Syllabus

This is a research-oriented, advanced course. As such, it involves reading research papers, discussing them in class, and exploring new ideas. It is best suited for students who are comfortable with open-ended questions and happy to take the initiative in coming up with creative ideas and solutions.

Meetings K Hour: 2:30pm-3:50pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Room CIT 477
Notes Published after each class
Textbook None (we will read research papers)
Prerequisites CSCI 0300/1310 or 0330/1330, or instructor permission.
Instructor Kinan Dak Albab
Office hours: Wed 3-5 PM @ CIT 367 (J Lab).
Teaching Assistants Corinn Tiffany (ctiffany@cs.brown.edu; Head TA)
Artem Agvanian (aagvania@cs.brown.edu; Undergraduate TA)
Office hours: Tu 4-5 PM @ CIT 102, Th 4-5 PM @ CIT 209.
Presentation A group of 2-3 students will present each paper during class. Each student must sign up to one group. We will meet with each group to go over their presentation outline. For example, if your group is presenting on Tuesday, we will meet with you after class on the Thursday before. The presentations should overview the paper, but need not explain all the details -- afterall we expect everyone to read the paper ahead of class! Presentations should be interactive, and presenters are responsible for questions and exercises for the class to encourage participation, and must allocate siginificant time for free-flow discussion after presentations.
Presentation Prep Meetings: Tu 4-5 PM @ CIT 205, Th 4-5 PM @ CIT 348.
Assignments Two hands-on assignments in the first half of the course, two in the second half of the course, and a written report.
Final ProjectOne research project of your own design. We encourage you to work in groups. The goal is to investigate an idea, implement it to see if it makes sense, and evaluate how well it works. You will submit a proposal, a write-up in the form of a research paper, submit your code, and present the project in class. Project ideas topics should fit with the class theme; some initial ideas are available.
Incompletes We expect everyone to complete the course on time. However, we certainly understand that there may be factors beyond your control, such as health problems and family crises, that prevent you from finishing the course on time. If you feel you cannot complete the course on time, please discuss with Kinan Dak Albab the possibility of being given a grade of Incomplete for the course and setting a schedule for completing the course in the upcoming year.
Late Policy Assigments must be finished by the deadline on the schedule; exceptions will only be made for legitimate reasons and in exceptional circumstances. The full late policy is described in the course missive.
Grading Reading Questions: 10%; Participation: 15%; Presentation: 20%; Assignments: 15%; Final Project: 40%.
Course Time Students will spend approximately 3 hours per week in class (40 hours total), and 2-3 hours preparing readings (27-40 hours total). Assignments and the final project will take on the order of 8-10 hours per week (112-140 hours total).