CSE 431/531: Analysis of Algorithms (Fall 2016)

Announcements

Please sign up the course on Piazza.

Course Information

Time: MoWeFr 9:00~9:50am

Location: Cooke 121

Credits: 3

Instructor

Shi Li

Office: 328 Davis Hall

Email: [first name][last name initial][at][buffalo][dot][edu]

Homepage: http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~shil/

Office Hours: 10:00am-12:00pm, Wednesdays, Davis 328

TAs

Name	Email	Office Hours	Office Hours Location
Di Wang	dwang45	10:00am-12:00pm, Mondays	Davis 300 Lounge
Minwei Ye	minweiye	10:00am-12:00pm, Tuesdays	Davis 300 Lounge
Alexander Stachnik	ajstachn	10:00am-12:00pm, Thursdays	Davis 300 Lounge

Graders

Name	Email
Li Zhang	lzhang34
Xin Liu	xliu47
Xin Ma	xma24

Overview

Algorithm design and analysis is fundamental to all areas of computer science and gives a rigorous framework for the study of optimization. This course provides an introduction to algorithm design through a survey of the common algorithm design paradigms of greedy optimization, divide and conquer and dynamic programming. More advanced topics covered in the course include network flows, NP-completeness, linear programming, approximation algorithms, etc.

Required Textbook

Jon Kleinberg and Eva Tardos    Algorithm Design.   1st Edition, 2005, Pearson.

Grading

Your final grade will be computed as follows:

• Homeworks: 20%.   There are 5 homeworks, each worth 4 points.
• Projects: 20%.   There are 2 projects, each worth 10 points. In each project, you need to implement an algorithm learned from the course.
• In-class exams.   There are 2 in-class exams, each worth 15 points.
• Final exam. Final exam will be held at 8:00am-11:00am on Dec 14, 2016, in Cooke 121.
• The two in-class exams and the final exam contribute to 60% of the final score. Your score for exams is computed as follows: max{E1 × 5% + F × 25%, E1 × 15% + F × 15%} + max{E2 × 5% + F × 25%, E2 × 15% + F × 15%}, where E1, E2 and F are your scores for exam 1, exam 2 and final exam respectively (each score is a number from 0 to 100).

Policies

• Late policy   You have one late credit. If you use the credit, you can submit a homework or a project 3 days late. No other late submissions will be accepted.
• Collaboration policy  For homework problems, you are allowed to discuss with classmates. However, it is highly recommended that you first think about each problem for enough time before the discussion. You must write your solutions by yourself, in your own words. You need to write down the names of the students you collaborated with. For the 2 projects, you must implement the algorithms by yourself. Copying codes from other students or the internet is not allowed. If cheating is found, you will get an "F" for the course.
• The 2 in-class exams and the final exam are all closed-book, but you can bring an A4 paper, with both sides handwritten (a "cheat sheet").

Homeworks and Projects

HWs and Projects	Topics Covered	Post Date	Due Date
Homework 1	Introduction, Graph Basics	Sep 12	Sep 26
Project 1 Public Test Cases	Minimum Spanning Tree	Sep 26	Oct 30
Homework 2	Greedy Algorithms, Divide-and-Conquer	Oct 14	Oct 28
Homework 3	Dynamic Programming	Oct 28	Nov 14
Project 2	Longest Common Subsequence	Nov 14	Dec 9
Homework 4	NP-Completeness	Nov 14	Dec 2
Homework 5	Approximation and Randomized Algorithms	Dec 5	Dec 12

Tentative Schedule

Academic Integrity

Undergraduate: http://undergrad-catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/course/integrity.shtml

Graduate: http://grad.buffalo.edu/Academics/Policies-Procedures/Academic-Integrity.html