*** We welcome and encourage all sophomore students to take this course. All the necessary fundamental backgrounds will be covered. :) ***

This course offers an in-depth exploration of parallel computing, a field of increasing significance in contemporary computer science. As the number of processor cores in both server and desktop environments continues to grow, the challenge of efficiently harnessing these abundant computational resources has become paramount. The course addresses this challenge by providing students with a comprehensive understanding of parallel programming paradigms and the underlying architectures of parallel multi-core processors, including both Central Processing Units (CPUs) and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).

The curriculum is structured to progress from fundamental concepts to advanced topics in parallel computing. Students will acquire not only software-related skills crucial for writing efficient parallel programs but also gain insights into the hardware architectures that support parallelism. This dual focus enables students to develop strategies for accelerating existing programs, optimizing the utilization of computational resources, and enhancing the computation-to-communication ratio — all critical factors in maximizing system performance.

Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on practical applications of parallel computing principles. Students will engage with real-world scenarios that demonstrate the importance of parallel programming in addressing complex computational problems. The course will also explore current trends and future directions in parallel computing, preparing students for the evolving landscape of high-performance computing.

By the conclusion of this course, students will possess a robust foundation in parallel computing, equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to design, implement, and optimize parallel algorithms across a variety of computational platforms. This expertise will position students at the forefront of a critical area in computer science, ready to tackle the computational challenges of the future.