Instructors:
Avrim Blum, avrim+@cs.cmu.edu, Wean 4107, x8-6452. Office hours: Thurs 1:30-2:30.
Danny Sleator, sleator+@cs.cmu.edu, Wean 4128, x8-7563. Office hours: Tues 2:00-3:00.
Teaching Assistants:
Nick Hopper, hopper+@cs.cmu.edu, Wean 8303, x8-2993. Office hours: Thurs 3:30-4:30.
Dan Tennant, dkt+@andrew.cmu.edu, Wean 3108, x8-4008. Office hours: Wed 3:30-4:30.
Mike Bowling, mhb+@cs.cmu.edu, Wean 8121, x8-3069. Office hours Tues 10:00-11:00am.
Course Secretary:
Dorothy Zaborowski, daz@cs.cmu.edu, Wean 4116, x8-3779.
Lectures: Tues/Thurs 12:00-1:20. Wean Hall 7500
Recitations:
Course Home page:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/academic/class/15451-f00/www/
Check it frequently for announcements and updates, for
copies of handouts, assignments, solutions, and other goodies.
We will also post
outlines of the lecture notes on the web page.
Bboards: The main electronic bulletin board for this course is the newsgroup cmu.cs.class.cs451. It will be used for announcements by the course staff on such subjects as reading assignments, topics of upcoming lectures, corrections to homework assignments, etc. Please read it frequently. You can also post on the bboard by sending email to: outnews+netnews.cmu.cs.class.cs451@ANDREW.CMU.EDU
Grading: Grading will be based on 7 problems sets (homeworks), two short in-class quizzes, an in-class midterm, and a final. The homeworks are worth 6% each (for a total of 42%), the quizzes 6% each, the midterm 16%, and the final 30%.
Important Dates: The first quiz (1/2 hour) will be on Sept 26. The midterm will be Oct 17. The 2nd quiz (1/2 hour) will be Nov 9. The date of the final is not yet known. A detailed course schedule is available from the course home page.
Homework: There will be a problem set every two weeks. These will alternate between ones that require written answers (hwks 1,3,5,7) and ones that require an oral presentation (hwks 2,4,6). Here are guidelines for each type of assignment.
Written homeworks:
Readings: The textbook is Introduction to Algorithms: a Creative Approach, by Udi Manber. Specific readings are listed on the course schedule. It is recommended that you skim the reading before lecture, with a more thorough read afterwards. We will also provide lecture notes and other handouts for material that is not covered by the textbook.
Other helpful material: Other useful material can be found in: Data Structures and Network Algorithms by R. E. Tarjan, Algorithmics: Theory and Practice by Brassard and Bratley, Randomized Algorithms by Motwani and Raghavan, Programming Pearls by J. Bentley, The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms by Aho, Hopcroft and Ullman, and Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen, Leiserson, and Rivest (known as CLR).