CS5800 Algorithms Sec 1, FALL 2023

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• Instructor: Virgil Pavlu E-mail: v.pavlu@northeastern.edu, but I prefer Teams-chat

• Lecture: Mon/Thu 11:45 - 1:25, RI 253
  

• Office hours for HW: Campus RY 220 Wed 7:15 pm / Campus BK 204 Thu 7:30pm ; Tue 4pm on Teams (Tanay)
  

• Lecture QA/Recitation : Fri Teams (Tanay), if requested. No HW help.
  

• UG-prereq Tutorials By appointment on Teams
  

• Logistics Late HW, Gradescope, regrades, piazza, absence (Tanay)
  

TAs:

• Tanay Mehta (head TA, logistics), mehta.ta@northeastern.edu
• Anthony Testa, testa.an@northeastern.edu
• Raghu Ram Sattanapalle, sattanapalle.r@northeastern.edu
• Ganesh Prasad, prasad.g@northeastern.edu

Teams : Khoury - CS 5800 1 (Fall 2023)

Discussion : piazza

Please use the discussion forum for all questions regarding material, assignments, due dates, data issues, programming issues, etc. That is, do not use the direct email to TAs or Instructors for these questions.
Personal/private matters, such as availability, delays,  grades, term projects or other advanced material, etc, should be in Teams private chat with instructor or course coordinator

Gradescope: https://www.gradescope.com/courses/610701

Text Book Required

• [CLRS] Algorithms 4th ed by Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest, Stein
  

•    

• Other texts
  

  Kleinberg, Tardos: Algorithms Design
  

  Algorithms by S. Dasgupta, C.H. Papadimitriou, and U.V. Vazirani
  

  Algorithms by Robert Sedgewick, Kevin Wayne
  

  
  

Prerequisites

• Basic imperative programing experience in a language such as Python, Java, C, Matlab. You will actually not do much programing in the course, but a minimum experience with the logic is required.
  
• Math (general): arithmetic, logs, exponential, calculus, linear algebra
  
• Discrete Math
• An UG-level intro to Algorithms/Datastructures Course

Homework

• There will be about 12 assignments (one per module, every week), including programming ; please see the syllabus for an exact schedule. Some of the problems can be difficult, and it will often be helpful to discuss them with others. Feel free to form study groups. However, the idea is for everyone to understand the problems and experience working through the solutions, so you may not simply "give" a solution to another classmate. In particular, each student must write up his or her own homework solutions/code and must not read or copy the solutions/code of others. If you work with others on a problem, you must note with whom you discussed the problem at the beginning of your solution write-up.
  

• We expect the average total load to be 20 hours/week. Based on past experience, many students spend more than 20 hours/week for prerequisite work, or for additional problems ("Extra Credit" or "Optional") with no credit /effect on HW grades. EC is harder, more time consuming, worth no points, and less discussed during helping sessions; it is designed for students who want to get more out of the course. The best way, by far, to maximize your grade is to complete the regular credit on time.
  

• Late homework policy: Homework is due at the on the announced due date. I normally will not accept assignments after the due date; if you will have a valid reason for turning in an assignment late, please see me in advance to obtain full-credit.

Exams

• There will be 2 in-class exams, on paper, probably on Saturday. Each exam will have about 5-6 problems, and you will have plenty of time to solve them (please book the whole day)
  

• Approximative grade weightage is HW:30%; Midterm:35%; Final:35%. This can change depending on exam setup. Students can get up to 5% on consistent participation to OH and piazza, specifically on solving the difficult problems and helping other students on these.

Academic Honesty

• All work submitted for credit must be your own.

• You may discuss the homework problems or projects with your classmates, the teaching assistant(s), and instructor. You must acknowledge the people with whom you discussed your work, and you must write up your own solutions. Any written sources used (apart from the text) must also be acknowledged; however, you may not consult any solutions from previous years' assignments whether they are student or faculty generated.