This course is designed to introduce students to the field of physics-based animation by exposing them to the underlying mathematical and algorithmic techniques required to understand and develop efficient numerical simulations of physical phenomena such as rigid bodies, deformable bodies and fluids. Topics covered include rigid body simulation, elasticity simulation, cloth simulation, collision detection and resolution and fluid simulation. Along the way, we will explore the underlying mathematics of ordinary differential equations, discrete time integration, finite element methods and more.

Students should have a strong background in Linear Algebra and Multivariate Calculus.