COMP 5112: Algorithms for Data Science (Winter 2022 Term)

Weekly Schedule  

Assignments

Announcements

Instructor: Anil Maheshwari
Office: Herzberg Building 5125B
E-mail: anil@scs.carleton.ca

Lectures: Lectures twice a week. I am planning to hold lectures on Wednesdays and Fridays at 2:30 PM. The recorded videos will likely be posted in Brightspace. Initially, the course is online, and hopefully, by the end-of-January, it will move into the classroom setting in TB 446. If so, please come to the class, though we will make suitable arrangements if you can't come physically.
Office hours: During the breaks and immediately before/after the lectures.         
Course objectives: 

To learn some of the algorithmic techniques to handle data science problems.
Topics may include:

These topics may be adjusted based on the background and interests of the students.
Required Background:
 
We will cover a spectrum of techniques from the design and analysis of algorithms. It is assumed that you have a very good grasp on:
 Note that there will not be sufficient time to review the background material to a satisfactory level during the course. (In nutshell you must have a background that is equivalent to the following Carleton Courses:  COMP 1805, COMP 2402, COMP 3804, and a course in Linear Algebra.)
Reference Material:

Useful References related to various topics. This will get modified as we go along the course.

Grading Scheme: (Tentative)

There are two components, and you need to pass in both the components to pass this course:
  1. Pick a topic. (Look at references under "Reference Material"  and conferences in related areas and also use Google Scholar to see who refers to those papers etc.)
  2. Initial Proposal: Submit 1-2 page draft.  What is your topic you chose? Why? What problem(s) you will look at? What you plan to do? Outline of sections of your report? Main References. Due (in pdf format) by February 2. Your 5 minute presentation is scheduled on February 4th during the class time slot.
  3. Final Project Presentation: Scheduled in the week of April 4-8. Presentation is for approximately 12-15 minutes duration describing your project during the class time slot.  (Final Exam will have questions from these reports/presentations).
  4. Report: Due by April 4. The report format will likely be a research article. Its best to use LaTeX (e.g. see Overleaf). The sections will include:
      1. Introduction (Motivation, Problem Statement, Related Work, Short Summary of what you did).
      2. Preliminaries (In case you need to discuss some notation, definitions, etc. as background)
      3. Main Section - How did you solve the problem; State Algorithm; State its Analysis; State its Correctness.
      4. Experiments (in case you performed any simulation etc.)
      5. Conclusions  (Summary + What did you learn? + What do you think can be done in future?)
      6. References
      7. Report will be approximately 6 pages long and will be posted on the course web-page. Final Exam will have some questions from these reports.
      8. You may use a double column format - for example the style file from Canadian Conference in Computational Geometry Style File from here:  http://vga.usask.ca/cccg2020/CCCG2020-tex-template.zip

Schedule for Winter 2022 Term (Tentative):

University Policies

We follow all the rules and regulations set by Carleton University, Dean of Science, and the School of Computer Science regarding accommodating students with any kind of need(s). Please consult with the appropriate authorities to see how you can be accommodated and please follow their procedures. For information about Carleton's academic year, including registration and withdrawal dates, see Carleton's Academic Calendar. Following is a standard list of recommendations that we have been advised to provide you with respect to whom to contact for the appropriate action(s):

Pregnancy Obligation. Please contact your instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details, visit Equity Services.

Religious Obligation. Please contact your instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details, visit Equity Services.

Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities If you have a documented disability requiring academic accommodations in this course, please contact the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) at 613-520-6608 or pmc@carleton.ca for a formal evaluation or contact your PMC coordinator to send your instructor your Letter of Accommodation at the beginning of the term. You must also contact the PMC no later than two weeks before the first in-class scheduled test or exam requiring accommodation (if applicable). After requesting accommodation from PMC, meet with your instructor as soon as possible to ensure accommodation arrangements are made. For more details, visit the Paul Menton Centre website.
 
Survivors of Sexual Violence. As a community, Carleton University is committed to maintaining a positive learning, working and living environment where sexual violence will not be tolerated, and survivors are supported through academic accommodations as per Carleton's Sexual Violence Policy. For more information about the services available at the university and to obtain information about sexual violence and/or support, visit: carleton.ca/sexual-violence-support.

Accommodation for Student Activities. Carleton University recognizes the substantial benefits, both to the individual student and for the university, that result from a student participating in activities beyond the classroom experience. Reasonable accommodation must be provided to students who compete or perform at the national or international level. Please contact your instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details, see the policy.

Student Academic Integrity Policy. Every student should be familiar with the Carleton University student academic integrity policy. A student found in violation of academic integrity standards may be awarded penalties which range from a reprimand to receiving a grade of F in the course or even being expelled from the program or University. Examples of punishable offences include: plagiarism and unauthorized co-operation or collaboration.

Plagiarism. As defined by Senate, "plagiarism is presenting, whether intentional or not, the ideas, expression of ideas or work of others as one's own". Such reported offences will be reviewed by the office of the Dean of Science. 

Unauthorized Co-operation or Collaboration. Senate policy states that "to ensure fairness and equity in assessment of term work, students shall not co-operate or collaborate in the completion of an academic assignment, in whole or in part, when the instructor has indicated that the assignment is to be completed on an individual basis". For this course, the following holds:
  

Announcements:
  1. Link to the 1st offering of COMP 5112 in Fall 2020
  2. All communications will be done via Brightspace. If you have a question that may benefit the whole class,  please post it in the forum or ask during the class/office hour. (The discussion that are of private nature can be done by sending me an e-mail.)
  3. I am planning to hold my office hours immediately before and after the lectures. 
  4. For uOttawa students: Please try to figure out how to obtain the Brightspace account at Carleton. (I can't help you with the administrative aspect - please contact graduate and departmental administrators.)
  5. Learn (La)TeX as soon as possible - will help you to write your thesis later!