CS501:
Introduction to Graduate Studies in Computer Science
Fall, 1996

Instructor:
Prof. Stuart C. Shapiro, 226 Bell Hall, 645-3180 ext. 125, shapiro@cs.buffalo.edu,
Office Hours by appointment

Class Meetings: Wednesdays, 9:30 - 10:50 AM, 337 Bell Hall

Readings:
  • Donald E. Knuth, Tracy Larrabee, & Paul M. Roberts, Mathematical Writing, MAA Notes Number 14, the Mathematical Association of America, 1989.
  • Leslie Lamport, LaTeX User's Guide and Reference Manual, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1985.
  • Mary-Claire van Leunen, A Handbook for Scholars Revised Edition, Oxford U. Press, New York, 1992.

Class Schedule:

August 28Prof. Shapiro Introductions
. . Prof. Jin-Yi Cai The Graduate Programs
. . Dr. Davin MilunComputer accounts
September 4 Dr. MilunX
September 11 Dr. MilunEmacs
September 18 Prof. ShapiroLaTeX
September 25 Dr. MilunHTML
October 2 Prof. Jin Yi Cai An overview of research in Theory of Computing
October 9 Prof. Kenneth Regan Concrete Problems in Low-Level Complexity Theory
. . Prof. Min-You Wu Multimedia Systems and Real-time Support
October 16 Prof. Shapiro Toward a Computational Cognitive Agent Part I
. . Prof. William J. Rapaport Toward a Computational Cognitive Agent Part II
October 23 Dr. Milunmake/diff/patch
October 30 Prof. Venugopal Govindaraju Topics in Handwritten word Recognition
November 6 Prof. Sreejit Chakravarty Research in VLSI CAD
. . Dr. MilunRCS
November 13 Prof. Deborah Walters Computational Vision: Where Neurophysiology, Psychophysics and Computer Science Meet
. . Prof. Bharat Jayaraman Research Topics in Programming Languages
November 20 Prof. Xin (Roger) He Graph Drawing Algorithms
. . Prof. Shambhu J. Upadhyaya Fault tolerance and fault testing in computer systems -- A new perspective
December 4 Prof. Aidong Zhang Multimedia Database Research
. . Prof. Rohini Srihari TBA
December 11 Prof. Wei Wennie Shu Thread Support and Scheduling in OS

Grading:
Grading is on an S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory) basis. Registrants are responsible for attending all class meetings and handing in all assignments on time. Excessive absences from class, or excessive missed or late assignments will be result in a grade of "U". A grade of "S" in this course is required for any graduate degree in this department.

Readings:
You are responsible for the material in the readings listed above. Use the LaTeX Manual for learning and using LaTeX after the in-class introduction. Use the other two readings to help you in your writing assignments.

Assignments:
  1. Due September 4, 1996: Answer the following questions:
    1. (If you are a non-U.S. student) Why did you choose to do your graduate work in the U.S.?
    2. Why did you decide to do your graduate work in this department and in this university?
    3. What is the final degree you plan/hope to earn in this department, M.S. or Ph.D.?
    4. What area of computer science are you interested in?
  2. Due every Wednesday following a departmental colloquium: Write a 1 to 2 page review of the colloquium. Include
    • The name and affiliation of the speaker.
    • The title of the colloquium.
    • What was the main point of the talk?
    • Give your reaction to/impression of the contents of the talk.
    • Comment on the positive and negative aspects of the speaker's delivery style.

Stuart C. Shapiro <shapiro@cs.buffalo.edu>