A new course offered by the mechanical engineering department for spring 2018 will focus on solid modeling and parallel computing using graphic processing units (GPUs).
ME 570X: Solid Modeling and GPU Computing will be taught by ME assistant professor Adarsh Krishnamurthy. The course will cover the theory and applications of solid modeling and will also provide an introduction to parallel computing using the GPU.
Specifically the course will help students understand the fundamentals of different solid modeling tools used in CAD and use the GPU available in modern workstations to accelerate scientific computing. These tools will enable students to learn an in-depth knowledge of CAD systems and their use in modern design and manufacturing.
Other topics covered throughout the semester include solid modeling fundamentals, different representations of solid geometry, introduction to parallel programming using CUDA, and applications of GPU algorithms. Students will also use SolidWorks for design and analysis and will program using C and NVIDIA CUDA.
ME 570X will serve as a counterpart to the surface modeling course already offered by the department. Krishnamurthy said that learning about solid modeling and parallel computing is important for today’s mechanical engineers because GPU computing has enabled the democratization of supercomputing with very high performance available in each workstation. However, programming the GPUs to achieve the best possible performance requires in depth understanding of the GPU architecture and programming tools. This course will enable students understand the basics of GPU programming and enable them to use GPU acceleration for their specific research needs.
For more information about this course, check out the syllabus or contact Dr. Krishnamurthy at adarsh[at]iastate.edu.