We describe the new undergraduate science degree program in Computational and Data Sciences (CDS) at George Mason University (Mason), which began offering courses for both major (B.S.) and minor degrees in Spring 2008. The overarching theme and goal of the program are to train the next-generation scientists in the tools and techniques of cyber-enabled science (e-Science) to prepare them to confront the emerging petascale challenges of data-intensive science. The Mason CDS program has a significantly stronger focus on data-oriented approaches to science than do most computational science and engineering programs. The program has been designed specifically to focus both on simulation (Computational Science) and on data-intensive applications
Kirk D. Borne, John Wallin, Robert Weigel