Some experience with computer graphics algorithms preferred. The use of Graphics Processing Units for computer graphics rendering is well known, but their power for general parallel computation is only recently being explored. Parallel algorithms running on GPUs can often achieve up to 100x speedup over similar CPU algorithms. This course covers programming techniques for the Graphics processing unit, focusing on visualization and simulation of various systems. Labs will cover specific applications in graphics, mechanics, and signal processing. The course will use nVidia's parallel computing architecture, CUDA. Labwork requires extensive programming.