Syllabus
Logistics
- Time and Location:
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Asynchronous! See Calendar for deadlines
- Faculty Info
- Shelby Kimmel
Please call me "Professor Kimmel" or "Professor"
Pronouns: she/her
Office: 75 Shannon, Room 210, but I won't be there :(
skimmel [at] middlebury (dot) edu - Office Hours
- Location: Zoom Office Hours (or contact me for phone info)
- Drop-in: Mon 9-10am, Mon 1-2pm, Wed 4:30-5:30pm
- Appointment: Wed 9-10am. Thurs 4-5. Reserve a time at go/KimmelHours.
- If Drop-in and Appointment hours don't work with your schedule and you would like to meet, please send me an e-mail.
- Communication
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- I will e-mail you for urgent matters. You can always feel free to e-mail me, but I will not answer technical latex or other similar issues over e-mail, only in "person."
- I will keep the Calendar up-to-date with assignments and notes.
- Canvas Site
- Canvas
- Panopto
- Panopto
- Department Wiki
- Department Wiki
Learning Goals
- Engage in independent computer science research
- Communicate technical scientific ideas using various media and to various audiences
- Participate in academic culture
Environment
My goal is to create a classroom environment that is equitable, inclusive, and welcoming, in order to promote learning for all students. If aspects of this course create a barrier to inclusion, please let me know, as I am constantly working to create a more equitable environment. I do not tolerate discrimination.
Names/Pronouns
I will honor your request to address you using your preferred name and pronoun. I will collect this information in the first week of class, but feel free to communicate this information to me through e-mail at any time.
Academic Accommodations
Students with documented disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact me as early in the semester as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Assistance is available to eligible students through Student Accessibility Services. Please contact the ADA Coordinator Jodi Litchfield, who can be reached at litchfie@middlebury.edu or 802-443-5936 for more information. All discussions will remain confidential.
Title IX
You deserve a community free from discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. If you experience or know of a Title IX violation, you have many options for support and/or reporting; see go/titleIX. Note that I am a mandatory reporter.
Learning
Learning happens when you develop new neural pathways. You do this by repeatedly practicing new skills. Thus, my role is to facilitate your learning by providing guided practice with feedback. For example, there are many "rough" drafts due throughout the semester. I expect you to take these drafts seriously, as they are one of the main vehicles through which you will improve your communication skills.
Honor Code
You are expected to maintain the highest level of academic integrity in this course. All work you turn in should be your own. Particularly be careful of plagiarism. If you have any questions about what is appropriate, please discuss with me.
Grading
Your final grade will be determined based on the following criteria, which are each described in further detail below under Assessments.- Execution: 40%
- Written Thesis: 30%
- Final Presentation: 15%
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Poster: 5% - Participation: 10%
Assessments
Execution
A well-executed thesis consists of- A well-defined hypothesis of appropriate scope
- Methods of investigating your hypothesis that demonstrate a deep understanding of the problem
- Sufficient effort towards a result, regardless of eventual outcome
- Independent work
Each of these sub-criteria contributes approximately 10% to your final grade. We discuss each of these points in a bit more detail.
Hypothesis
The thesis should answer a research question (which may not be the research question you initially sought to answer). A research question can be phrased in terms of a hypothesis, which is a statement that you plan to test, analyze, or investigate in order to determine whether it is true. Some examples:- By parallelizing all of the components of the XHMM algorithm with Apache Spark and ADAM we can achieve a speedup over the existing implementation.
- There is a quantum algorithm for directed st-connectivity that uses at most $O(n^{3/2})$ queries on an $n$-vertex graph.
- Commonly used iOS apps are at risk of fuzzing attacks via local ports.
The hypothesis you attempt to investigate should be challenging but feasible (i.e. not overly ambitious) given the very short time frame of a single semester. Please consult closely with your advisor to choose an appropriate hypothesis. Execution is partly dependent on the scope of the hypothesis you investigate. Perfect execution of a simple project may not earn a better grade than imperfect execution of a more challenging project. But an impossible project will be exactly that, impossible to execute well.
Appropriate Methods
Methods will vary based on your topic. You should determine your methods through your reading of research in your subfield and/or in consultation with your advisor.
Sufficient Effort
You can't always predict the challenges you will face, and thus may not always be able to answer your research question in the time available. However you can demonstrate a thoughtful understanding of any limitations, and show creativity in your attempts to overcome those challenges. Your effort will be primarily assessed through weekly reflections. See reflection instructions.
Independent Work
The thesis is an independent project. It is not your advisor's role to give you a task list or a set of project deliverables. However, your advisor is a resource to provide advice as needed. One of your first tasks will be to discuss with your advisor how you plan to work together on this project.
Written Thesis
The final written thesis will be one of the key ways we assess your execution of the thesis. However, we are also assessing your ability to communicate technical scientific ideas in writing, which is the standard way of expressing a scientific result. This criteria deals with your ability to clearly and appropriately convey the work you did via writing. See these guidelines for more specific requirements and advice regarding writing.
Final Presentation
Another key way that scientific results are communicated is through talks. You will give a final short presentation that should distill the ideas of your thesis into a talk that is accessible to a 3rd year undergraduate Computer Science major. Your presentation should focus on the motivation for your project, the methods you employed, and the results you obtained. (It should not focus on background; you are not teaching a class!)
Poster
Another important way that scientific results are communicated is through posters and poster presentations. You will create a poster that is accessible to a 3rd year undergraduate Computer Science major. Your poster should focus on the motivation for your project, the methods you employed, and the results you obtained. (It should not focus on background!)
Participation
You are expected to attend class sessions and any computer science seminars. (The seminar schedule will be posted on the course website as it becomes available.) Deliverables (e.g. drafts, elevator pitches, responses to seminars, practice presentations) should be completed in a timely way and to any specifications.
