Algorithm Design and Analysis
Spring 2009
| Professor: | Tom Wexler | Phone: | 587-8602 |
| Office: | Olin 205 | E-mail: | wexlert "at" denison.edu |
| Office Hours: | MTWR, 3:30-4:20 | Mailbox: | Olin 201 |
| Meeting Times: | MTWF, 2:30-3:20 | Classroom: | Olin 220 |
| Final Exam: | TBA |
Textbooks
Required Text
The following textbook is required for the course and is available through the Denison bookstore.
- Kleinberg & Tardos, Algorithm Design, Addison Wesley, 2005.
Grade Determination
| Homework Assignments: | 45% |
| Midterm Exams (3): | 30% |
| Final Exam: | 15% |
| Class Participation: | 10% |
Policies and Student Responsibilities
Attendance and Reading
In order to do well in this class, it is imperative that you take an active role in the learning process. This means completing your reading before class, asking questions, and working on assignments regularly.
Your attendance is expected at each class meeting. It is in your own best interest to attend class, as your grade will almost certainly suffer indirectly if you choose not to attend. In addition, a small portion of your grade will be determined by class participation, which, naturally, requires attendance. Of course, excused absences (sickness, family emergencies, varsity athletic participation) will not be held against you. Such absences should be communicated to me well in advance.
You are responsible for the content of reading assignments, lectures and handouts, as well as announcements and schedule changes made in class whether or not you are present. If you must miss a class, be sure to check with me or another student to get what you missed. Exams will be given in class on the day scheduled and may not be made up.
It is important that you keep up with the assigned reading. Read any assigned material in the appropriate chapter before coming to class so you will be ready to ask questions. The material in the course is, by necessity, cumulative. Be warned that if you fall behind, you will not be able to catch up easily.
Homework Policy
This class will have weekly homework assignments, typically consisting of 3 or 4 problems. Homeworks will be given out on Tuesdays in class. One problem must be completed and handed in on the beginning of class on Friday. The remaining problems must be completed and handed in on the beginning of class on the following Tuesday.
Late homework will not be accepted unless arrangements have been made with me well in advance. Homework may be written up by hand or formatted in LaTeX. If you have difficulty writing legibly, use LaTeX. A word processor is not acceptable.
You'll be expected to devote at least 10 hours to each assignment. The assignments are challenging, so start early. Read through the assigned problems the day they are assigned; letting a problem percolate for a few days often helps greatly in the problem-solving process.
Unless an assignment specifies otherwise, you are allowed, and in fact encouraged, to work in groups. However, after discussing a problem with your classmates, you may not leave the discussion with anything written down. All written work must be yours and yours alone. You are not to share your written work with anyone. The only other resources available to you are the course text and myself. You may not seek help from any other person or source, including the internet and other texts.
Disability Accomodation
Any student who thinks he or she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately as soon as possible to discuss your specific needs. I rely on the Office of Academic Support in Doane 104 to verify the need for reasonable accommodation based on documentation on file in their office.
Academic Integrity
The students and faculty of Denison University and the Department of Matematics and Computer Science are committed to academic integrity and will not tolerate any violation of this principle. Academic honesty, the cornerstone of teaching and learning, lays the foundation for lifelong integrity.
Academic dishonesty is, in most cases, intellectual theft. It includes, but is not limited to, providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by the instructor in the creation of work to be submitted for evaluation. This standard applies to all work ranging from daily homework assignments to major exams. Students must clearly cite any sources consulted—not only for quoted phrases but also for ideas and information that are not common knowledge. Neither ignorance nor carelessness is an acceptable defense in cases of plagiarism. It is the student’s responsibility to follow the appropriate format for citations.
As is indicated in Denison’s Student Handbook, available through mydenison.edu, instructors must refer every act of academic dishonesty to the Associate Provost, and violations may result in failure in the course, suspension, or expulsion. (For further information, see http://www.denison.edu/student-affairs/handbook/article7.html.)
Topics
- Stable Matchings and Course Overview
- Greedy Algorithms and Minimum Spanning Trees
- Divide and Conquer
- Dynamic Programming
- Network Flow
- NP-Completeness
- Special Cases of NP-Complete Problems
- Approximation Algorithms
- Randomized Algorithms
- On-Line Algorithms
- Algorithmic Game Theory
Have a great semester! If you need anything, please let me
know.