Comp 205:
Syllabus, Spring 2000
Goal:
Teach error analysis and efficiency analysis via a driving
problem that requires geometric algorithms.
COMP 205 will address this goal by touching on aspects of
computational geometry (convex hulls, triangulations, Voronoi
diagrams), numerical analysis (SVD, Gaussian Elimination, forward and
backward error analysis, interpolation), and mathematics (linear
algebra, differential equations). A detailed syllabus for the whole
course will be distributed on Tuesday, January 18, 2000, once I've seen the survey
responses.
Methodology:
This course has traditionally been taught with simulation of Newtonian
mechanics as the driving problem that motivates each topic covered. I
will relax this slightly to include some puzzle problems drawn from
other applications as well that all have a common thread of ``data in
motion.''
Textbook:
Because this is a hybrid course, there is no single
text that covers the material. The chosen textbook is a Dover
reprint of R.W. Hamming's Numerical Methods for Scientists and
Engineers. I really like its motto: ``The purpose of
computing is insight, not numbers.'' And it's under $20. I will
supplement this with other material, including text from a book that I
started writing with Goodrich and Guibas.
You are also expected to have a more modern textbook from whatever
numerical analysis course you have taken as the prerequisite for this
course. A recent one that has good coverage is C. Posrikidis'
Numerical Computation in Science and Engineering, Oxford, 1998.
Problems:
Assigned problems are due on Tuesdays, either in class or
under my door. (Tuesday extends until midnight. Once grading has
begun, the grader will generally not consider late assignments. )
Programming:
Assignments that involve programming are designed to
be done in MATLAB if they are primarily numerical, or Java/C/C++ if
they involve data structures. You are welcome to use any programming
language or tool that still involves you in the learning process.
(I.e., if a problem asks for the Jordan normal form of a matrix, and
your tool can compute JordanNormalForm(A) without you knowing what it
is, then you better do it the hard way instead. Ask me if you are in
doubt.)
Collaboration:
Collaboration on the puzzle problems is encouraged. Good scholarship
requires that all collaboration must be acknowledged. Thus, if you
collaborate on a solution, I expect that you name your collaborators
at the top of the page.
Evaluation:
The midterm will be in-class and the final a take-home exam. The course evaluation will be based on the following:
| Assignments (10) |
40% |
| Midterm |
25% |
| Final |
35% |
Fun:
One of the rewards of research is the ``Aha'' of gaining a new
insight. Even though COMP 205 is possibly the class that students
least look forward to taking, I hope that in this term we will have
the fun of new insight. (So please give me feedback on whether the
course is moving too fast or too slow.) As in research, one must
invest time to gain familiarity with one's tools (computational and
mathematical) to be able to play with them creatively and effectively.
- Concept: IEEE 754 floating point
- Do by lecture on Jan 18
Last updated: January 18, 2000