New Jersey Institute
of Technology
Ying Wu College of Computing
Computer Science Department
Introduction to Computability and Complexity
CS-611 Syllabus
Instructor: Ioannis
Koutis
Email: ikoutis+cs611@njit.edu
Course
Time and Location: Tuesday 12:30-3:20 (synchronous online)
Office
Hours: Reserve appointment slot with calendar
link provided on Canvas. Or email-me.
Teaching
Assistant: TBA
Email: TBA
Course Management
All course activities will be managed on Canvas.
We will use Canvas to
have informal and friendly conversations about topics related to the course,
including assignments, problems, ideas, etc. You are encouraged to participate.
Please be absolutely assured that any question or idea is welcome; even if you
are afraid it may be silly, it can lead to interesting and beneficial
discussions.
Description
The course will cover fundamental elements of
computational complexity. Possible topics include:
- Computability
- Diagonalization
- NP and NP
Completeness
- Parameterized Complexity
- Space Complexity
- Time Hierarchy
- Polynomial Hierarchy
- Randomized Computation
- Interactive Proofs
- Complexity of Counting
- Cryptography
Resources
Textbook:
Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Michael Sipser
2nd edition, Cambridge University Press
ISBN-13: 978-0534950972
Additional
material will be posted on Canvas.
Important
Dates
Exam 1: February 25
Exam 2: April 1
Exam 3: TBA by registrar
March
14-21: Spring
Break
May
4: No class
FYI: The NJIT academic
calendar for Spring 2021.
History of minor
syllabus revisions:
01/16/20: current
Coursework
and Evaluation
Assignments [25%]. There will be 6-8 short
assignments, of equal weight.
Exams [75%]. There will be 3 exams,
each worth 25%.
Letter Grades. The conversion
of raw grades will be based on grouping the raw grades into clusters and then
assigning a letter grade to each cluster. The letter grade assignment will be
in accordance to the graduate grade legend (https://www.njit.edu/registrar/policies/grading.php).
Lateness Policy. Each student starts
the semester with a total budget of
72 hours of combined delay. If the budget is exceeded, 2% will be subtracted
from the delayed assignment for each hour of delay.
Course
Policies
Email
Use of your NJIT email
is strongly encouraged.
Grading
Written work will be graded for conciseness and correctness. Use formal
arguments. Be brief and to the point and write clearly. You may use material
covered in class and appearing in the relevant notes without proof.
Grade Corrections
Check the marks in course work and report errors promptly. Please try and
resolve any issue within one week of the mark notification.
Absenteeism
All lectures will be recorded but attendance of the live lecture is
encouraged. If you miss one exam you must contact the Dean of
Students (DOS) within 2 working days from the day the reason for the absence is
lifted with all necessary documentation. If DOS approves, your missing exam
grade will be set equal to the average of the non-missing exam grades.
Collaboration and External Resources for
Assignments
Some homework assignment problems will be challenging. You are advised
to first try and solve all the problems on
your own. For problems that persist, you are welcome to talk to the
professor. You are also allowed to collaborate with your classmates and search
for solutions online. But you should use such solutions only if you understand
them completely (admitting that you don’t understand something is way better
than copying things you don’t understand). Also make sure to give the
appropriate credit and citation.
Incomplete
A grade of I (incomplete) is given in rare cases where work cannot be completed
during the semester due to documented long-term illness or unexpected absence
for other serious reasons. A student needs to be in good standing (i.e. passing
the course before the absence) and receives a provisional I if there is no time
to make up for the documented lost time; a letter (or email) with a timeline of
what is needed to be done will be sent to the student. Note that for most cases
an I would be resolved within few days, not months and not the following
semester! Not showing up in the final will probably get you an F rather than an
I.
Academic Integrity
Academic
Integrity is the cornerstone of higher education and is central to the ideals
of this course and the university. Cheating is strictly prohibited and devalues
the degree that you are working on. As a member of the NJIT community, it is
your responsibility to protect your educational investment by knowing and following
the academic code of integrity policy that is found at:
http://www5.njit.edu/policies/
Please
note that it is my professional obligation and responsibility to report any
academic misconduct to the Dean of Students Office. Any student found in violation of the code by cheating,
plagiarizing or using any online software inappropriately will result in
disciplinary action. This may include a failing grade of F, and/or suspension
or dismissal from the university. If you have any questions about the code of Academic
Integrity, please contact the Dean of Students Office at dos@njit.edu