Dr. Hasmik Gharibyan
Computer Science Department
California Polytechnic State University
San Luis Obispo, CA, 93407
CSC540: Theory of Computation II
Winter 2008
Course Syllabus
Instructor: Hasmik Gharibyan, Ph. D.
Office: 14-207
Tel: 756-7068
E-mail: hghariby@calpoly.edu
Course Web-site: http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~hghariby/CSC540
Office hours: MTWRF, 1210 p.m. – 1 00 p.m.
Prerequisites:
The following two prerequisites are strictly required:
1. Completion of CSC445, Theory of Computation I
2. Graduate standing or consent of the instructor
You are expected to have:
- Extensive knowledge in the Theory of Formal Languages and Automata
- Familiarity with the Theory of Decidability
- Familiarity with the Theory of Computability
Textbook:
Thomas A. Sudkamp, Languages and Machines: An Introduction to the Theory of Computer
Science, 3-rd edition, Addison-Wesley, 2005, ISBN 0-321-32221-5
Objectives:
- To study advanced topics in Theory of Computation
- To become familiar with classical and current research in Theory of Computation
- To learn to prepare and make oral presentations on theoretical topics
- To learn to teach theoretical material
Course format:
This course will be conducted in a seminar style and will consist of student presentations.
Throughout the quarter each student will prepare and present 3 oral presentations – “lecture”,
“biography”, and “research paper” – one of which, the “lecture”, will be accompanied with a
quiz (see details on page 2).
The class (only students in attendance) and the instructor will evaluate the presenter’s work
and performance; the presenter’s grade will be calculated based on these evaluations – the
average of student evaluations will make the 75%, and the instructor’s evaluation will make
the 25% of this grade.
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Dr. Hasmik Gharibyan
Each student will make three presentations: “lecture”, “biography”, and “research paper”.
Lecture: This is a presentation of a topic from the textbook followed by a short written
quiz on the presented material (5-7 short-answer questions). Each student will be
assigned sections from the book to present to the class; the same student will also prepare,
conduct, and grade a quiz. The assignment is given 1 week prior to the presentation date.
Note: the presenter will not take the quiz, but will receive a grade based on the evaluations
of the quality of the quiz (formula: 75%-class average + 25%-instructor).
Time allocation*: lecture - 50 min., lecture evaluation – 5 min., quiz -10 min.,
quiz evaluation – 5 min.
Biography: This presentation is a summary of the life and the work of a classic
theoretician-computer scientist. A list of names will be provided in a separate handout.
Each student will pick a scientist to research and present.
Time allocation*: presentation - 20 min., presenter evaluation - 5 min.
Research paper: This is a presentation of a research paper in Theory of Computation.
As a presentation topic you have the option of choosing one of the following:
- a classical research paper in Theory of Computing – a list of suggested papers will
be provided in a separate handout. If you have found and would like to present a
paper that is not on the list, you need to get my approval first.
- a current research paper in Theory of Computation – the list of topics will be
provided in a separate handout. You need to find a paper on your own and get my
approval to present that paper.
Note: obtaining the paper is the student’s responsibility.
Time allocation*: presentation - 40 min., questions - 5 min., presenter evaluation - 5 min.
* A penalty will be applied to the score if the presentation is considerably shorter than
required: the score will be reduced by 25%, 50%, or 75% of the full credit if the presentation
is respectively about ¾, ½, or ¼ of the required duration. A presentation that takes less than ¼
of the required time is considered unacceptable.
Attention!!!
If a presenter requests to reschedule his/her talk within 3-6 days to it, a 50% penalty will be
applied to the score for that presentation. If such request is made within 2 days to the talk, or
the presenter doesn’t show up for the talk, 0 grade will be recorded for that presentation.
However, there will be no penalty if the presenter arranges swapping his/her presentation with
someone else in the group. Note that with “lecture” presentation, swapping with someone else
means swapping the dates AND topics, while with other type presentations only dates need to
be swapped.
Presentation schedule:
The quarter will start with “lecture” and “biography” presentations run in parallel – one
“lecture” (followed by a quiz) and one “biography” presentation per class day. The remainder
of the quarter will be spent on “research paper” presentations – 2 presentations per class day.
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Dr. Hasmik Gharibyan
Peer evaluation:
The evaluation of presenters’ performance is a part of each student’s class work. It is every
student’s responsibility to fill in and submit the evaluation form for each presentation. Peer
evaluation is very important; not only it serves as an assessment tool, but it also provides
feedback which can be very helpful to the presenter in future talks.
Grading:
Your grade for the course will be calculated based on the following distribution:
Quizzes: 10%
Attendance: 40% (“lecture”: 10%; “biography”: 10%; “research paper”: 20%)
Presenting: 50% (“lecture”: 20%; “biography”: 10%; “research paper”: 20%)
Attendance:
The attendance is a very important factor for a seminar course and is highly weighed in the
course grade calculation. Missing a presentation means learning one less topic; obviously,
this will result in 0 credits for attendance. Being late means missing out on a portion of the
presentation and therefore will end in penalty. Besides, coming in late is disrespectful and
disruptive not only to the presenter but also to the audience. Here are penalties for being late.
1. Missing a portion of a “lecture” or a “research paper” presentation:
- if you come in 5-10 minutes late, you will loose quarter of the credit for attendance
- if you come in 11-20 minutes late, you will loose half of the credit for attendance
- if you come in more than 20 minutes late, you will loose the whole credit for attendance
2. Missing a portion of a “biography” presentation:
- if you come in 4-6 minutes late, you will loose quarter of the credit for attendance
- if you come in 7-10 minutes late, you will loose half of the credit for attendance
- if you come in more than 10 minutes late, you will loose the whole credit for attendance
Attention: if you miss a lecture (or came in too late and didn’t get credit for it), you will
NOT be allowed to take the quiz on the material presented in the lecture.
Electronic announcements:
a) Via course web site (see the URL on page 1)
On the course web site I will post the upcoming presentations – the name of the presenter, the
date, and the topic of the presentation. I will also post class related announcements – schedule
changes, office hour shifts, changes of the class meeting location, etc. Make sure to check the
course web site often – it is your responsibility to stay in sync with the schedule of the course.
b) Via e-mail
I will e-mail notes to individual presenters and occasionally to the whole class; usually these
are some clarifications on the upcoming assignment or presentation. These messages will be
addressed to your Cal Poly account (userid@calpoly.edu). It is your responsibility to make
sure you receive these messages on time – make sure to check your Cal Poly account
frequently or forward the e-mail from your Cal Poly account to your daily account.
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Dr. Hasmik Gharibyan
Classroom civility:
The following is considered disruptive behavior and should be avoided:
- Arriving late
- Cell phones going off in class
- Packing up before the class is dismissed
- Eating in class
- Chatting with neighbors
- Sleeping in class
Cheating Policy:
Any instances of cheating or plagiarism will be referred to the Campus Student Relations and
Judicial Affairs Office (see Cal Poly rules and policies on this matter at the CSRJA web site,
http://www.calpoly.edu/~saffairs/csrja/index.html).
Students involved in such cases will be expelled from the course with a grade F.
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