How to turn in homework

Homework should be turned in at the beginning of the class on the day it is due. All dates are tentative at this point.

Homework #1

 

Project Proposal

  • Due: September 25 (no late days)
  • 2-3 page write up in NIPS format

Each group should submit a single write up. This write up must include a clear description of your project in its relationship to optimization. It is ok to build on prior work, but you must clearly state what portion of the project is novel and has not yet been completed.

Your write up should include an outline of all that is to be done and a rough timeline for completion. Your outline should be optimistic in the sense that if completed you would consider your project to be perfect. Separately, you should describe the minimum you could complete and still consider your project successful.

The write up should also include what resources are required, such as data sets and external software packages, and how they will be attained.

We will provide feedback on your proposals and assign each group a TA mentor. Keep this in mind when constructing your write up so that we can provide you with the most valuable feedback possible.

 

Homework #2

 

Homework #3

 

Project Milestone

  • Due: October 30 (no late days)
  • 5-6 page write up in NIPS format

Each group should submit a single write up. Please write the name of your TA mentor on the report and include contact e-mail addresses for all group members.

Your write up should include a preliminary review of related literature and work. You should aim to demonstrate that you understand the related approaches, even if you have chosen a different approach.

Please describe your progress so far and relate it to your original plan. This should also include a description of what worked well, and what did not. Example items to discuss:

  • How you are setting up your optimization problems
  • What algorithms you have tried for solving these problems
  • Information gained from experimenting with your data set
  • Plots of intermediate results, on simulated data if necessary

Additionally, please describe how your plan has changed for the future in light of your work so far and a revised time line for completion.

Please remember that the milestone is halfway through the project. You should be well more than halfway through achieving your minimal success criteria identified in your proposal in order to have a chance at producing a great project. We recognize that this does not necessarily mean you have accomplished exactly half of your criteria.

 

Homework #4

 

Homework #5

 

Project Poster

  • Due: December 12, 3:30pm in NSH Atrium

Each group must prepare a poster no larger than 32"x40" to present at the poster session. You may use this template if you desire. For students in SCS, you may make use of the poster printing facilities. Please be sure to give them ample time to print your poster.

Your poster should present all aspects of your project. That is, it should motivate your problem, describe your solution and display your results. You will present your poster to at least one instructor and your TA mentor. To ensure that we have enough time to properly evaluate all students, please keep your presentation to no more than 10 minutes. (That means, plan on a 5 minute presentation or so, since we're sure to have questions.)

Please be sure that you clearly present the connection of your project to optimization and the concepts you learned from class. You should state what work is your own and reference prior work that you build on. Be sure that all your graphs are clear using large lines and labelled in a big font, e.g., "set(gca, 'fontsize', 24)" and "plot(..., 'linewidth', 2 or 3)" and use vectors rather than bitmaps "print -depsc", "pstopdf" or Preview on a Mac.

Your final project grade will be based in part on the poster presentation. And, of course, we'll have an easier time understanding your project report if you give a good presentation at your poster: that is, you can use the poster to emphasize important results and to clarify technical details that may otherwise be hard to convey through text.

 

Project Report

  • Due: December 14, 5pm (no late days)
  • 7-8 page write up in NIPS format

Each group should submit a single write up, both as a PDF emailed to the instructors and TAs, and turned in as a hard copy to Michelle Martin. Please write the name of your TA mentor on the report and include contact email addresses for all group members.

Your write up should be in the style of a research article that you would submit to a conference or a journal. Be sure that you clearly present the connection of your project to optimization and the concepts you learned from class. You should state what work is your own and reference prior work that you build on. Also be sure that all your figures are clear and use vectors rather than bitmaps "print -depsc", "pstopdf" or Preview on a Mac. You will be graded on both the clarity of your presentation (describing the problem at hand, and your approach), and the quality of your solution.