CSU520 Artificial Intelligence - Spring 2009 - General Information

Professor Futrelle - College of Computer and Information Sciences, Northeastern U., Boston, MA

Version of 30 December 2008


Course description, from the catalogue:

CSU520 Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
Introduces the fundamental problems, theories, and algorithms of the artificial intelligence field. Includes heuristic search; knowledge representation using predicate calculus; automated deduction and its applications; planning; and machine learning. Additional topics include game playing; uncertain reasoning and expert systems; natural language processing; logic for common-sense reasoning; ontologies; and multiagent systems.

Course Key Number:
59743
Institution:
Northeastern University, and the College of Computer and Information Sciences, Boston, MA.
Instructor:
Professor Robert P. Futrelle   Email me at: futrelle@ccs.neu.edu,
but note the important emailing instructions at the end of this page.
Futrelle's Office:
450 West Village H (WVH). Also check my lab 460 WVH.
Hardcopy mailbox:
202 West Village H (WVH)
Telephone:
Futrelle's office: 617-373-4239, Lab: 617-373-4607
Textbook:
Artificial intelligence : A Modern Approach by Stuart J. Russell and Peter Norvig Prentice Hall/Pearson Education, 2003. 2nd ed. 1080 pgs, ISBN: 0137903952. (which I will refer to as "AIMA") See the AIMA homepage. Do not get the earlier, first edition; it is inappropriate for this course.
Personal Help:
Regular office/advising hours: Tuesdays and Fridays, 12pm - 1pm.
If you need help at any other time, find Prof. Futrelle or call or send email, or ask in class to set up an appointment.
On-line help:
There is a ton of information about Artificial Intelligence on the web. The best sources are probably the links on the homepages for the textbook: AIMA homepage, as well as a page of links created for me recently by a student, which I'll be revising.
Professor Futrelle's teaching blog:
Read the blog here.
Classes:
Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:50-4:30pm (Seq B) in 110 WVH.
Projects:
Information is available on the Projects page.
Course homepage:
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/futrelle/teaching/csu520Sp2009/index.html
Grading percentages for the course
In progress, as the assignments, quizzes, etc. are worked out.
The course mailing list and archives:

Signup deadline for the mailing list: End of Sunday, January 11th.
If you miss the deadline you lose two points from your final semester grade.
Sign up right away at
https://lists.ccs.neu.edu/bin/listinfo/csu520-sp09-rpf. You can only post mail to the list using the email address(s) you're signed up with, though you may sign up with more than one address - and receive mail sent to one, the other, or both. Group membership is private. All mail to the list is publicly archived and available here:
https://lists.ccs.neu.edu/pipermail/csu520-sp09-rpf/. Post away -- your questions and information may well be of interest to other students in the class. Post mail to the list from your registered email address(s) to this address:
csu520-sp09-rpf@lists.ccs.neu.edu
(Mail to the list will automatically be prefaced with the course label for you.)
The subject line in all non-mailing list mail to me regarding the course must begin with csu520sp09, or else it will be returned.

Go to CSU520 home page. or RPF's Teaching Gateway or homepage