Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms -- CMSC 451

(Section 0101)

Fall 2021

Course Overview

This is a traditional, upper-level course on the design and analysis of computer algorithms. The goals of the class are

to cover standard measures of algorithmic complexity;
to introduce you to basic algorithms for common problems;
to teach fundamental paradigms that will allow you to design algorithms for new problems; and
to help you identify problems that (likely) cannot be solved efficiently, as well as how to relax such problems in the hopes of obtaining an efficient solution.

The syllabus describes the exact topics to be covered. The course will closely follow the textbook "Algorithm Design," by Kleinberg and Tardos, but there are many other textbooks as well as online lecture notes that cover similar material. Students are expected to be familiar with basic programming, discrete mathematics, and data structures.

This course will follow all applicable UMD policies and procedures.

General Information

The class meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:00 - 10:50 in ESJ 1224. Lectures will be in-person (with some exceptions noted on the syllabus). In-person lectures will be recorded on a best-effort basis; the instructor will not be responsible for any technical issues that arise during the recording.
Grading will be based on six homeworks assigned throughout the course (40%), a midterm exam (25%), and a final exam (35%).
This course is not curved. What this means is that there is no predetermined number of students who will get As, Bs, Cs, etc. This also means that students in the class are not competing with each other. Every student's final grade will be determined by how well he/she is able to demonstrate his/her understanding of the material, and the epxectation is that every student should be able to get an A. The plus/minus grading system will be used.
We will use Piazza for class announcements and questions/discussion. Please sign up here.

Homeworks and Exams

Homeworks, solutions, and practice exams will be available on ELMS. The detailed syllabus indicates the due dates for all homeworks and exams.
Homeworks and exams should be submitted using Gradescope. You should be registered automatically; if not, please email the instructor. Please ensure that you are able to upload your solutions by making a test submission well in advance of the first deadline.
Your homework/exam submissions should be PDF files, prepared either as typeset documents (e.g., using LaTeX) or as a clear scan of handwritten solutions. Handwritten solutions must be written neatly and legibly, and you should always aim to give a concise and simple solution.
No extensions will be given for homeworks or exams. In case of approved medical emergencies, the relevant exam/homework may be dropped.
While you may discuss homework problems with other students in the class, the TA, and/or the instructor, your submitted solutions must be based on your own work and written by you alone. In particular, you should not use external websites (such as Chegg or stackoverflow). Violations will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct.
Exams will be open book/notes, but neither Internet access nor communicating with anyone else will be allowed while taking the exam. Violations will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct.
If you request a regrade of a homework or exam, your request must include a detailed explanation of why you believe a regrade is warranted. In response to a regrade request, the entire homework/exam will be regraded and not just the specific question (or part of a question) that you want regraded.

Staff

Instructor: Professor Jonathan Katz (jkatz@cs.umd.edu). Office hours: Tuesday 11-12 / Thursday 11:30-12:30 on zoom. (Zoom link can be found in ELMS.) Please send me an email in advance if you plan to attend my office hours. Important: if you send me any email related to this class, please begin the subject line with [CMSC451].
Teaching assistants:
- Aditya Acharya (adach@umd.edu). Office hours: Monday/Wednesday 4-5 on zoom. (Zoom link can be found in ELMS.)
- Doruk Gur (dgur1@umd.edu). Office hours: Thursday 4-6 in front of IRB 2207 and also on zoom. (Zoom link can be found in ELMS.)
- David Miller (dym@umd.edu). Office hours: Thursday/Friday 2:30-3:30 in IRB 2207 and also on zoom. (Zoom link can for found in ELMS.)
- Ben Sela (benjsela@cs.umd.edu). Office hours: Tuesday 4-6 in front of IRB 2207 and also on zoom. (Zoom link can be found in ELMS.)

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