CS 575 - Artificial Intelligence II

The course website is hosted by WebCT. If you are not familiar with it, please obtained an NMSU userid and password from ICT and learn how to access WebCT. Please visit the website to get the latest announcements. I do maintain a website for the class at http://www.cs.nmsu.edu/~tson/classes/fall08-575 but it  will not have information on homework and grade.  

v     Class Time: MF 2:30 pm - 3:45 pm, SH 118B

v     Final Exam: 2:30 pm - 3:45 pm, Monday, December 1

v     Office hour: Tuesdays, 10am - 12pm, or by appointment. Send email to ask questions.

v     Instructor: Dr. Son Cao Tran, SH 161, 646-1930

Course Content

This course is aimed at providing you with in depth discussions on different topics in AI. Tentatively, we will discuss the following topics:

v     Planning

v     Reasoning about actions and changes  

 Prerequisites

You should have taken CS 475 or an equivalence class. It is assumed that students have some prior knowledge of first-order logic, propositional logic, and the basic search algorithms.  Programming skill in C or C++ is also required.

Teaching Materials

v     Recommended Book: Artificial Intelligence - A Modern Approach (Second Edition). Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig: Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-790395-2. This is used more as a reference book rather than a textbook.

v     Handouts: class notes website

v     Research papers: as assigned

Grade

Grade is computed based on the standard scale of 100 points. The components of the final grade will be distributed as follows:

bullet 90% up A  
bullet 80% - 89% B  
bullet 70% - 79% C  
bullet 60% - 69% D
bullet < 60% F  

with the following distribution: one midterm (30%), final comprehensive examination (30%), homework and project (40%). There will be around 5 to 8 assignments during the course. A term project with significant work will be given after the first midterm. Assignments are usually due one week after they are given out. Homeworks and term project are important and weight 40% of your grade. A grade of D is unavoidable if you miss everything. Submit your homework using WebCT. Late homework will not be accepted.

Tentative Schedule

See attached schedule

Class Policy

Students are expected to attend class though attendance is not required. Withdrawing must be done on time, in accordance with the university calendar.

The grade of I (incomplete) may be given only if you are unable to complete the course due to documented circumstances beyond your control that develop after the last day to withdraw from the course. Appropriate circumstances include illness and death or crisis in your immediate family. Consult the university catalog for regulations regarding the I grade. In no case will an I grade be assigned to avoid a grade of D or F in the course.

If you elect to be graded under the S/U option, you must declare your intention when registering for the course. All work in the class will be graded in a manner identical to that for students choosing the letter grade option. At the end of the semester, your final letter grade in the course will be used to assign either a S or an U. You must achieve a minimum grade of C in order to receive a grade of S.

It is expected that students follow the code of conduct stated in the University Student Handbook. Any violations of the code will result in a grade of F for the course, in addition to any further sanctions imposed by the university. Unless explicitly stated by the instructor, you are assumed to perform the assigned work by yourself, without any external collaboration. Note that a person copying an assignment is guilty of a violation of academic conduct, as is the person from whom the assignment was copied. Consult the web sites http://www.nmsu.edu/%7Evpsa/SCOC/misconduct.html and  http://www.lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/plagiarismforstudents.htm for more on this topic. 

Feel free to call Jerry Nevarez, Director of Institutional Equity, at 505-646-3635 with any questions you may have about NMSU's Non-Discrimination Policy and complaints of discrimination, including sexual harassment.

Feel free to call Michael Armendariz, Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities, at 505-646-6840 with any questions you may have on student issues related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. All medical information will be treated confidentially.