About
Welcome to the JPL-Caltech Virtual Summer School on Big Data Analytics!
（大数据分析为什么重要）
The motivation: Computational skills and methodology needed for
the analysis and interpretation of ever more massive and complex data sets are
essential for the scientific and technological workforce in the 21st
century. This virtual summer school addresses this need. After all,
Harvard Business Review declared that Data Scientist is the
sexiest job of the 21st century.
（什么是summer school，就是一个集训营，在某一段时间学习一些advanced topics）
What is it? This Coursera MOOC is not really a class in the
commonly understood sense. It is the collection of lectures and materials
presented during our advanced summer school, where we interact with a small
subset of students over a period of 9 work days (Sep. 2-12, 2014). These
students have been selected from a large number of applicants, and that
enrollment is now closed; it does not include all of the Coursera
students. By a "summer school" we mean an intensive（加强的） period of learning on some advanced topic(s), the way this term is
understood by most scientists. These materials are presented here for a
broader benefit, and you can study them at your own pace. While some of
the instructors may answer a question or two in the forums, they are not
required to do so, so you should not necessarily expect the instructors to
answer your questions in the discussion forums. However, you can (and
probably should) interact with other students through the forums. If you
can confidently answer a question from another student, please do so.
（这个课程是advance level而不是入门级，面对的对象是研究生、博士后、科学家）
Who is it for? This is an advanced level (not an introductory),
highly condensed, intensive school, aimed at researchers who need to broaden
their computational data science skills, who already have a sufficient
background to benefit from it effectively, and who can make the necessary time
and effort commitment. The target audience is graduate students,
postdocs, or research scientists. It is not aimed at casual learners,
students without a sufficient preparation in computing and statistics, or those
simply curious about the big data science; such needs may be better served in
other venues.
（包含的内容）
What does it (and does it not) cover? The school covers a limited number of topics,
with a focus on practical computing applications in research: the skills needed
for computational ("big data") science. It is about the tools and methods for knowledge
discovery in massive and complex data sets. It is not about
computer science as such, but it does include some aspects of applied computer
science. It is not about high performance computing, numerical methods,
simulations, or any hardware-related subjects. The specific scientific focus is on applications
in astrophysics（天体物理学）, earth science (e.g., climate science)
and other areas of space science, but with an emphasis on the general tools,
methods, and skills that would apply across other domains as well. In the future versions of this school we may add more topics.
（打分与证书：没有作业练习和考试，只是一堂开放课）
The grading and the credit: There are no quizzes or exams, or grading in any form.
There is no academic credit or a Statement of Accomplishment offered in
this class. This is a free on-line offering from Caltech and JPL to those
who simply wish to learn more about the covered subjects, at their own pace.
（由谁提供）
Support: This summer school is supported by the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory and the Keck Institute for Space Science, California
Institute of Technology.