WHILE A SOPHISTICATED LEVEL OF QUANTITATIVE ABILITIES OR MATHEMATICAL MODELING IS NEEDED IN BOTH ACADEMIA AND PRACTICE, IT IS OFTEN PROMOTED THAT SUCH COURSES ARE ACADEMICALLY DIFFICULT SUBJECTS, RESERVED FOR THE TRULY GIFTED. WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY, STUDENTS SEEM TO RESORT TO COMPUTER SOFTWARE AS A PANACEA WITHOUT TRULY UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF THE PROBLEM. STUDENTS OFTENTIMES IGNORE THE FACT THAT MATHEMATICAL MODELING SHOULD NOT JUST BE PUNCHING NUMBERS INTO A
MODEL AND WAITING FOR WHAT COMES OUT FROM IT. LACK OF AN APPROPRIATE QUANTITATIVE SKILL COULD RESULT IN POOR DATA INTERPRETATION, INACCURATE MODELING AND IMPROPER ENGINEERING DESIGN. THE MAJOR OBJECTIVES OF THIS COURSE ARE TO STIMULATE STUDENTS’ LEARNING INTEREST IN PROBABILITY MODELING AND IMPROVE THEIR QUANTITATIVE SKILLS.