NE 451Simulation Methods
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Engineering
- Subject
- Nanotechnology Engineering
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 3 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
This course provides an introductory overview of computational methods that are currently employed to the structural and bulk properties of materials at the nanoscale, with particular emphasis on molecular dynamics (MD) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. The course also introduces density functional theory (DFT) and offers an introduction to machine learning.
Prerequisites
- Complete 1 of the following
- Complete all of the following
- Students must be in level 3A or higher
- Enrolled in H-Chemistry - Computational Specialization
- Complete all of the following
- Students must be in level 3B or higher
- Enrolled in H-Nanotechnology Engineering
- Complete all of the following
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 5122 | 46 / 60 | M 08:30–09:50 F 08:30–09:50 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
42% liked it54% easy75% useful
From 12 ratings and 5 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
The class itself is in principle very interesting. It's a good introduction to molecular dynamics, monte-carlo, density functional theory, and a little bit of neural networks. For MD, we used LAMMPS. For MC, we used python. For DFT, we used Quantum Espresso. For neural networks, we used python with torch. For graphing and other ad-hoc coding, we used python.
The issue with this course was not the material, but the professor. He was really rude. He would ask questions, and then if he didn't get the exact answer with the exact wording he expected, he basically just said you were wrong and did a stupid little smirk. After the first few times, people just stopped answering questions to avoid…Nov 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Course was about 25% MATLAB, 75% C++. The C++ starts from scratch so it was easy to keep up even without any previous C++ experience. Grading was assignments and a final exam, no midterm. Assignments were fair and easy to get high marks on. Final was difficult (make sure you know derivation of numerical methods, and C++ and MATLAB conventions). However, final was heavily curved so grades were still high. Only complaint is lectures were all over the place - Yevick likes to launch into tangents and tirades, with course content sprinkled in between.
Jan 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
This course is numerical methods in MATLAB and C++. You'll get an introduction to C++, but it is very introductory and you won't deal with anything too complicated. If you don't know C++, you'll be fine. My friends has done just as well, and they had no experience in C++ and had very little experience in coding. The key to success in this course is reading MATLAB and C++ code to understand what it'll output, knowing how to write MATLAB and C++ code on paper, and understanding how various numerical methods work. The assignments for the course taught by David Yevick was horribly worded. Many of us quoted "having a stroke" reading the questions. After spending 2 hours or so understanding it,…
Dec 2022 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
It was essentially an intro to C++. Assignments weren't too bad but the final was quite tough. It was curved though, so marks were fair at the end.
May 2022 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
A rare opportunity to get a rude awakening to Octave, C++, and OOP that isn't from a co-op experience. 8/8
Jan 2018 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
3 posts and comments in 3 threads mention NE 451, October 2017 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Spring 2022
Can any Nano grads give me opinions on 4th year courses? 5 points, 1 comment
u/goosemcnoose: “… Can anyone comment on the workload or give a review for specific courses: NE 451 - Simulations NE 486 - Biosensors NE 481 - Nanomed + Nanobiotech”
NE 451/ SYDE 572 1 point, 0 comments
u/7BluePanda: “… I read that you use C++ in NE 451, but I have not had any C++. And for SYDE, I guess I am primarily wondering about the workload. Cus it has a 500 course code, although I think there was also a 300 course code course which was the same thing. …”
Fall 2017
Any way to disable UWCourseLinker from posting? 16 points, 26 comments
“posting a reply to my comment I find the bot annoying.”
u/Jackhofmann: “PSYCH 483 PSYCH 484 PSYCH 485 PSYCH 486 PSYCH 490R PSYCH 499A PSYCH 499B PSYCH 499C PSYCH 621 PSYCH 630 PSYCH 677A PSYCH 704A PSYCH 704B PSYCH 707 PSYCH 710 PSYCH 714 PSYCH 717 PSYCH 720A PSYCH 721A …”
u/Jackhofmann: “… 232 NE 241 NE 302 NE 307 NE 330L NE 335 NE 336 NE 340L NE 345 NE 352 NE 353 NE 381 NE 408 NE 451 NE 454A NE 454B NE 454C NE 454D NE 461 NE 471 NE 481 NE 491 NE 499 OPTOM 104 OPTOM 105 OPTOM 106 OPTOM 108 OPTOM 109 OPTOM 124 OPTOM 215 OPTOM 216 OPTOM 231 OPTOM 243 OPTOM 245 OPTOM …”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them