CS 174
Randomized Algorithms
 

 Prof. Luca Trevisan
 
 

Spring 2003
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30-5:00 pm
310 Soda
randomization
You that choose not by the view,
Chance as fair and choose as true!
Since this fortune falls to you,
Be content and seek no new,
(...)
W. Shakespeare -- The Merchant of Venice		 derandomization
Lisa: Where are the dice? 
Todd: Daddy says dice are wicked. 
Rod: We just move one space at a time. It's less fun that way
 

The Simpsons, Episode "My Sister, My Sitter"

Final Exam in 10 Evans, 5-8pm, May 13

Grades of the final: (SID are truncated to last 4 digits)

 

Required Readings

Information

Work

Note: all problem sets and exams are off-line

     

Lectures

LN stands for lecture notes. MR stands for the textbook.
 
 
 
Topic Readings Problem sets
1: January 21 Summary of the course LN0 .
2: January 23 Probability review; occupancy problems LN1 Homework 1 out
3: January 28 More occupancy problems LN1 .
4: January 30 Variance LN2, MR 3.2 Homework 1 due
Homework 2 out
5: February 4 Random permutations LN2  
6: February 6 Random permutations II LN3 Homework 2 due
Homework 3 out
7: February 11 Random permutations III LN3
8: February 13 Karger's algorithm LN4, MR 1.1 Homework 3 due
Homework 4 out
9: February 18 Random graphs  LN4 .
10: February 20 Probabilistic method LN5 Homework 4 due
 February 25 MIDTERM I
11: February 27 Probabilistic method II LN5 Homework 5 out
12: March 4 Cliques in random graphs LN6
13: March 6 Hash Functions LN7, MR 8.4-5 Homework 5 due
Homework 6 out
14: March 11 Skip Lists MR 8.3 .
15: March 13 Random walks LN8, MR 6.1, 6.3 Homework 6 due
Homework 7 out
16: March 18 Random walks II LN8, MR 6.4-5 .
17: March 20 Random walks III (Markov Chains) MR 6.2 Homework 7 due
Homework 8 out
March 24-28 Spring break
18: April 1 Random walks IV (Schoenig's algorithm) LN9 .
19: April 3
In 380 SODA		 Large deviation and routing LN10, MR 4.1-2, 4.4 Homework 8 due
 20: April 8 Entropy LN11 
April 10 MIDTERM II  
21: April 15 Entropy II LN11 
22: April 17 Data Compression LN11
Homework 9 out.
23: April 22 Simulation of distributions  
24: April 24 Byzantine Agreement, Paging MR 12.6, 13.1-3 Homework 9 due
Homework 10 out
25: April 29 Fingerprints and polynomial identities LN12, MR 7.1-2 .
26: May 1 Pattern matching LN12, MR 7.6 Homework 10 due
27: May 6 Primality testing using polynomials LN13
28: May 8 Primality testing and Review LN13
May 13

5-8pm 10 Evans

 Final

Additional notes on probability from an old course.
The bible code. (Vaguely relates to Ramsey theory, lecture 10)
More on bloom filters. (Relates to hash functions, lecture 13)
Everything you wanted to know, and more, about hash functions from linear algebra (Lecture 13)
The original paper on Byzantine Agreement (Lecture 24)
The Agrawal-Biswas probabilistic primality algorithm (Lecture 27)
The AKS deterministic primality algorithm (Lecture 27)