I am an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer Science at Amherst College.
FYSE -- Science and Religion: Round vs. flat earth, geocentrism vs. heliocentrism, creationism vs. evolution, scripture vs. empiricism, faith vs. reason...Some of these debates have long since been settled, others continue to be fought today. Some of these debates are false dichotomies. For some people, it is unfathomable that there is any debate about some of these topics. Must these debates exist, or can there be a middle-ground? Can a person truly be a scientist and a believer? If we try to guess what this debate will look like in another 100 years, what would it be?
COSC 16 -- Computer Systems I: What is inside that box you call your computer? How, exactly, does a machine multiply two numbers, or carry out a program, or communicate with another computer? What is a computer program, and how does a mindless machine carry it out? This course is the first of a pair that examines the concepts and structures of computing hardware (processors and memory), software (operating systems, runtime systems, and compilers), and networks. We will find that each is built on layers of abstraction, and that certain problems and solutions recur throughout these components of each computing system.
You can also browse past courses.
I perform experimental systems research, primarily in the area of OS- and runtime-level memory systems. I'm interested in understanding the ways in which a program can use memory, and how a system can find and then respond to patterns of memory use. Below are links to current projects, past projects, papers, etc.
Scott F. H. Kaplan
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Amherst College
Amherst, MA 01002-5000