About The Instructor

Bruce Norton, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Norton holds a B.S. in engineering from the University of South Florida. He also holds a M.S. in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of South Florida. Dr. Norton has worked at Lincoln Laboratory, where he was actively involved in early research work in the field of modern computational fluid dynamics. He has also worked as a systems engineer for a manufacturer of military aircraft simulators and as a systems analyst for Honeywell Military Avionics. More recently he held a senior engineer position with Raytheon Company’s Missile Systems Division. Dr. Norton has taught upper level engineering courses as an instructor with the University of South Florida’s College of Engineering as well as applied mathematics topics at several other colleges. He currently teaches in the areas of applied mathematics, engineering, and computer science for the Governor’s School in addition to being the school’s de facto Information Technology Department head.

Dr. BRUCE NORTON


Dr. Bruce Norton

APPLIED MATHEMATICS and
COMPUTER SCIENCE

Phone: 276-619-4352
Email: bnorton@hgs.k12.va.us

INSTRUCTOR'S COURSE OFFERINGS

Introduction to Engineering Methods & Computer Programming

This course will introduce the fundamentals of structured computer programming and problem solving techniques using high level computer languages to students with little or no programming experience. Students will learn solution methodologies applicable to a broad range of technical and non-technical fields as well as to “think algorithmically”. Students will construct original computer code as well as use packaged software in their exploration of learning software based problem-solving techniques. Students will begin learning program design through the use of Python before advancing to C and JavaScript.

Solution strategies will emphasize problem solving in technical fields. The course is all inclusive. Thus, technical fundamentals required for problem solving will be covered as part of the course.

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DUAL ENROLLMENT CREDIT
Six Hours

PRE-REQUISITES
Algebra II

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
about this class can be obtained by exploring the links in the topic list below.


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Probability and Statistics

The first half of Probability & Statistics covers descriptive statistics, elementary probability, probability distributions, estimation, and hypothesis testing. The course continues with the study of estimation and hypothesis testing with emphasis on curvilinear and nonlinear regression, analysis of variance, chi-square tests, and non-parametric methods.

This course is designed to introduce students to fundamental techniques of probability calculation and statistical analysis. Students will learn basic mathematical tools for effective experiment design, experimental results analysis, inference from sampling data, and probability determination. Class discussion will emphasize how statistics and probability relates to contemporary topics of interest.

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DUAL ENROLLMENT CREDIT
Six Hours

PRE-REQUISITES
Algebra II

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
about this class can be obtained by exploring the links in the topic list below.


Read Less About Probability & Statistics


VIDEO

EM&CP Student Question & Answer

In this video, meet a former HGS Engineering Methods & Computer Programming student, as he answers questions about the class. [ The interview was conducted as part of a Governor's School class project. ]