energy electron beam.
Used in several clinics across North America.
W. M. Farmer and S. Smith ENG 1D04 Fall 2010: 00 Introduction to the Course 6/29

Case Study: Therac-25 [2/3]
In six separate incidents in the 1980s, Therac-25 machines
delivered overdoses of radiation causing severe physical
damage or even death to the patients being treated.
The second incident, which took place in Hamilton,
resulted in administration of 13 000 – 17 000 rads of
radiation (200 rads is regular treatment and 1000 rads
can be fatal).
Three patients ultimately died from radiation poisoning.
What went wrong.
Software failed to detect that the target was not in place.
Software failed to detect that the patient was receiving
radiation.
Software failed to prevent the patient from receiving an
overdose of radiation.