John E. Parker, PhD

Visiting Assistant Professor Department of Computer Science Williams College

Listed below are all courses I have taught and the respective course catalog descriptions from each institution.
(*) Denotes courses that I designed.

Williams College (Instructor, 2025-2026)

CSCI 317: Foundations of Computational Neuroscience* How does the brain process information? Despite the continuous scientific pursuits to understand the brain, many questions about brain function remain unanswered. In this course, we take an interdisciplinary, hands-on approach to understanding the brain, focusing on how neural systems encode, transmit, and decode information. Students will learn foundational techniques in computational neuroscience as it pertains to simulating neuronal dynamics with canonical models such as the integrate-and-fire, Hodgkin-Huxley, and Wilson-Cowan equations, performing statistical analysis of neurological data, and examining biological neural networks and their parallels to artificial intelligence.
CSCI 104: Data Science and Computing for All Many of the world’s greatest discoveries and most consequential decisions are enabled or informed by the analysis of data from a myriad of sources. Indeed, the ability to wrangle, visualize, and draw conclusions from data is now a critical tool in the sciences, business, medicine, politics, other academic disciplines, and society as a whole. This course lays the foundations for quantifying relationships in data by exploring complementary computational, statistical, and visualization concepts. These concepts will be reinforced by lab experiences designed to teach programming and statistics skills while analyzing real-world data sets. This course will also examine the broader context and social issues surrounding data analysis, including privacy and ethics.

University of Pittsburgh (Instructor, 2021-2022, Fall 2023)

MATH 0290: Differential Equations This course presents an introduction to the theory of differential equations from an applied perspective. Topics include linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equations, Laplace transform, and introduction to partial differential equations.
MATH 0220: Analytic Geometry and Calculus I This is the first of a sequence of three basic calculus courses. It covers the derivative and integral of functions of one variable and their applications.
MATH 0125: Calculus for Business I This is the first half of a two course sequence (0125-0126). It will cover concepts such as limits, continuity, differentiation and integration. Maximization and minimization of functions will also be covered, with emphasis placed on applications in the social sciences, especially business and economics.

University of New Hampshire (Teaching Assistant, 2016-2021)

PHYS 408H: Honors/General Physics II Introductory course emphasizing waves, sound, heat, electricity and magnetism. Recommended for students specializing in science and engineering. The honors version covers the same material as the traditional lecture course, but with three two-hour classes per week, most of which is spent working on activities in groups (rather than lecture). Students in the Honors section must be co-enrolled in MATH 426H so that strong connections can be made between math and physics. 408H students work in groups in every class meeting. Students in this version do not register for a recitation or lab, since these activities are integrated into the regular class meetings. Lab.
PHYS 407S: General Physics I Studio Introductory course emphasizing motion, forces, energy, momentum, rotation, and oscillations. Recommended for the student specializing in science and engineering. The Studio version covers the same material as the traditional lecture course, but with three two-hour classes per week, most of which is spent working on activities in groups (rather than lecture). Students in this version do not register for a recitation or lab since these activities are integrated into the regular class meetings. Prereq: thorough knowledge of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Lab.
PHYS 407: General Physics I Introductory course emphasizing motion, forces, energy, momentum, rotation, and oscillations. Recommended for the student specializing in science and engineering. This version is the traditional format with three lectures, one recitation (problem solving section), and one lab each week. Students in this version must also register for a particular recitation and lab. Prereq: thorough knowledge of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Lab.
PHYS 402: Introduction to Physics II Broad survey of classical and modern physics. Designed to enable students to appreciate the role of physics in today's society and technology. Emphasizes the fundamental laws of nature on which all science is based, with some examples of interest to biologists. Knowledge of high school algebra, geometry, and trigonometry essential. Lab.
PHYS 401: Introduction to Physics I Broad survey of classical and modern physics. Designed to enable students to appreciate the role of physics in today's society and technology. Emphasizes the fundamental laws of nature on which all science is based, with some examples of interest to biologists. Knowledge of high school algebra, geometry, and trigonometry essential. Lab.