Computational Science and Mathematics
In general, pure mathematicians study a subject because the mathematics itself is
of interest to them. Sometimes, their work will find an application in
science. When this happens, however, it will usually be because someone
else made the connection.
Some mathematicians study problems that are mathematical models of problems
from the sciences. If their main interest is the mathematical properties
of these models, then they are more applied mathematicians than. A computational
scientist must be aware of the real-world problem behind the model and
must be willing to assist the scientist in modifying the model to represent
more closely the true problem of interest.
... and Computer Science
Computational science and computer science have very similar names, but they refer to distinct areas of study. Computational science uses knowledge and tools from both mathematics and computer science, but its main focus is designing tools that will be used on the computer to solve a scientific or engineering problem. Computer science, on the other hand, focuses on both the theory and design of computers and the phenomena depending on them. This includes distributed programming languages, systems, networking, software, robotics, parallel processing, etc.
Computational scientists may be thought of as computer users rather than computer designers. However, in order to use computers effectively to solve problems, they must have a good understanding of the way computers operate. Many of the topics covered in computer science are important to computational scientists as they study problems from science.
... and Science
Computational scientists need to have enough background in the biological and physical science to understand the concepts being modeled and to communicate effectively with the scientists working with them. Often they will develop this background immediately before or during the modeling process.
