20 Years of Teaching Parallel Processing to Computer Science Seniors

In this paper, we present our Concurrent Systems class, where parallel programming and parallel and distributed computing (PDC) concepts have been taught for more than 20 years. Despite several rounds of changes in hardware, the class maintains its goals of allowing students to learn parallel computer organizations, studying parallel algorithms, and writing code to be able to run on parallel and distributed platforms. We discuss the benefits of such a class, reveal the key elements in developing this class and receiving funding to replace outdated hardware. We will also share our activities in attracting more students to be interested in PDC and related topics.